Format
Individual Championship (Mens, Womens, Mixed)
Format overview
The individual competition will feature two rounds of pool play. In the first round, pools will be made by snaking the initial seeds determined by the World Ranking Committee. After the first round, teams will be regrouped based on their performance into tiers of Gold, Silver, and Bronze. The results of the second round of pool play determine what bracket each team qualifies for (i.e. Gold 1, Gold 2, etc.). In turn, each bracket determines where a team can finish in the overall ranking (note - this is different in the squad competition).
This format helps ensure that more evenly matched games are played throughout each stage and that the final seeding is based more heavily on results against teams of a similar caliber than on point differential of mismatches.
Additionally, this format minimizes the potential difference in number of games played between teams, while guaranteeing more games overall. Further, it reduces ties in the final ranks as smaller brackets mean that almost every position can be played out for. We recognize that this format means pool play performance matters more because there is less mobility within bracket play. Based on the learning for the 2022 World Championship, we believe this format will provide better competition at all levels, creating an elevated experience for both players and spectators. You can find the detailed format below.
As with all events, plans may need to be modified to adapt to given circumstances. Decisions of the nature or other questions not addressed here will be determined by the tournament director, Antoine Macquet and British Roundnet in accordance with IRF rules and guidelines.
Example
Team A performs well in the first round of pool play. They qualify for the Gold grouping. In the second round of pool play, they lose the majority of their games. These results place them in the Gold 3 bracket. They win the Gold 3 bracket which earns them an overall individual finish of 17th place.
Format details
1st round of pool play
Initial pools are snake seeded based on NGB feedback, seeding committee analysis, and geographic diversity.
Pools of 5 or 6
Single game to 21, cap at 21
Pool play overall results are used to snake seed the 2nd round of pool. Tie-breakers are:
Losses (low to high)
Head-to-head
Point differential ratio
Coin toss
2nd round of pool play
Pools are snake seeded based on the results of the 1st round of pool play
Pools of 5 or 6
Single game to 21, cap at 25
Pool play overall results are used to seed the brackets. Tie-breakers are:
Losses (low to high)
Head-to-head
Point differential ratio
Coin toss
Bracket play
Brackets are seeded based on the overall results of the 2nd round of pool play
Based on results, brackets of up to 8 teams will be created. For example, the top 8 from the Gold Pools will play for 1 - 8. The next 8 teams will be put in a bracket and play for 9 - 16.
Single elimination
Best of 3 games to 21, no cap
Updated format
General format: BO3 until 15, HC 21 (no HC in game 3)
Gold A bracket format (top 8 teams): BO3 until 21 (no HC). Gold A bracket finals and 3rd place games will be played Fridayafternoon.
Consolation: 1 game to 21, HC25. As soon as you lose a game in bracket: you're in consolation. (Ie third place games are 1 to 21)
Forfeits
If a team forfeits without starting to play a game the score for that game will be entered as 15 - 7.
If a team starts to play and needs to forfeit mid-game, they will keep whatever score they had and the other team will receive 21 (or whatever score would create the win if in extras).
For example, if a team forfeits when they are up 13 - 10 then the score would be entered 13 - 15.
If a team can no longer continue in the competition, the rest of their matches in that round will be a forfeit and they will be removed from the following round of competition.
For example, if a team can no longer continue after the third game of round one, they will forfeit the rest of the games in their pool (21-10) and then be removed for the second round of pool play.
Consolation
Best of 3 to 15
If both teams agree, teams can play less in consolation games (e.g. single game to 21)
All rounds of consolotation are played within their bracket.
Men's Individual
Women's Individual
Mixed Individual
Squad Championship (Mens, Womens)
Format overview
Like individual, the squad competition will feature two rounds of pool play. In the first round, pools will be made by snaking the initial seeds determined by the World Ranking Committee. After the first round, teams will be regrouped based on their performance into tiers of Gold, Silver, and Bronze. However, unlike the individual competition, the results of the second round of squad pool play do not determine different elimination brackets. Instead, the pool tier determines the highest overall seed that a squad can earn. For example, the top seeds will be earned by the teams that qualify for the Gold tier.
Again, this format helps ensure that more evenly matched games are played throughout each stage and that the final seeding is based more heavily on results against squads of a similar caliber than on point differential of mismatches. Since squad competition is the focal point of the World Championship and we have three days dedicated to it, we are able to use the multi-stage pool play format while having just one bracket. Pool play will still be a very important factor in seeding, but all countries will have the ability to compete for first place in the bracket. We believe that the variations in the multi-stage pool play structure between individual and squad competition provides the right balance based on the objectives and constraints of the event. You can find the detailed format below.
As with all events, plans may need to be modified to adapt to given circumstances. Decisions of the nature or other questions not addressed here will be determined by the tournament director, Antoine Macquet and British Roundnet in accordance with IRF rules and guidelines.
Example
Squad B performs poorly in the first round of pool play. They qualify for the Bronze grouping. In the second round of pool play, they perform much better, but still are seeded within the bottom third overall. They enter the bracket with a tough seed, but upset many squads and end up landing on the podium.
Format details (updated 30/08)
1st round of pool play
Initial pools are snake seeded based on NGB feedback, seeding committee analysis, and geographic diversity.
Pools of 5 or 6
Single game to 15, cap at 17
Pool play overall results are used to snake seed the 2nd round of pool. Tie-breakers are:
Losses (low to high)
Game differential ratio
Head-to-head
Point differential ratio
Coin toss
2nd round of pool play
Pools are snake seeded based on the overall results of the 1st round of pool play
Pools of 5 or 6
Single game to 15, cap at 17
Pool play overall results are used to seed the brackets. Tie-breakers are:
Losses (low to high)
Game differential ratio
Head to head
Point differential ratio
Coin toss
Bracket play
Brackets are snake seeded based on the overall results of the 2nd round of pool play
Round of 32 and round of 16 are BO3 until 15, HC 21 (no HC in game 3)
Quarter finals, semi finals and finals are BO3 until 21, no HC
Forfeits
Any missing teams count as forfeits so long as the other squad has teams that could have matched up against them. These will be entered as 15 - 7. NOTE - this is different in bracket play.
If a team starts to play and needs to forfeit mid-game, they will keep whatever score they had and the other team will receive 15 (or whatever score would create the win if in extras).
For example, if a team forfeits when they are up 13 - 10 then the score would be entered 13 - 15.
Consolation
1 game to 21, HC25. As soon as you lose a game in bracket: you're in consolation.
If you lose in round of 32, you play 2 rounds of consolation. Otherwise, you play 1 round of consolation.
Squad play info
Men’s and Women’s are two completely separate divisions
Squads are composed of up to 5 teams (must have at least 3 teams to compete)
Squad’s teams are matched against each other based on their ranking submitted by the NGB
The rankings should reflect an honest strength assessment of each NGB and this is not meant to be a strategic part of the event. Since there are so many countries we know so little about and new pairings that we've never seen compete together it would be very difficult for us to assess rankings fairly.
The highest team from one squad plays the highest team from the other squad (ie A plays A, B plays B, C plays C, etc.)
If a player gets hurt and an alternate is used, the squad must present the seeding committee with their new ranking, if it is altered. This can only be done before bracket play has started. You can find more info on this in the Alternates section on this page.
On our website, you can find the Men’s Squad Rosters and Women’s Squad Rosters.
All squad matches are played concurrently
Squads must win a majority of the matchups to move to win
Any missing teams count as forfeits so long as the other squad has teams that could have matched up against them.
All teams are guaranteed to play two games, but once a squad clinches a win (3 won games), ongoing games will end immediately.
In the case of a squad of 5 vs a squad of 3 or 4, then the squad of 5 can matchup any of their teams so long as relative rank order remains intact. (ie A plays A, C plays B, D plays C)
In the case of a squad of 4 vs a squad of 4 where matches are split the tiebreaking criteria will be:
Total games won in the matchup (high to low)
Point differential (high to low)
Sudden Death - Each squad picks one team to represent them. Flip a coin to see who serves first. The first team to win a point on their service wins.
In the case of a squad of 3 vs a squad of 3, the winner will be determined by the majority of match wins (ie 2).
In the case of a squad of 4 vs a squad of 3, the squad of 4 would receive one forfeit victory. The squad of 4 needs two more match wins. The squad of 3 needs to win all three matches. If the squad of 3 wins two matches, then squads are tied (2-2) and the tie break criteria will be:
Total games won in the matchup (high to low)
Point differential (high to low)
For non-played matches, games won = 2 for the winning team and 0 for the forfeited team. Point differential will not be taken into account.
Sudden Death - Each squad picks one team to represent them. Flip a coin to see who serves first. The first team to win a point on their service wins.
In the case of a squad of 3 vs a squad of 5, the squad of 5 would receive two forfeit victories. The squad of 5 needs one more match win. The squad of 3 needs to win all three matches.
Women's Squad
Men's Squad
Equipment
Spikeball has been selected as the presenting sponsor and the official equipment provider! Spikeball has been pioneering the sport of roundnet for the past fifteen years and has been committed to building a global community - one they're excited to see competing at Worlds. We are thrilled to have their continued support of our organization and the sport as a whole. With this partnership, Worlds will be played on Spikeball Pro Sets and Spikeball Pro Balls. Balls will be provided by the tournament organization. This tournament is subject to the IRF’s Ball Selection Policy.
Building off of learnings from 2022, we will be collaborating with Spikeball and British Roundnet to establish processes for thorough quality assurance of all the equipment used at Worlds.
National Team Events
Individual Championship
Number of teams per country: 2 for each division* (Men, Women, Mixed)
The first portion of the event is an individual championship for the Men, Women, and Mixed divisions. It will have a group stage and bracket stage. In the group stage, teams are seeded into pools. They will play each team in their pool once and the results then seed a single-elimination bracket. In the individual tournament, it is possible (and likely) for teams representing the same country to play against each other.
All individual competitions will be played simultaneously, so there can be no overlap in players for a country's men's, women's or mixed teams. Individual teams do not need to be the same composition as squad teams (pairings or players).
Pools will be created with the goal of evenly distributing skill and avoiding countries playing each other as much as possible. In order to construct the initial pools, the IRF will be putting together a World Ranking Committee made up of representatives from different countries with insight into teams’ performance. In lieu of robust international rankings, this committee aims to ensure that fair processes are in place for all competitors.
*can be more if a country has a Strength Bid, see below
Squad Championship
Number of teams per country: 5 for each squad (Men, Women)
The Squad Championship has the best teams from each country compete together and face off against other nations. There is a separate squad competition for the Men’s and Women’s divisions. Each will have a group stage and bracket stage. In the group stage, squads are seeded into pools and corresponding ranked teams play each other (ie A plays A, B plays B, and so on). They will play each country in their pool once and the results then seed a single-elimination bracket. A squad has to have at least 3 teams to be eligible to compete.
How bracket play works:
Countries face off against each other. Before the event, NGBs rank the strength of their teams upon finalizing the roster. Teams of the same rank match up against each other. For example, if France and Belgium were playing each other, the A team from France would play the A team from Belgium, the B team from France would play the B team from Belgium, and so on.
In order to move on to the next round, a country must win the majority of its matchups. (i.e. 3 matchups)
Strength Bids
In order to help get more accurate results, enable better competition, and ensure that the top countries get more proportional representation, the men's and women's individual competition will include strength bids.
How Strength Bids Work
The World Ranking Committee will rank countries for both the men's and women's divisions based on past high-level international results.
There are two sets of country rankings, one for the men's division and one for the women's division.
Countries ranked 1 - 4 by the committee receive two extra bids to the individual competition of that division.
For example, a country whose women's teams were ranked 1 - 4 would get 4 bids to the women's individual competition instead of 2.
Countries ranked 5 - 8 by the committee receive one extra bid to the individual competition of that division.
For example, a country whose women's teams were ranked 5 - 8 would get 3 bids to the women's individual competition instead of 2.
All countries ranked 9+ have 2 bids for the individual men's and women's competition.
Every country has 2 bids to the mixed division (i.e. strength bids are not awarded for mixed).
The goal is for the allocation of strength bids to be announced before the end of the year. We believe this system rewards performance in between World Championships and helps the Worlds podium be more representative of the best individual men's and women's teams in the world.
Based on historical data (such as Worlds 22 and other international tournament results), an NGB survey, NGB feedback and discussions with Continental Bodies such as EURA, the IRF has compiled the following strength bids:
1 - 4: US, Canada, Germany, France
5 - 8: Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, Italy
FAQs
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Not necessarily. We’ve put together a world rankings committee to determine the seeding structures. Worlds ’24 individual results are one factor they could chose to consider (or not), but that has yet to be determined. Other possible factors could be Worlds '22 results, continental championships results,…
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No, there will be 1 day of squad groups and 1 day of squad brackets, so this will guarantee a minimum of 2 days of playing. This is in line with Worlds '22 where there was 1 day of individuals and 1 day of squad brackets, totaling in a minimum of 2 days of playing.
In fact, there is more guaranteed play for countries. In 2022, 1 team per country played on Thursday. In 2024, 6 teams per country can play on Thursday. Then, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday are dedicated to squad play. With the introduction of group stage for squads, teams will get the same amount of matches just competing more as a squad than as individual teams.
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No, individual teams do not need to be the same composition as squad teams. This means it can be different team combinations or different players altogether. Within a single tournament (Individual or Squad) teams and players have to stay the same.