Running Pool Play with MPP
MPP is built around one session at a time, but nothing stops you from running several sessions simultaneously — one per pool. Each pool gets its own schedule, its own live share/collaborative link, and its own standings. You coordinate the results; MPP handles the data.
The core idea
A pool in MPP is just a regular session with a subset of players. Create one session per pool, start them at the same time, and let them run independently. Each pool's players see only their own matches and standings. At the end of pool play, you look at the standings from each session and pick who advances.
The trophy round — the championship bracket between pool winners — is created and run as a new session. You would seed it according to your pool play results.
Scenario 1 Example
12 players · 3 courts · 3 pools (Assumes Doubles)
Doubles Scramble
Games to 11, win by 2
Doubles Scramble
Games to 11, win by 2
Doubles Scramble
Games to 11, win by 2
With 4 players and 1 court, MPP generates 3 rounds where every pair of players partners and opposes each other exactly once. Pool play is clean and fast — typically 45–60 minutes.
Organizer flow
Open MPP and create a Doubles Scramble session for each pool. Name them clearly — "Pool A", "Pool B", "Pool C" — or use team names. Add 4 players to each.
Tap the share button on each session's schedule screen and enable collaborative live sharing. Send or post each pool's link separately — players in Pool A only need Pool A's link. You don't have to enable collaborative sharing but it's a nice option. Sometimes it's easier to have one dedicated scorekeeper or one per court.
Anyone with the collaborative link can tap a match and enter the score right from their phone. Standings update live.
When all scores are in, the Standings tab in each session shows the ranked order. Pick the top 1 or 2 from each pool — 3 pools × top 2 = 6 players in the trophy round.
Create a new MPP session with your finalists, or handle the bracket however you like.
Scenario 2 Example
10 players · 2 courts · 2 pools of 5 (Assumes Doubles)
Doubles Scramble
1 sits out each round
Doubles Scramble
1 sits out each round
5 players on 1 court is an odd configuration — one player sits per round. MPP handles this with its Flexible mode: set it up as a custom session and we'll rotate the bye fairly. Expect a few extra rounds compared to even numbers.
Advancement options
With 10 players in 2 pools, you have total flexibility on how many advance:
- Top 2 from each pool → 4-player round-robin trophy round (create a new MPP session).
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Trophy and Consolation Rounds →
- Top 2 from each pool → 4-player round-robin trophy round (create a new MPP session).
- Next top 2 from each pool → 4-player round-robin consolation round (create a new MPP session).
- Top 3 from each pool → 6-player round-robin trophy round (create a new MPP session).
Point differential breaks ties in MPP standings automatically, so you always get a clean ranked list — just count down from the top and announce who advances.
The trophy round
Pool play brackets are easy to print — during session configuration use the 'Print blank bracket' link to get a clean one-page layout with all matchups. Use these as a paper trail backup to verify scores entered in the app.
The trophy round bracket is a different story. Since you don't know who advances until pool play finishes, you can't pre-print it. A few ways organizers handle this:
- Pre-print a generic bracket — fill in short placeholder names (P1, P2, etc.) and add player names as they advance from pool play.
- New MPP session, no paper — create a fresh session with your finalists, share a live link, and let the app run the trophy round exactly like pool play.
- Pre-print and MPP — run the trophy round on paper and enter scores into MPP.
The possibilities are endless
Because each MPP session is fully independent, you can mix and match formats and pools in a limitless number of ways.
The app doesn't impose a structure on your event. You decide who plays who, how many advance, and what the trophy round looks like. MPP keeps score so you don't have to.