Choose a matchmaking format and generate matchups
Snapdown offers six matchmaking formats. Start with the experience you want wrestlers to have: fast two-match sessions, guaranteed round-robin mat time, a larger tournament, or matches without official places.
Quick decision guide
Section titled “Quick decision guide”| Choose | Best when | Placements | Mat operation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Two-Match Placements | You need official places and a fast session with about two matches per wrestler | Yes | Small brackets can stay together; some later opponents depend on results |
| Round Robin Placements | Everyone in a group should face everyone for official places | Yes | Complete fixed groups; larger groups take more matches |
| Ability-Based Tournaments | You want larger wrestleback brackets built from compatible wrestlers | Yes | Results determine advancement and later opponents |
| Two-Match Groups | You want two predetermined quality matches without advancement or places | No | About four wrestlers can stay together on one mat |
| Flexible Bout List | You want the most flexibility to find each wrestler suitable opponents | No | Shared queue; wrestlers may move between mats |
| Strict Weight Bands (Madison) | The roster is already divided appropriately by age and experience | Depends on selected format | Fast, fixed weight-based groups |
The first five choices use Ability-Based Matching. Madison uses Weight-Only Grouping. That distinction matters more than the bracket shape.
Ability-Based Matching
Section titled “Ability-Based Matching”Ability-Based Matching considers the data available for each wrestler, including effective weight, age, grade, rank, gender eligibility, and your same-team policy. When the exact matches are known in advance, it can also work to avoid recent opponents.
Complete and accurate ranks improve skill matching, but ranks are not the only criterion. Missing ranks do not mean you need to switch to Madison. If all wrestlers have the same rank, Snapdown still uses the other available information.
Flexible Bout List
Section titled “Flexible Bout List”Flexible Bout List creates standalone matches rather than one fixed round robin or advancement bracket. It gives the optimizer the most freedom to choose quality opponents and is often the best recommendation when placements are unnecessary.
Match order and mat assignments remain flexible throughout the event. The desired match count is a target and also the cap — no wrestler receives more than the target, and limited compatible-opponent availability can leave a wrestler below it.
Two-Match Groups
Section titled “Two-Match Groups”Two-Match Groups places about four wrestlers of similar ability together and assigns two opponents to each wrestler in advance. There is no advancement and no placement standing. The preset pattern gives Snapdown more flexibility than a full round robin to keep teammates and recent opponents apart.
This is built for high-throughput youth events. Because every bout is known ahead of time, staff can call the entire group to one mat and run it as a cluster. If you want three guaranteed matches per wrestler, choose a four-person Round Robin Placement instead.
The target is not a guarantee. Roster size and compatibility rules can produce a smaller group or fewer matches for some wrestlers.
Two-Match Placements
Section titled “Two-Match Placements”Two-Match Placements creates small brackets — usually three or four wrestlers — with official places. Wrestlers usually receive about two matches, depending on bracket size and results.
The bracket format follows the group size:
- Four wrestlers wrestle a four-person placement bracket: semifinals, then a first-place and a third-place match, so every wrestler earns a place.
- Three wrestlers wrestle a round robin for places.
- Two wrestlers wrestle a best-of-three series when the roster does not divide evenly.
Snapdown can optimize the opening bracket, but later opponents depend on who wins and loses. Even when teammates begin on opposite sides, they can still meet in a championship or placement match.
Round Robin Placements
Section titled “Round Robin Placements”Round Robin Placements creates complete groups with official standings: everyone wrestles everyone else. Places come from the round-robin results rather than a later advancement bracket.
After selecting this format, use Bracket Formats in Settings to choose from 2-, 3-, 4-, and 5-person groups. The default allows sizes through a four-person round robin, which gives each wrestler three matches. Snapdown can use another selected size when the eligible roster does not divide cleanly.
A complete round robin reduces pairing flexibility because accepting two teammates into the same group means they must wrestle each other. Five-person groups also require substantially more matches and can take longer to optimize on a large roster.
Ability-Based Tournaments
Section titled “Ability-Based Tournaments”Ability-Based Tournaments creates larger wrestleback brackets from compatible wrestlers. After selecting the format, use Bracket Formats in Settings to choose the allowed 2-, 3-, 4-, 5-, 8-, and 16-person structures. Snapdown prefers full, useful brackets and uses the selected smaller structures when the roster does not divide cleanly.
The default formats are:
| Wrestlers | Default structure | Typical experience |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Best-of-three | Up to three bouts between the pair |
| 3 | Round robin | Two matches each |
| 4 | Round robin | Three matches each |
| 5 | Round robin | Four matches each |
| Up to 8 | Wrestleback | Advancement and placement matches |
For example, five compatible wrestlers become a five-person round robin instead of an eight-person bracket with three byes. A director can remove a smaller format in Settings; that group will then use the next selected larger structure with byes.
Snapdown seeds the finished bracket by confidence-weighted ability and works to separate teammates and recent opponents in the opening round. Later opponents depend on results, so those wrestlers can still meet in championship or placement paths.
Strict Weight Bands (Madison)
Section titled “Strict Weight Bands (Madison)”Strict Weight Bands groups eligible wrestlers by weight and selected bracket formats. It does not use rank, grade, team, or opponent history to optimize the groups.
Use strict weight grouping when divisions have already been separated appropriately—for example by age and experience—so weight-only grouping is safe for that roster. Optional gender separation can happen before grouping, but this format does not correct an overly broad division.
If the known wrestler ranks span more than one level, Snapdown shows a warning when you select this format. The warning is advisory: it calls attention to useful skill information that strict weight grouping will ignore.
Same-team settings
Section titled “Same-team settings”Your Same Team setting is applied according to the selected format:
- Allow keeps teammates eligible under the normal quality rules.
- Discourage applies a strong penalty, so Snapdown prefers groups without teammates when a reasonable alternative exists. Teammates can still be grouped when needed.
- Disallow blocks teammate matches where the format can guarantee that. In complete Round Robin Placements, a second wrestler from the same team makes the group invalid. In Two-Match Placements and Ability-Based Tournaments, teammates can be placed on separate opening paths but may still meet after results are known. Two-Match Groups may contain teammates when their assigned bouts keep them apart.
Before generating
Section titled “Before generating”- Confirm the correct wrestlers are eligible in the division.
- Confirm the registered weights you will use before weigh-ins, or enter weigh-in weights for wrestlers who have arrived.
- Review ages, grades, ranks, gender eligibility, and team assignments when using Ability-Based Matching.
- Set realistic age, weight, grade, and skill limits. Extremely narrow limits can leave wrestlers unmatched.
- Choose the matchmaking format and target match count that fits how the event will run.
Generate before weigh-ins
Section titled “Generate before weigh-ins”You can prepare provisional brackets from registered weights. If no one in the division has weighed in, Generate Brackets offers Use Registered Weights. The confirmation shows how many wrestlers have a usable registered weight and excludes those without one. For Individual Matchups, the action is labeled Generate Matchups.
After weigh-ins, open Roster and filter Not Weighed In. Confirm which wrestlers did not arrive, then scratch them as no-shows with Also remove from brackets selected. Review the affected brackets or groups before publishing matches. See Run your tournament from weigh-ins to results for the event-day sequence.
Review the result
Section titled “Review the result”Preview the generated groups before publishing matches. Look for outliers, teammate pairings, repeat opponents, unexpected smaller pools, and the total match count. Correct wrestler data or adjust limits and regenerate if needed.
Regeneration is safest before competition starts. Once matches have been published, scored, or manually scheduled, confirm what will be replaced before rebuilding the competition.