Which software should you use to run a billiards tournament?
CompetHub is an online software to organize a billiards tournament. It manages registrations by age category and by discipline, generates the pools and the single-elimination bracket, automatically advances the winner of each match, keeps the ranking and the schedule by table, then publishes everything on a branded public page.
The concrete problem facing the billiards organizer
Setting up a billiards tournament on a spreadsheet means keeping many brackets in parallel. Billiards is played by gender, by age (from juniors to seniors) and by discipline (French billiards, pool, snooker, blackball), player against player on a limited number of tables. Each category and each discipline runs its own competition, with its matches to schedule table by table.
On event day, the headache steps up a notch. The common format is the pool followed by a single-elimination bracket. Drawing these brackets by hand, carrying over each winner, recomposing the pools, all while juggling table availability, multiplies errors and idle time.
Then there is the tracking. You need to know who is playing, on which table and at what time, keep each pool ranking up to date and inform a public that does not see the match sheets. A spreadsheet does not keep up with that pace. A dedicated software centralizes registrations, brackets, results and schedule, and makes every line reliable.
Why not run a billiards tournament in Excel?
Excel forces you to re-enter each registration, to draw each bracket by hand and to carry over each winner from one match to the next. A transcription error skews an entire bracket and the ranking. A dedicated software generates pools and brackets, advances the winner automatically and publishes the schedule by table, with no re-entry.
How CompetHub manages a billiards tournament
CompetHub connects each building block of the software to the reality of a billiards tournament. Here is how.
Registrations by category and club lists
Each player registers online in their category. The staff sees the list, filters by category and by status, searches by name, approves or rejects each request and checks in those present on event day. An automatic email goes out at registration, at approval and at rejection. You can also enter a club's list in bulk: player records with no account, created all at once.
Categories by age, gender and discipline
You create your categories by combining gender, age (young minimes, cadets, juniors, then seniors) and level. The free-text level field lets you specify the discipline and the open category (for example 3-cushion, 8-ball, snooker, or a tournament open to all levels). The player chooses the category that applies to them at registration, and you keep control over the approval. The official ranking, for its part, is still kept by the FFB.
Pools and elimination brackets
CompetHub automatically generates the format suited to each category. Billiards is most often played in pools (sometimes split in a snake-seeding pattern based on averages) then in a single-elimination bracket, where everyone meets in the pool before the top. The winner of each match advances on its own. No more brackets redrawn by hand between two rounds.
Score entry and automatic winner advancement
At the table, the referee or the scorer keeps the count of balls, points or caroms. In CompetHub, you record the winner of each match and their score, whose form depends on the discipline: a race in racks in pool (for example a race to 7), a number of frames in snooker (for example 5 frames to 3), a number of points or caroms to reach in carom. The winner then advances on its own to the next round, or updates the pool ranking. An entry error stays editable. You no longer carry over any result from one sheet to another.
Pool ranking and schedule by table
For categories played in a pool, CompetHub keeps the table of matches played, wins and losses, ranks the players by points and breaks ties by difference. On the scheduling side, you assign each match a table (free-text label) and a time slot, and CompetHub displays the schedule and flags conflicts (same table in the same slot). You orchestrate your tables without a side spreadsheet.
Public results page
You publish a public page in the tournament's colors (logo, colors), with the presentation, the participants, the brackets and the pool rankings. It updates automatically during the competition, without the spectator reloading the page, and stays accessible without an account. The list of registrants, the pool rankings and the schedule export to CSV for your archives.
How do you create a billiards tournament with CompetHub?
Create your account, add the tournament, create your categories by gender, age and discipline, then open registrations. On event day, generate the pools then the elimination bracket, enter the winner and the score of each match (the winner advances on its own) and publish the results, ready to follow on the public results page.
What format to manage for a billiards tournament
Billiards is played by direct confrontations, player against player, but also by teams or by clubs. The most common format is the pool (sometimes split in a snake-seeding pattern based on player averages) followed by a single-elimination bracket. At official tournaments, the referee places the seeds. CompetHub generates the pool, the elimination bracket (with an optional match for 3rd place) and the double-elimination, and advances the winner automatically with each match entered.
What format for a billiards tournament?
The most common format is the pool (sometimes split in a snake-seeding pattern based on averages) followed by a single-elimination bracket, by category and by discipline. CompetHub generates pools and brackets, advances the winner on its own and keeps each pool ranking up to date.
Why CompetHub rather than Excel or a spreadsheet
| Step | Excel or paper | CompetHub |
|---|---|---|
| Registrations | Manual re-entry, duplicates | Online form, approval, automatic emails |
| Categories and discipline | Sorting by hand by category and discipline | Gender / age / level categories, guided registration |
| Pools and brackets | Brackets drawn by hand | Pools and elimination generated in one click |
| Match results | Carry-over from one sheet to another | Winner and score entered, automatic advancement |
| Table schedule | Separate grid, conflicts unseen | Table and time slot per match, conflicts flagged |
| Informing the public | Paper display, quickly outdated | Brackets and ranking on a public page, no account |
Does CompetHub replace Excel for a billiards tournament?
Yes. Where Excel forces re-entry and brackets drawn by hand, CompetHub generates pools and brackets, advances the winner automatically, keeps the pool rankings and publishes the schedule by table. You keep the history and export registrants, pool ranking and schedule to CSV.
CompetHub versus other software
CompetHub aims for simplicity. You create a billiards tournament in a few minutes, with no installation or heavy configuration. Where some platforms require a long learning curve, CompetHub offers the essential building blocks directly: categories by gender, age and discipline, pools, elimination brackets, score entry, pool ranking, schedule by table and a public results page. It is a tool to get started fast, whether you set up an internal club tournament, an exhibition or an open amateur event. Sanctioning, the federal system and the official ranking are still handled by the FFB and the referee.
What is the difference between CompetHub and other competition software?
CompetHub aims for simplicity: you create a billiards tournament in a few minutes, for free and with no credit card. Categories and discipline, pools, elimination brackets, score entry, pool ranking, schedule and a public page are included, with no complex configuration or installation.
Free to start
CompetHub is free to start, with no credit card. You create your first billiards tournament, open registrations, define your categories, generate pools and brackets, enter the scores and publish the ranking without paying anything. You test the full cycle, from registration to the final, before any commitment.
Is CompetHub free to organize a billiards tournament?
Yes, CompetHub is free to start, with no credit card. You manage the registrations, the categories, the pools, the brackets, the scores and the ranking, and publish the public results page without paying. You test the full cycle before any commitment.
Frequently asked questions
How do you create a billiards tournament online?
Create a CompetHub account, add your tournament, create your categories by gender, age and discipline, then open registrations. On event day, generate the pools then the elimination bracket, enter the winner and the score of each match (the winner advances automatically) and publish the results on the public results page.
Is the software free?
Yes, CompetHub is free to start, with no credit card. You manage registrations, categories, pools, brackets, scores and ranking, and publish the public results page for free, before deciding to go further.
How do you manage categories and disciplines in billiards?
Billiards is played player against player, across several disciplines: French billiards (carom), pool, snooker, blackball. You create your categories by combining gender, age (from juniors to seniors) and level. The free-text level field lets you specify the discipline and the open category. The official ranking is still kept by the FFB: CompetHub handles the organization of the tournament, not the calculation of the official ranking.
How do brackets work in CompetHub?
Billiards is most often played in pools then in a single-elimination bracket. CompetHub generates the pool (round-robin) and the elimination bracket, with an optional match for 3rd place. When you enter a result, the winner advances on its own to the next round.
How are match scores entered?
You record the winner of each match and their score. Its form depends on the discipline: in pool, a race in racks (race to X); in snooker, a number of frames (best of X); in carom, a number of points or caroms to reach. The result stays editable and the winner advances automatically. The count of balls, points or caroms is still kept by the referee or the scorer at the table.
Can the public follow the results?
Yes. CompetHub publishes a branded public page, accessible without an account, that presents the tournament, the participants, the brackets and the pool rankings. It updates automatically during the competition, without the spectator reloading the page.
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