Tournament matchups for a multiplayer environment

Abstract

Multiplayer tournaments may be established, and then automatically executed by tournament server devices to help provide users with quality matchups against players of similar skill. Tournaments may be defined by an administrator, and then automatically instantiated any number of times to accommodate demand by players. Some tournaments may dynamically adjust tournament parameters to accommodate a variable number of qualifiers entering the tournament. Tournaments may perform ranking, before and/or during the tournament, based on a calculation of a ratio of player points to a total number of points the player could have received. User interface displays may also be provided to allow players to view details of tournaments for which they have qualified, details on their tournament competitors, or search for tournaments satisfying the user's desired criteria.

1 . A tournament method, comprising the steps of: 
 storing, in one or more computer-readable storage devices, a set of qualification requirements for a multi-round tournament, wherein rounds of said tournament comprise one or more matches involving a plurality of competing players, wherein a subset of players is to be eliminated by each match, and a subset of players advances from each match to compete in a later round of said tournament;    electronically receiving a plurality of player qualification scores;    ranking a plurality of players according to said plurality of qualification scores and said qualification requirements;    determining a variable tournament parameter for said tournament based on said ranked plurality of qualification scores, wherein said variable tournament parameter varies between instances of said tournament, and is one of the following parameters: 
 i) a number of players in a final round of said tournament;  
 ii) a number of players advancing from a non-final round of said tournament to a subsequent round in said tournament;  
 iii) a number of players in each match of said tournament; and  
 iv) a number of rounds in said tournament; and  
   conducting a first instance of said tournament on one or more computing devices using said determined variable tournament parameter after said variable tournament parameter is determined.    
   
   
       2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said variable tournament parameter is said number of players in a final round of said tournament.  
   
   
       3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said variable tournament parameter is said number of players advancing from a non-final match of said tournament.  
   
   
       4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said variable tournament parameter is said number of rounds in said tournament.  
   
   
       5 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising a step of conducting a second instance of said tournament, wherein a first portion of said ranked players is assigned to said first tournament instance, and a second portion of said ranked players is assigned to said second tournament instance.  
   
   
       6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein said second tournament instance is conducted while said first instance is conducted.  
   
   
       7 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein said first portion of said ranked players is ranked higher than said second portion of said ranked players.  
   
   
       8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said step of determining includes a step of applying a tournament fill ratio to said ranked plurality of qualification scores, said tournament fill ratio identifying a proportion of said ranked players who will participate in said tournament.  
   
   
       9 . A tournament method, comprising the steps of: 
 receiving a plurality of scores from a plurality of players for performance during a plurality of matches of a tournament; and    ranking said players according to a ratio between each player's cumulative match score and said player's accumulated cumulative match score, wherein said cumulative match score is a total of points earned by said player during said player's matches, and said available cumulative match score is a total of the maximum possible points said player could have earned in said player's matches.    
   
   
       10 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising the following steps: 
 adding a new player to said tournament after a first round of said tournament has completed;    including said new player's scores in said steps of receiving and ranking, wherein said step of ranking further includes a step of applying a new player factor to said new player's score, said new player factor being based on a number of tournament matches said player has played.    
   
   
       11 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein said step of ranking is performed after each of a plurality of rounds in said tournament, and further comprising the step of grouping said players for matches in a second round of said tournament based on a ranking of said players after a first round of said tournament.  
   
   
       12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein said step of ranking omits players who have quit the tournament before the tournament's conclusion.  
   
   
       13 . An online multiplayer tournament method for an interactive video game, comprising the steps of: 
 conducting a session of an interactive video game on a computing device for a user;    transmitting results of said session to an online multiplayer multi-round tournament server over a communication network;    receiving a request by said user to display a listing of online multiplayer multi-round tournaments, for said interactive video game, for which said user has qualified; and    responsive to said request, displaying a list of online multiplayer multi-round tournaments, for said interactive video game, for which said user has qualified; said list being displayed on a display device associated with said computing device.    
   
   
       14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein said displayed list identifies said user's qualification rank for one or more tournaments.  
   
   
       15 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein said displayed list identifies a current status of one or more tournaments.  
   
   
       16 . The method of  claim 13 , further comprising steps of: 
 receiving one or more search criteria;    conducting a search for tournaments satisfying said one or more search criteria; and    displaying a list of tournaments satisfying said one or more search criteria.    
   
   
       17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein said step of conducting is performed responsive to a user selection from said displayed list of tournaments satisfying said one or more search criteria.  
   
   
       18 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein said displayed list further displays schedule information for one or more tournaments in said list.  
   
   
       19 . The method of  claim 13 , further comprising a step of displaying an option for said user to create an online multiplayer multi-round tournament.  
   
   
       20 . The method of  claim 13 , further comprising a step of displaying statistical information for tournament entrants for one of said tournaments from said displayed list.