Tiebreaker Priority
Each publisher can define their own tiebreaker priority order for their game, though this is the default tie breaker priority on the Carde.io platform.
Opponents' Match-Win % (Your Strength of Schedule)
Game-Win % (Your Game Performance)
Opponents' Game-Win % (Strength of Your Opponents' Game Performance)
If after all tiebreakers are applied, two players are still of equal standing in the competition, the scorekeeper should use a random method to break the tie.
How Tiebreakers Work
When players have the same tournament record, tiebreakers determine final standings. Here's how they're calculated:
1. Match Points (Primary Ranking)
How it works: You earn points based on your match results. Each publisher can define their own point totals for their events, though this is the default for the Carde.io platform.
Win: 3 points
Draw: 1 point
Loss: 0 points
Bye: 3 points (counts as a win)
Examples:
Record 6-2-0 → 18 match points (6×3 + 2×0 + 0×1)
Record 4-2-2 → 14 match points (4×3 + 2×0 + 2×1)
2. Game Points (Secondary Factor)
How it works: You earn points based on your game results. Each publisher can define their own point totals for their events, though this is the default for the Carde.io platform.
Game win: 3 points
Game draw/unfinished: 1 point
Game loss: 0 points
Note: Team tournaments don't use game points for tiebreakers
Tiebreaker Percentages
Match-Win Percentage
Formula: Your match points ÷ (3 × rounds played)
Minimum: Always at least 33% (0.33)
Examples from 8-round tournament:
5-2-1 record → 16 points → 16÷24 = 66.7%
1-3-0, withdrew → 3 points in 4 rounds → 3÷12 = 25% → uses 33%
3-2-0 with bye, withdrew → 9 points in 5 rounds → 9÷15 = 60%
Game-Win Percentage
Formula: Your game points ÷ (3 × games played)
Minimum: Always at least 33% (0.33)
Opponents' Match-Win Percentage
What it measures: How strong were your opponents?
How it works: Average the match-win percentage of each opponent you faced Important: Byes don't count - skip those rounds
Example: Your 8 opponents had records of 4-4-0, 7-1-0, 1-3-1, etc.
Calculate each opponent's match-win percentage
Average them together
This shows the strength of your competition
Opponents' Game-Win Percentage
Same concept as opponents' match-win percentage, but using game results instead of match results.
Key Things to Remember
About Byes
For you: Bye = automatic 3 match points + 6 game points
For tiebreakers: Byes are ignored when calculating both your, and your opponents' respective strength of schedule percentages.
Specifically, Byes factor into your personal match and game point calculations, but are ignored when calculating match and game win percentages that factor into your opponents' respective opponent game win and opponent match win percentages.
Note: Byes awarded as a prize in qualifying events function identically to byes issued during the course of an event.
The 33% Rule
If your actual win percentage is below 33%, it gets bumped up to 33%. Like the point values for match and game point calculations, this is the default value for the Carde.io platform, though publishers may choose a different minimum for their game.
This prevents really bad performances from having too much impact on opponent calculations
Applies to both match-win and game-win percentages
Common Questions
Q: Why does opponent strength matter?
A: It's harder to get wins against strong players. If two players have the same record, the one who faced tougher opponents ranks higher.
Q: What if I withdrew or dropped from the event early?
A: Your percentages are calculated based only on rounds you actually played.
Q: Do team tournaments work the same way?
A: Team tournaments only use match results, not individual game results, for tiebreakers.
Q: How do draws affect my percentages?
A: Draws give you some points (1 for matches, 1 per game), so they're better than losses but not as good as wins for your percentages.