Many tournaments consist of multiple phases, such as a group stage followed by a knockout stage. In Tournify, each phase is managed separately, allowing you to control exactly when teams advance to the next stage of the competition. Understanding how phases work and when to start them is essential for ensuring a smooth tournament experience.
How phases work in Tournify
A phase is a collection of groups, brackets or matches that belong to a specific stage of your tournament. Common examples include:
Group stage
Play-off stage
Knockout stage
When creating your tournament, these stages are typically configured as separate phases. This ensures that rankings, results and team progression can be managed correctly throughout the event. Unlike some tournament systems, Tournify does not automatically advance teams or players to the next phase. This gives organizers full control over when a new phase begins.
Starting the next phase
Once all matches in the current phase have been completed and the rankings have been finalized, you can start the next phase. To do so:
Go to Results
Click the Start button from the Progress section at the top of the page
Confirm that you want to start the next phase
After the phase has been started, Tournify automatically places teams into the next stage based on the qualification and ranking rules that were configured during the tournament setup.
For example, a quarter-final match may be configured as:
1st place Group A vs 4th place Group B
2nd place Group A vs 3rd place Group B
When the knockout phase is started, these positions are automatically filled using the final group rankings.
If your event is organized into multiple Divisions, you'll notice each Division has its own progress tracker.
Important: what to check before starting a new phase
Before starting the next phase, make sure that:
All matches in the previous phase have been completed
All scores have been entered correctly
The standings accurately reflect the final rankings
Any tie-break situations have been resolved
Once a new phase has been started, it can always be reversed. If rankings or results need to be adjusted afterwards, simply click Undo where you previously clicked on Start. The only effect is that any teams that advanced to the next phase will be removed from that phase again. No results will be removed by clicking on Undo.
Common issues
The Start button is not visible
The Start button is not visible
A new phase can only be started if your tournament has multiple phases configured on the Format page. Each stage of the tournament should be placed in a separate phase. For example, when a knockout bracket follows a group phase, create a new knockout phase to the right of the groups rather than adding the bracket below them.
If you see an Undo button instead, it means you've (accidentally) clicked Start already. You can safely click Undo first, so the Start button appears again.
Teams are not appearing in the new phase or bracket
Teams are not appearing in the new phase or bracket
Verify that the knockout matches have been linked correctly to the ranking positions from the previous phase.
Check whether the Start button was clicked before all matches in the previous phase had been completed. If so, teams may not have advanced correctly and you may be unable to enter scores in the next phase. In this case, click Undo and then Start again once all matches and rankings have been finalized.
The wrong teams qualified
The wrong teams qualified
The qualified teams are determined based on your settings on the Format page and the standings at that exact moment in time you press the Start button. If the wrong teams qualified, you most likely clicked on Start too early, before all matches from the previous phase have been played. In this case, click Undo and then Start again once all matches and rankings have been finalized. No results will be removed by clicking on Undo.
Best practice
Before starting a new phase, take a few minutes to review all results and standings with your committee. This simple check helps prevent qualification errors and ensures that the next stage of the tournament starts smoothly. You’ll be able to manually adjust the automatically assigned positions if needed before confirming and presenting the next phase.
By structuring your tournament in separate phases and starting each phase at the right moment, you maintain full control over the competition while ensuring participants always progress according to the correct rankings.