Swiss System

In a Swiss-system event every competitor plays the same set number of rounds, and after each round players are paired against opponents who have a similar running score, so leaders meet leaders and the field naturally sorts itself. Nobody is knocked out, which lets a large entry be ranked over relatively few rounds without everyone having to play everyone.

Pairings avoid rematches where possible, and final standings come from total points with tie-breakers applied for players who finish level. The Swiss system is widely used in chess and other board and card games, and increasingly in esports, as a compromise between the thoroughness of a round-robin and the brevity of a knockout.