How to run a Paper Bracket for the FGC

This guide goes in-depth into how to run a bracket and is designed to be watched by first-time bracket runners at Regionals and Majors.
While I wanted to be quick about it, I also wanted to be thorough, so this video ended up longer than I thought it would. Enjoy the detail, and I wish you luck in running your bracket at the next major!
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00:00 Intro
00:35 The Basics
14:58 Running a Bracket at an Event
44:23 Other important notes
47:35 Summary

[@bac0njesus968]

"got a quick one for ya" 50 minute video goat activity

[@jd_fgc]

Simulated 2 brackets in half the time you are given to run one seems pretty quick to me :)

[@jackyoung5725]

One thing that is SUPER important for bracket running like this is to make sure that, for the love of God, your players stick within earshot & if theyre going to leave for any reason, to tell you beforehand. Leaving a crowded major venue to go smoke will take SO much more time than you think it will, so sometimes you don't let people leave (more likely you just say "hey can you stick nearby and smoke later" or something), but you need to have people do the things they're supposed to be doing. Majors are crowded and loud, so it's hard to hear bracket runners sometimes, so players should be reminded that hey, stick where you're supposed to be, and you as the TO making that very explicit will save you so so so much headache over the course of your pool.

[@kattatonik2356]

bro did i just watch an hour video on how to run a bracket and enjoy it, lmao.

[@urgentsurgeon]

As a new volunteer looking to expand the ways in which I can help out at events, having this as a reference is extremely nice. Thanks!

[@Duffy_SSBM]

Helping run a bracket at my first big tournament this coming weekend and this video has been super helpful!

[@LuunFTW]

Great video, I don't plan on TOing but it makes me wanna try to be the most TO friendly player now

[@The3lse]

I bit off a bit more than I was ready to chew in signing up to run a SFV bracket for an event in a few months that I'm being told could have as many as 100 players - trust that I'll be using this like a bible lmao, thank you so much!

[@Xandere]

Great video, I'm TOing my first regional next month and even though this is aimed at bigger events it's still very useful.

[@YohosieFGC]

Glad it helped, it's definitely geared towards big events but works for any non-TOing offline bracket running too

[@BHS289]

Been running paper brackets at events like Frosty Faustings, Combobreaker, and EVO for a few years now; volunteering to run them helps make the event better and an immensely rewarding experience when done well - not to mention a great way to keep a bad bracket run from ruining your weekend. Plus, depending on the event there's often nice perks like getting to meet more people in the community, some events will do giveaways for people that run brackets for them or give you a free shirt, etc. (not that this should be your primary motivator, of course). Would definitely recommend trying them - big events will normally use the Thursday night before the event to go over the process and answer questions, but if you're unsure feel free to ask your local TOs if you could help run a bracket at the next event.

[@YohosieFGC]

The amount of sleepy 4XXL shirts I have from running brackets is great. I sleep every night in the warm embrace of Combo Breaker and CEOTaku

[@BHS289]

@@YohosieFGC The percentage of my wardrobe that is comprised of event shirts grows at an embarrassing rate every year, owns

[@EMP_Obama]

As someone who has been running online/local brackets this was a very informative and coherent guide to anyone else looking to get experience. Questions: what is the best thing you can do when it comes to poor setups (PS4s not desyncing pads, no sound, etc.) This I think is more of a venue responsibility than a TO but have you ever run into situations like that and if so how did you handle them? I've had recent experiences where there would be no sound and I would ask for either a fix or to simply play on a setup with sound/wait to play. Most TOs I've talked to are very accommodating on this. What about tournaments where they have a mix of Base PS4 and PS4 Pro and someone requests they play on a Pro? Do you make the bracket slower to accommodate that player/players? Do you tell them to hold that? How do you handle that situation even though you're not the one in control of proper setups?

[@YohosieFGC]

Oof, this is a hard one. In reality as a bracket runner, it's your responsibility to run the brackets efficiently. The setups, especially with physical hardware, are not your responsibility, and there's nothing you can do other than escalate people properly to the TO desk. It's your job to have them talk to people who do have control over the situation. One thing you can do is ensure that before/after pools the consoles are power cycling. If you run a bracket efficiently enough, you have enough time to have people play casuals for 15-30 minutes, turn off the consoles, and then the next TO can turn them back on. If there are PS4 Pro vs PS4, I would accommodate the request. If everyone wants to play on PS4 Pro, I would ask a TO for a rules clarification and run the bracket as efficiently as the TO will allow. Again, you're there to ensure it's ran smoothly, not that the setups are in tip-top shape! When in doubt, ask :)

[@conleche21]

Very clear and concise thanks for the video!

[@LordDio]

new mandatory viewing material for the fgc

[@taylorgwynn]

Super interesting, and certainly helps me appreciate the work that goes into it!

[@catnekokot]

This is amazing! It is impossible to overestimate the value that kind of information for those who have little experience / nowhere to gain it, many thanks! Everything seems to be known, but the details are too important

[@abfloorr]

finally i am prepared to start my own 6000 man tournament with no sponsors with a 1 million dollar prize pool made up of business loans from the bank that me and the TO's take out

[@Caseman984]

I've been curious about this for a while, great video!

[@YohosieFGC]

Glad it was helpful! :D

[@juanwique]

Awesome guide dawn, thanks for this!

[@fabioandrade8476]

good stuff

[@christianpr5]

Nice vid!

[@n051de4]

I think I might just be a bracket god now.

[@arcticbulktoaster348]

Question why not flip loser of M and Loser of N? Cause there's a possibility that the same people will fight again

[@mariotaz]

But what's an FGC?

[@BrainGeniusAcademy]

Hmmmmm yes I see 📝📝📝