As an organizer, you’re always up against the clock. Limited court time. Dozens of players. And the pressure to keep things moving.
That’s why we built the Court Optimizer into every tournament format on Pickleheads. It works behind the scenes to make sure no court ever sits empty longer than it has to—automatically assigning the next available matchup the moment two teams are ready.
No waiting for full rounds. No manual shuffling. Just efficient, continuous play.
Still, even with a smart system, you might see an empty court now and then. It’s rare—but happens from time to time during Pool Play. Let’s break down why that happens.
Q: What exactly is Pool Play and how does it work?
Pool Play is a smart, fixed-partner format where teams are split into balanced pools and play one game against every team in their group. When pool play wraps, you can launch another one or move right into a championship bracket—either single elimination or with a consolation round for 3rd place.
It’s fast, fair, and designed to run itself. You can balance pools with one click, matchups are fed to open courts automatically, and the bracket builds instantly when it’s time to crown a champ.
Q: I've heard players complain about waiting even when courts are empty. What's going on?
This is actually a great question that comes up frequently! Here's a real example with six teams in a pool on three courts:
Initial Round:
Court 1: Team 1 vs Team 2
Court 2: Team 3 vs Team 4
Court 3: Team 5 vs Team 6
Teams 1 & 2 finish first:
Court 1: [EMPTY] ← Teams 1 & 2 waiting
Court 2: Team 3 vs Team 4 (still playing)
Court 3: Team 5 vs Team 6 (still playing)
Why the wait? Their next opponents are still busy!
Teams 3 & 4 finish next:
Court 1: Team 1 vs Team 3 ← Immediate assignment!
Court 2: Team 2 vs Team 4 ← Immediate assignment!
Court 3: Team 5 vs Team 6 (still playing)
Teams 5 & 6 finish last:
Court 1: Team 1 vs Team 3 (playing)
Court 2: Team 2 vs Team 4 (playing)
Court 3: [EMPTY] ← Teams 5 & 6 now waiting
Now Teams 5 & 6 wait 10-15 minutes because their remaining opponents (Teams 1, 2, 3, 4) are all busy in new matches.
It might seem counterintuitive seeing empty courts with waiting teams, but this is actually the system working perfectly – it just means all potential opponents are currently engaged.
Q: Does this waiting scenario happen often?
This scenario is most common when you have ample court space (e.g., 1 court for every 4 players). With more players per court, there are typically plenty of potential opponents available and ready to play at any given time.
The six-team example represents a scenario where you have lots of courts relative to players, which can occasionally create these brief waiting periods.
Q: Is Pool Play actually more efficient despite these occasional waits?
Absolutely! Despite these occasional brief waits, your overall tournament time drops significantly compared to traditional round-by-round formats. Instead of waiting for an entire round to finish before starting the next one, you're maximizing court utilization and keeping most teams engaged.
💡Pro tip: set expectations upfront by explaining to players that short waits can happen even with open courts – it's not a glitch, it's smart scheduling that gets everyone home faster!
