by courtesy of the ITTF

This system is used for all the major tournaments including the Olympic Games, World Championships, World Cup and ITTF World Tour.

How it works:

• Players are allocated or drawn in pairs
• Winners continue to play in successive rounds until only one player remains unbeaten
• Losers are knocked-out

Advantages:

• Simple to understand
• Needs the fewest number of matches and therefore can be completed in the shortest time

Disadvantages:

• Half of the players are eliminated in the first round
• Does not produce a final ranking order

How it works:

• Players are allocated or drawn into groups containing 3, 4 or 5 players
• Each player plays every other player in their group
• The results of matches determine the final ranking order for the group
  
  then...
  
  
• A pre-determined number of players (usually the top one or two) progress from each group into a knock-out competition, whilst the others are eliminated
• Winners continue to play in successive rounds until only one player remains unbeaten
• Losers are knocked-out

Advantages:

• Guarantees that all players will have more than one match
• Provides a final ranking order for each group

Disadvantages:

• No 'final' within each group
• No certainty that the last group match played will decide the group winner
• The number of matches rises rapidly as the size of the group increases. Therefore you usually need to limit the number of players in each group to a maximum of 5.
• Takes longer to play all matches

How it works:

• Losers are entered into another knock-out competition (sometimes called a consolation or plate competition) instead of being eliminated
• This secondary knock-out competition is then played in the same way as the original knock-out competition

Advantages:

• Gives first round losers a second chance
• This system can also be further extended to allow for two or more losses

Disadvantages:

• Doubles the number of matches to be played, so takes longer
• Does not determine ranking

How it works:

• Winners continue to play other winners until only one player remains unbeaten
• Losers continue to play other losers
• Players losing in the first round cannot finish in the top half of the final order
• Players losing in the first and second rounds can only compete for places in the lowest quarter

Advantages:

• Provides a full ranking order
• Provides a decisive final
• Gives all participants the same number of matches

Disadvantages:

• Takes longer to play all matches

How it works:

• A team consists of 3 players
• Best of 5 Matches (5 singles)
• The order of play is A v X, B v Y, C v Z, A v Y, B v X

Advantages:

• All of the players must have played at least one match for their team to reach a winning score
• Needs the fewest number of matches and therefore can be completed in the shortest time

Disadvantages:

• One player from each team only gets one match

How it works:

• A team may consist of 2, 3 or 4 players
• Best of 5 Matches (4 singles and 1 doubles)
• The order of play is A v X, B v Y, doubles, A v Y, B v X

Advantages:

• It's possible to form a team with only 2 players
• Up to 4 players can all play in one team
• Either or both of the doubles players may be different from the singles players
• It's possible to vary the last two singles to allow players 3 and 4 to play, so that all players will play at least 1 singles each

Disadvantages:

• One strong player can dominate a match by winning two singles and playing a decisive part in the doubles

How it works:

• A team consists of 3 players but each player can only play in a maximum of 2 individual matches
• Best of 5 Matches (4 singles and 1 doubles)
• The order of play is A v X, B v Y, doubles C&A or B v Z&X or Y, B or A v Z, C v Y or X

Advantages:

• All of the players must have played at least once for their team to reach a winning score
• Less chance of one strong player dominating a match
• All players have 2 matches

Disadvantages:

• It's not possible to form a team with only 2 players

How it works:

• A team may consist of 3, 4 or 5 players.
• Best of 7 Matches (6 singles and 1 doubles)
• The order of play shall be A v Y, B v X, C v Z, doubles, A v X, C v Y, B v Z

Advantages:

• 3 players must have played at least one individual match for their team to reach a winning score
• It's possible to vary the last three singles to allow players 4 and 5 to play, so that all players will play at least 1 singles each

Disadvantages:

• The 4th and/or 5th player might only play in the doubles
• May take a long time to complete all 7 matches

How it works:

• A team consists of 3 players.
• Best of 9 Matches (9 singles)
• The order of play shall be A v X, B v Y, C v Z, B v X, A v Z, C v Y, B v Z, C v X, A v Y

Advantages:

• Less chance of one strong player dominating a match

Disadvantages:

• Unpredictable length of time required. The match may be completed quickly if the score is 5-0, or last more than 4 hours if all 9 matches are played