Bracket follower — how to read a published bracket across the season
The bracket follower's guide is the desk's standing bracket-read column. The guide is built from the publisher's own published bracket across APAC, EMEA, Americas and the Global Finals.
How the desk reads a published bracket
A bracket is seed, format, schedule. The desk reproduces the bracket from the publisher's own published table; the editorial read is filed separately as Tier-C.
Seed
Reproduce the seed values from the publisher's published bracket. Tier-A on the publisher feed.
Format
Reproduce the format (single-elim, double-elim, Bo5, Bo3, reset rule) from the publisher's published bracket. Tier-A on the publisher feed.
Schedule
Reproduce the schedule from the publisher's published bracket. Tier-A on the publisher feed.
Cross-stamp
Seed, format and schedule are cross-stamped against the publisher's bracket page URL.
Editor's stamp
Tier-A lock where the publisher feed and the governing body feed agree.
Archive
Filed under the bracket archive with the publisher bracket URL and the editorial stamp.
A format frame across APAC, EMEA, Americas and the Global Finals
Below is the format frame for every in-flight tournament cycle. The frame captures the bracket format and the prize pool.
| APAC Major | Single-elim after group stage · 8 teams | BO3 quarter/semi · BO5 final | $1.2M USD prize pool |
|---|---|---|---|
| EMEA Championship | Double-elim · 16 teams | BO3 round 1-3 · BO5 grand final · reset on winners' side | €1.4M USD prize pool |
| Americas Open | Single-elim after round-robin · 8 teams | BO3 quarter/semi · BO5 final | $900k USD prize pool |
| Global Finals | Single-elim · 4 teams | BO5 semi · BO5 grand final · reset rule | $3.5M USD prize pool |
How to follow a bracket from group stage to grand final
A bracket cycle is group stage, upper bracket, lower bracket, grand final. The desk reproduces each artefact verbatim from the publisher's bracket page; the editorial read is filed separately as Tier-C.
Group stage — verbatim
The group stage is the publisher's own table reproduced verbatim in the newsroom. The desk does not editorialise the group stage.
Upper bracket — verbatim
The upper bracket is the publisher's own table reproduced verbatim. The desk reproduces the bracket as-is with the publisher's citations.
Lower bracket — verbatim
The lower bracket is the publisher's own table reproduced verbatim. The desk reproduces the bracket as-is with the publisher's citations.
Grand final — verbatim
The grand final is the publisher's own table reproduced verbatim. The desk reproduces the bracket as-is with the publisher's citations.
What the desk does not publish for a bracket cycle
The desk does not publish leaked brackets. The publisher's published bracket is the only source for the desk's reproduction.
The desk does not publish speculative seed revisions. Where a bracket is contradicted by a Tier-B press citation, the desk files the contradiction under the corrections log.