TO 101: BO5

Posted on by Cagt

Earlier this year, what many considered to be too difficult to pull off at a major scale was announced:

All BO5 Singles.

Now, after many majors, regionals, and locals, this format has been pulled off consistently, with improvements made at each new iteration. It has been nothing less than a challenge, but the results have more than proven its worth, and the consistent support from players has shown the demand is there to make Ultimate, and possibly other games, all BO5.

So… how do you do it?

DISCLAIMER

Before I start, I will preface that no matter the argument, it will always be up to the organizer’s discretion as to whether or not to run All BO5 Singles. My job here is solely to provide the reasoning, data, and purpose behind running this format at events. This is a significant change in tournament logistics that many TOs are against making, and while I fully understand & respect the unwillingness to stray away from the norm, I simply want to innovate the art of TO’ing and push our skillset even further than what was thought possible. If you also are of that belief, then I believe you will thoroughly enjoy this read. This guide will be mainly focused on regionals & majors, but I will include a section regarding locals as well.

Without further ado, let’s get into it.

WHY?

The first question that everyone has and will continue to ask is:

Why run All BO5 Singles?

Historically, events have always reserved BO5 for the later end of brackets – typically Top 8, where you have the best of the best face off for the championship trophy. Over time, this has slowly expanded past Top 8, going into Top 16, Top 32, etc. As players get into the more serious phases of competition, and the level of play increases, it only made sense that the matches are extended to reflect that, so it was logical for these top cuts to be BO5. However, most didn’t see a point to having earlier phases of bracket, specifically pools, be BO5, as many thought “the top seeds are gonna 3-0 everyone anyways, what’s the point?”, “do we even have enough time to do so?”, “do people truly care about it?”, etc.

Well, as the game and metagame grew, so has the mentality of players and their needs when it comes to their tournament experience. Smash 4 historically held a lot of debate over its stock count, timer, etc., and Ultimate was no different. More specifically, players have pointed out that the game was not fit for BO3 competitively, and that matches were both more enjoyable and skill-based when in a BO5 setting. However, time and logistics has always been the seemingly impossible argument to refute, as it was a common thought that it would take too long, and that schedules would have to be completely remade from the ground up to accommodate this change.

What if I told you… that this wasn’t the case, and that you can run All BO5 Singles right now?

Now, it obviously is not an immediate plug & play, as there are a few requirements needed to pull this off, but the process is far simpler than you think, and events are much more capable to make the switch than they may be aware of.

HOW?

In order to run All BO5 Singles, the following aspects need to be looked at:

  • Ratio of Setups to Entrants per Pool
  • Tournament Execution Logistics
  • Stream Queue Methodology

These all need to be in the right harmony for this to be executed properly.

Ratio of Setups to Entrants per Pool: The most important fundamental base to do this is to have the right amount of setups in comparison to the amount of players per pool. You want to follow a 1:4 ratio, meaning 1 setup for every 4 players in your pool. It goes as follows:

  • 4 Setups for 16 Players
  • 5 Setups for 20 Players
  • 6 Setups for 24 Players
  • 7 Setups for 28 Players
  • 8 Setups for 32 Players

This is a good rule of thumb to follow in any scenario, but it is especially important in All BO5 Singles, as you are nearly guaranteed to run overtime if you don’t follow this. Obviously you won’t always have an exact amount of entrants per pool that matches this ratio, but as long as you are within that range, you should be okay (i.e.: if you have 26 players per pool for instance, you can go with either 6 or 7 setups per pool, as you’ll most likely have DQs to balance things out). Most larger events tend to have a higher amount of setups per pool than they used to, so this shouldn’t be a major issue, but definitely keep this in mind when planning your regional event.

Tournament Execution Logistics: Once you’ve established the base requirement for it, you need to follow a very strict guideline in order to ensure that your pool will run within the 2 hour timeframe. Note that it is in good practice to follow these for any events that you run, but many like to adjust these based on the circumstances of the event – if you are running All BO5 Singles, you need to follow these in order to ensure stability and efficiency for your event. They are the following:

  • Check-In 15 minutes before the wave starts
  • DQ 5 minutes after the wave starts
  • Maximize match calling efficiency

Let’s go into more details for each:

Check-In 15 minutes before the wave starts: One of the most tedious aspects of running pools is making sure everyone is present at the start of the wave, and keeping the players in the same area so that they can play their match right away. Many events like to wait until a few minutes before the wave start time, or even at the time itself, to start the process. DO NOT DO THIS. Not only are you wasting time, bleeding into the scheduled 2 hour block, but you are nearly guaranteeing that you will finish late because of it. Instead, start check-in 15 minutes before, and call matches as soon as they are available, so that you can get a head start. Keep in mind the tiny little interactions that can slow down your pool (finding your opponent, putting your controls in, doing a button check, etc.) If you start the process early, you can account for these variables and have players start their match either before or at the exact scheduled wave start time, which is crucial to running All BO5. You can also start 10 minutes early if you are experienced enough, or if your pools are smaller, but I would generally recommend sticking to approximately the 15 minute mark to minimize any potential hiccups. Remember, if you have a match ready, call it right away, do not wait until the scheduled wait time, as there is no point to making players wait longer than they need to.

DQ 5 minutes after the wave starts: This is one of the most important variables of this format, but also the most inconsistent ruling amongst major events. It’s no secret that the DQ timer has been a major point of discussion amongst players & TOs, and that players’ competitor experiences have been affected by this. If you are to run All BO5, you must DQ players 5 minutes after the wave was scheduled to start to avoid any unnecessary slowdowns due to missing players. The key point to note here is that because you started check-in 15 minutes before (as described in the paragraph above), players had a 20 minute window to check-in to their pool, so they have no excuse should they be disqualified afterwards (it should also be common practice to show up early for your pool). You can make slight adjustments on this depending on how the pool check-in process went, or if you are in the first wave of pools of the day, but it’s heavily recommended to stick to a 5 minute timer in most situations.

Maximize match calling efficiency: This is a little more broad than the two previous points, but the biggest lesson to take away here is that you need to stay attentive to how your bracket is progressing, and ensure that no match sits idle for too long or no setup stays empty for more than a few minutes. Assuming you followed the guidelines detailed above regarding the setups to entrants per pool ratio, there should always be a match playing or queued up on a setup at all times until you reach the later phases of the pool. Remember the optimal order for calling matches: Winners Round 1 > Winners Round 2 > Losers Round 1 > Losers Round 2 > Winners Round 3 > Losers Round 3 > etc. If you need a refresher, you can read my guide on the queue system below:

TO 101: The Queue System

This is a pretty standard system by now, but if you need a refresher or are unfamiliar with this methodology, I recommend giving it a read so you are up to speed.

Stream Queue Methodology: Lastly, but certainly not least, your stream queue will evidently be affected by this change, so it’s important you adjust your process around it. While the duration of the pool itself won’t change, each match will obviously be longer, which means you’ll be able to fit less matches on stream because of it. The key here is to only queue up a minimal amount of matches in the earlier phases of pools (ideally only one match per round), and then make up for that by streaming as many qualifier sets as possible. Since those are the most competitive matches, and where you have the most time to kill, you’ll be able to stream a good amount of them without jeopardizing your event schedule. If you have a quad stream at your event, then you’ll still be able to follow a more traditional stream queue style without too much hassle. But if you only have one or two regular streams, then it’s important to be a little more selective with which matches you pick so that you don’t run over. This is both the easiest adjustment to make, but also the most easily destructive if not done correctly, so be very mindful of it when running this format.

PROS & CONS

So you’ve got a general overview of why this is a requested format, as well as the methodology behind it. But what exactly are the benefits and sacrifices you have to make in order to run this?

PROS

  • This allows for a more competitive tournament experience for everyone involved – as mentioned earlier in this guide, the Ultimate community has been very vocal about BO3 not being competitively fit in the metagame, and running this format would increase the overall experience for everyone involved, especially for the higher level players.
  • Lower level players are able to get more games in, and mid-level players have better chances of making significant tournament runs. No one likes the feeling of going 0-2 and losing 4 games in a row within a short amount of time, but if given the chance to play BO5 sets, it gives players a better opportunity to learn and have more enjoyable sets with players of their skill levels or above, which leads to a healthier experience overall. This does not necessarily mean that a local player will suddenly upset a top player, but it does make the average experience more fruitful overall.
  • More players are able to experience a BO5 set in their career and learn to play around it, which is extremely crucial when becoming a better player. Many rarely, if ever, get the chance to play a BO5 set in their local community, and once they do, they are overwhelmed or outmatched by those who have that kind of experience. Giving them access to BO5 early allows them to better train for that scenario and be more prepared once they face skilled opponents in later parts of bracket.
  • Integration into existing events is much simpler than people realize, and can be done almost instantly in certain cases. It does require you to pay closer attention to your logistics and leave less room for leeway, but given the way tournament logistics have evolved over the last few years, this is not as daunting of a task as many may think.
  • Above all, this leads to a more healthy, positive experience for all players involve – both the demand and reception from this has been consistently positive to the point where this can easily become the standard if everyone decides to adopt it.

CONS

  • It does require more strict logistics overall, mainly due to having limited leeway when it comes to completing your pool on time. While both BO3 and BO5 pools are able to be completed in 2 hours, BO3 pools are much more likely to end early, which is why you’ll see events often take liberty with check-in, DQ timers, and the amount of stream matches. But with BO5 pools, that leeway is much smaller, which means you have to be more attentive to how your tournament is progressing, and make slight adjustments on how many matches are being streamed at a time.
  • As mentioned above, less matches are able to be streamed during pools than before, which can be a concern for certain organizers who are looking to maximize as much content as possible early on. If your stream schedule focuses primarily on later phases, then this doesn’t affect you nearly as much. But if you’re still running the majority of pools, then you simply need to be mindful of which matches you stream so you can still get the same quality while having less overall content.
  • Given the higher difficulty in optimally running All BO5 Singles, it is generally recommended to have a higher skilled volunteer/staff team when you are first running this format to make sure nothing goes wrong. This problem will be easily solved with time as people practice this and improve, but if your event has a high ratio of newer TOs/volunteers who don’t have as much experience with running pools in general, you may want to have stricter training in place to make sure they follow the guidelines closely.

Please keep in mind that everyone will have different POVs when it comes to this format, and that there may be more pros/cons than listed here. You should not look at these pros as absolutes, nor should you look at these cons as deal breakers – they are simply additional factors that you have to keep in mind. If you have the proper preparation and mindset, then you should have no issue pulling this off.

DATA

Over the course of 2023, I was able to execute All BO5 Singles at a number of large scale events with resounding success. The events that I’ve ran this format at are the following:

MAJORS

REGIONALS

Here are some other events that have also ran All BO5 to my knowledge (please let me know what I am missing – I’m aware of other events running this format but do not have the full list):

Even though this guide is primarily aimed at larger events, many locals have been running this format for months to great results – if your weekly has 32 entrants or less, then you can simply follow the philosophy detailed in this guide and you’ll be perfectly fine. If your local has more than 32 entrants, then you’ll need to increase your # of setups accordingly to ensure everything runs smoothly. Keep in mind as well that you typically have a 4-5 hour window for these events, so you have a little bit more leeway in case you don’t reach the amount of desired setups. I recommend contacting Justyce and Club Smash regarding their experience if you want a more detailed breakdown of running all BO5 at a local level.

When All BO5 Singles was originally introduced at LMBM 2023, we had extended pools to be 2h30 based on our initial calculations – after executing it, we found that pools had ran significantly faster than anticipated, and that 2h waves were more than capable with the right execution and more practice.

For Collision 2023, we adjusted back to 2h waves of pools, and also decided to run All BO5 Singles for both Ultimate & Melee – which also resulted very positively!

Rise ‘N Grind 2023 also ran All BO5 Singles across all main title games at the event with an even more condensed schedule!

(Please note that Momocon 2023 and Delfino Maza 2023 had an unusually large amount of entrants & setups per pool, and should NOT be seen as the norm – those are extremes/special cases due to specific logistics surrounding the event, and should not be intentionally attempted unless forced to otherwise. If you have any questions surrounding those events specifically, let me know!)

CONCLUSION

Thank you for taking the time to read my analysis of All BO5 Singles – I hope you enjoyed it! This has been a great passion project of mine during this past year, and I’m very glad to have seen such positive feedback from it from players & TOs alike. While I was initially worried about this being too difficult or complicated to consistently execute, especially with more traditional event schedules and logistics, I’m glad to have been able to refine this even more and have shown that it is in fact possible to pull this off with little adjustments needed. Keep in mind that at the end of the day, these are simply guidelines to follow, and that every event will have varying parameters in place in order to pull this off. I am more than happy to work with any event that wishes to execute this.

Thank you to RJ for helping me refine this logistical challenge for many majors to come, and thank you to Even Matchup Gaming for allowing me to kickstart this at LMBM 2023 earlier this year. Without them, I wouldn’t have been able to pull this off and make it possible.

Take care everyone!
– Cyrus “Cagt” Gharakhanian – @Cagt3000

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