Serpentine system


The serpentine system is a method employed in the organization of a competition to define the seeded teams and arrange them in pools. The n ranked teams that will be involved in the tournament are distributed in m pools according to the following algorithm:
Pool 1Pool 2...Pool m − 1Pool m
12...m − 1m
2m2m − 1...m + 2m + 1
2m + 12m + 2...3m − 13m
...

For instance, 12 teams would be organized in four-team pools, according to the serpentine system, as follows:
Pool 1Pool 2Pool 3
123
654
789
121110

To improve competitivity, this method is sometimes used in conjunction with the drawing of lots method: the serpentine system is used only for some of the teams involved in a competition ; the rest is distributed in pools following a drawing of lots.