How is the round-robin order without back-to-back games decided?

First it creates every matchup so everyone plays everyone once, then fills match slots (one per court) one at a time. Matchups involving people who played in the previous slot are postponed, and those of people who have waited longest go first. It tries this many ways and shows the order with the fewest slots and fewest back-to-back games. With 5 or 6 people playing one match at a time, it finds an order with no back-to-back games.

How many matches does a round robin have?

With n participants, a round robin has n × (n − 1) ÷ 2 matches: 6 for 4 people, 10 for 5, 15 for 6, 28 for 8, and 45 for 10. Each person plays n − 1 matches, and a double round robin (home and away) doubles both.

What happens with an odd number, like 5 teams?

With an odd number, one team rests (has no match) each round. With 5 teams there are 10 matches in total; each team plays 4 and rests once somewhere. The resting team is shown at the top right of the match order.

Can everyone partner with everyone once in doubles?

It depends on the number of people and rounds. With 8 people on 2 courts, each round makes 4 pairs, and in 7 rounds everyone can partner with everyone exactly once. This tool reshuffles each round so the same partners and opponents repeat as little as possible, and if any pair has played together twice or more, the count appears under “Same pair”.

Can mahjong table draws avoid meeting the same people?

With 16 people at 4 tables, in theory there’s a way for no one to share a table twice through 5 rounds. This tool tries many combinations and picks tables of people who have shared tables the fewest times so far. With few people (say 8 people for 3 or more rounds), sharing a table with the same person is unavoidable, so it spreads the overlaps as evenly as possible.

Where do seeds and byes go in a tournament bracket?

The number of slots is the smallest power of 2 at least as large as the number of participants (8 for 6 people, 16 for 12), and the shortfall becomes byes. Seeds are placed in standard positions so 1 and 2 don’t meet until the final and 1–4 not until the semifinals, and byes go to seed 1 first. The number of matches is participants − 1 (+1 if there’s a third-place match).

Can I use the finished schedule in Excel or a spreadsheet?

Pressing “Copy table” copies it as tab-separated text. Paste it into cells in Excel or Google Sheets and it becomes a table as is. You can also paste it into a messaging app or email to send to participants.

Match Schedule Maker | Round Robin, Doubles Pairings, Mahjong Table Draws & Tournament Brackets

A tool to make match schedules for tournaments and practice sessions just by pasting participants’ names. For round robin (league), it builds a match order that keeps the same person from playing back to back as much as possible for the number of courts or tables, and when you enter scores it instantly makes a results grid and standings by points and goal difference. For badminton, tennis, and table tennis doubles, it rotates sit-outs evenly while reshuffling each round so the same partners and opponents don’t repeat. For mahjong and board game table draws, it evens out who sits with whom and keeps seats like East from going to the same people. For tournament brackets, it puts seeds and byes in standard positions, and you can tap names to advance winners. Supports printing, saving as PDF, and copying for pasting into Excel.

Table to make

Participants (one per line; team names OK)

6 players (2–40)

Without names

Settings

Courts / tables in use at once1

Double round robin (home & away)

Pts

Matches

15 matches

6×5÷2

Per player

5 matches

Match slots

15 slots

Minimum 15 slots

Back-to-back

None

Match order (scores update the results grid and standings)

Match 1Resting: Alex, Sam, Jordan, Taylor
Morgan-Chris
Match 2Resting: Sam, Jordan, Chris, Morgan
Alex-Taylor
Match 3Resting: Alex, Taylor, Chris, Morgan
Jordan-Sam
Match 4Resting: Sam, Jordan, Taylor, Chris
Alex-Morgan
Match 5Resting: Alex, Sam, Jordan, Morgan
Taylor-Chris
Match 6Resting: Alex, Jordan, Taylor, Chris
Morgan-Sam
Match 7Resting: Sam, Taylor, Chris, Morgan
Jordan-Alex
Match 8Resting: Alex, Jordan, Taylor, Morgan
Chris-Sam
Match 9Resting: Alex, Sam, Jordan, Chris
Morgan-Taylor
Match 10Resting: Alex, Sam, Taylor, Morgan
Jordan-Chris
Match 11Resting: Jordan, Taylor, Chris, Morgan
Alex-Sam
Match 12Resting: Alex, Sam, Chris, Morgan
Jordan-Taylor
Match 13Resting: Sam, Jordan, Taylor, Morgan
Chris-Alex
Match 14Resting: Alex, Sam, Taylor, Chris
Morgan-Jordan
Match 15Resting: Alex, Jordan, Chris, Morgan
Taylor-Sam

Results grid

	Alex	Sam	Jordan	Taylor	Chris	Morgan
Alex
Sam
Jordan
Taylor
Chris
Morgan

Standings

Rank	Name	P	W	D	L	F	A	D	Pts
1	Alex	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1	Sam	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1	Jordan	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1	Taylor	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1	Chris	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1	Morgan	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Ties on points are ordered by goal difference → goals scored → wins. If you want to decide by head-to-head results or the like, adjust while looking at the table.

Names and results are saved only in this device’s browser and not sent to a server. The same table is shown until you press “Reshuffle pairings”.

ABOUT

About Match Schedule Maker | Round Robin, Doubles Pairings, Mahjong Table Draws & Tournament Brackets

The Match Schedule Maker creates pairings for tournaments and practice sessions just by pasting participants’ names. It supports four types: round robin (league), doubles pairings, mahjong and board game table draws, and tournament brackets. For round robin, it creates all the matchups and then reorders them for the number of courts or tables so that “the same person plays back to back as little as possible”. Even when playing one match at a time with 5 or 6 people, it finds an order with no back-to-back games. Enter scores to instantly get a results grid with ○●△ and standings sorted by points → goal difference → goals scored. For doubles, it rotates who sits out evenly each round while reshuffling so the same partners and opponents repeat as little as possible. With 8 people on 2 courts over 7 rounds, everyone partners with everyone exactly once. For mahjong table draws, it separates people so they don’t sit together repeatedly and keeps seats such as East (the dealer’s starting seat) from going to the same person. For brackets, it places seeds in standard positions so seeds 1 and 2 don’t meet until the final, and gives byes to the top seeds first. Tap names to enter who advances. You can print the finished tables or save them as PDF, or copy them in a form you can paste straight into Excel, Google Sheets, or messaging apps.

How to use Match Schedule Maker | Round Robin, Doubles Pairings, Mahjong Table Draws & Tournament Brackets

1Under “Table to make”, choose round robin (league), doubles pairings, table draw, or tournament bracket
2Enter participants’ names (team names are fine) one per line. If names aren’t decided yet, enter the number of people and press “Make with No. 1–”
3Set options for the table, such as number of courts, number of rounds, and number of seeds
4Check the match order and pairings. If you don’t like them, press “Reshuffle pairings” for a different set
5For round robin, enter each match’s score to update the results grid and standings. For brackets, tap the winner’s name to advance them
6Press “Print” to make paper or a PDF, or “Copy table” to paste into Excel or a messaging app and share with participants

Great for

Make a match order with no back-to-back games on two courts for a club or school team league
Check the match order with one team resting each round, and the total number of matches, for a 5-team round robin
Automatically make standings with 3-1-0 points and goal difference for a soccer or futsal league
Reshuffle partners and opponents each round at badminton or tennis doubles practice, rotating sit-outs evenly
Make pairing sheets for table tennis doubles or soft tennis practice matches
Decide table draws for a mahjong tournament or club so people don’t meet repeatedly, and remove East-seat bias
Make table assignments each round for three-player mahjong or board game nights
Make a bracket with seeds and byes placed correctly for a tournament whose size isn’t a power of 2
Print match schedules for shogi, go, esports, or card game tournaments and post them at the venue

Good to know

A round robin has “players × (players − 1) ÷ 2” matches: 15 for 6 people, 45 for 10, and twice that for a double round robin.
The round-robin order minimizes the number of match slots, then tries many orders and picks the one with the fewest back-to-back games. With 4 or fewer people, or few people relative to courts, back-to-back games may not be avoidable entirely.
Standings break ties on points by goal difference, then goals scored, then number of wins. For tournaments that decide by head-to-head results, adjust while looking at the standings.
For doubles, sit-outs are chosen so play counts differ by at most one. Depending on players, courts, and rounds, the same pair may occur twice; that number is shown under “Same pair”.
When the number of people isn’t divisible by the table size, someone sits out each round. Sit-outs rotate starting with those who have played the most.
Tournament byes go to people at the top of the names list (higher seeds) first. To place non-seeded people “by lot”, you can redraw with “Reshuffle pairings”.
The same pairings are shown until you press “Reshuffle pairings”. Names, scores, and advancement are saved only in this device’s browser and not sent to a server.

Questions this tool answers

Use Match Schedule Maker | Round Robin, Doubles Pairings, Mahjong Table Draws & Tournament Brackets for searches like these:

I want to automatically make a round-robin schedule
I want a round-robin match order without back-to-back games
I want to make a match order for a 5-team round robin
I want to make a league results grid and standings
I want a badminton doubles pairing chart that changes partners every round
I want to make an 8-player rotation for tennis doubles
I want mahjong tournament table draws where people don’t meet repeatedly
I want to know where seeds and byes go in a tournament bracket
I want to calculate the number of round-robin matches

FAQ

How is the round-robin order without back-to-back games decided?: First it creates every matchup so everyone plays everyone once, then fills match slots (one per court) one at a time. Matchups involving people who played in the previous slot are postponed, and those of people who have waited longest go first. It tries this many ways and shows the order with the fewest slots and fewest back-to-back games. With 5 or 6 people playing one match at a time, it finds an order with no back-to-back games.
How many matches does a round robin have?: With n participants, a round robin has n × (n − 1) ÷ 2 matches: 6 for 4 people, 10 for 5, 15 for 6, 28 for 8, and 45 for 10. Each person plays n − 1 matches, and a double round robin (home and away) doubles both.
What happens with an odd number, like 5 teams?: With an odd number, one team rests (has no match) each round. With 5 teams there are 10 matches in total; each team plays 4 and rests once somewhere. The resting team is shown at the top right of the match order.
Can everyone partner with everyone once in doubles?: It depends on the number of people and rounds. With 8 people on 2 courts, each round makes 4 pairs, and in 7 rounds everyone can partner with everyone exactly once. This tool reshuffles each round so the same partners and opponents repeat as little as possible, and if any pair has played together twice or more, the count appears under “Same pair”.
Can mahjong table draws avoid meeting the same people?: With 16 people at 4 tables, in theory there’s a way for no one to share a table twice through 5 rounds. This tool tries many combinations and picks tables of people who have shared tables the fewest times so far. With few people (say 8 people for 3 or more rounds), sharing a table with the same person is unavoidable, so it spreads the overlaps as evenly as possible.
Where do seeds and byes go in a tournament bracket?: The number of slots is the smallest power of 2 at least as large as the number of participants (8 for 6 people, 16 for 12), and the shortfall becomes byes. Seeds are placed in standard positions so 1 and 2 don’t meet until the final and 1–4 not until the semifinals, and byes go to seed 1 first. The number of matches is participants − 1 (+1 if there’s a third-place match).
Can I use the finished schedule in Excel or a spreadsheet?: Pressing “Copy table” copies it as tab-separated text. Paste it into cells in Excel or Google Sheets and it becomes a table as is. You can also paste it into a messaging app or email to send to participants.

Special Thanks

SOLO GUILD | サービス作るAIエンジニア

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