Multiple competitors or teams are organized into a series of matches that progressively eliminate entrants until a single champion remains. That structure is a tournament. It produces a clear winner from a large field in a limited period.

Formats include single elimination, double elimination, group stages followed by knockouts, and round-robin designs. Seeding aims to prevent the strongest entrants from meeting until later rounds. Scheduling, venue, and recovery time between matches affect fairness and performance quality.

Tournaments create narrative tension through the sudden-death nature of elimination rounds. Upsets are always possible, which is part of their appeal. Winning a major tournament often defines a season or a career more than regular-season consistency alone.

The final match of a tournament carries the weight of every preceding result.