iMatch Operator Quickstart

Run your first tournament end-to-end — the fast path. v1.0

This is the one-page version of running a tournament with iMatch: the happy path from an empty tournament to published results. Each step shows what you do in the iMatch Manager and the equivalent imgr command line. For the full reference — every format, edge case, and recovery move — see the iMatch Tournament Operator Manual. New to running events, or deciding which format to use? The Tournament Organizer's Quick Start Guide is a visual, format-by-format companion with worked examples and diagrams.

Before you start

• A client. The iMatch Manager (macOS & iPad) is the primary operator app. The imgr command line drives the same engine and is ideal for scripting and bulk work.
• An organization. Sign in and pick the org that will own the tournament. (Orgs and venues — including the tables the scheduler places matches onto — are set up once on the org; the CLI has no venue subcommand, so create venues in the Manager.)
• A sport. iMatch supports nine racket sports out of the box — table tennis, badminton, pickleball, tennis, squash, padel, racquetball, beach tennis, and soft tennis — each with its own scoring defaults.

The lifecycle, in order

A tournament moves through a fixed sequence. At every step the software is keeping you from an irreversible mistake under pressure — so the order matters.

1. Create the tournament.

   Name it, pick the sport and venue, set the dates. Manager: Command Center → New Tournament.

   Using imgr

   imgr tournament create --name "Spring Open 2026" --venue "Main Hall" \
     --start-date 2026-04-15 --end-date 2026-04-17 --sport tt

   The tournament is just the container — the things players enter are its events.

2. Add events & choose a format.

   Add each event (Men's Singles, Women's Doubles, U18…) and pin an event format — single-elim, round-robin, groups→knockout, Swiss, and more. The format is fixed by id + version, so the draw shape can't drift later.

   Using imgr

   imgr event create $TOURNAMENT_ID --name "Men's Singles Open" \
     --type singles --age-group "U18 Boys" \
     --format single_elim_standard --max-entries 32

   Format choices live in Ch. 12 (Event formats); team rubber sequences in Ch. 13.

3. Open registration & take entries.

   Publish the tournament (draft → published) so registration can open, then register players one at a time. Accountless players are fine — they're added as shadow persons by phone or email and auto-claim later. (CSV roster bulk-import is coming soon.)

   Using imgr

   imgr tournament publish $TOURNAMENT_ID            # draft → published (required before registration)
   imgr tournament start-registration $TOURNAMENT_ID
   imgr entry register $EVENT_ID --player "Maria Lopez"

4. Run the check-in desk.

   On the day, open check-in and mark who's actually present. No-shows are withdrawn so they don't end up in the draw.

   Using imgr

   imgr tournament close-registration $TOURNAMENT_ID
   imgr tournament start-checkin $TOURNAMENT_ID
   imgr entry check-in $ENTRY_ID
   imgr entry withdraw $ENTRY_ID --reason "no-show"

   Only checked-in entrants are seeded — see Ch. 7.

5. Seed & generate the draw.

   Seed the field (rating is the seeding truth — highest rating becomes seed 1), then generate and publish the draw. Byes are assigned automatically to top seeds.

   Using imgr

   imgr seed generate $EVENT_ID --method rating
   imgr event generate-draw $EVENT_ID
   imgr event publish-draw $TOURNAMENT_ID $EVENT_ID

   Seeding then placement is two operations, not one — Ch. 8.

6. Schedule the tables.

   Define your session block(s), then auto-schedule. The PRIORITY algorithm places matches across your tables within the session window under six hard constraints (a player is never in two matches at once; a table hosts one match at a time; minimum rest; team rubbers back-to-back; …). It runs one block per call.

   Using imgr

   imgr schedule block create --tournament $TOURNAMENT_ID --event $EVENT_ID \
     --session $SESSION_ID --start-time 2026-04-15T09:00:00Z --end-time 2026-04-15T17:00:00Z \
     --tables $TABLE_ID1,$TABLE_ID2          # the --session must reference a session that already exists
   imgr schedule generate --tournament $TOURNAMENT_ID --block $BLOCK_ID \
     --algorithm PRIORITY --match-duration 25 --buffer 5 --min-rest 20

   If the schedule can't fit, the run reports success=false and leaves your grid untouched — widen the block, add a table, or shorten the match format, then run again. Nothing is committed on a failed fit.

7. Run the matches live.

   Start play and record results as they come in. The Live Console shows what's on, pending, and done. Scores are validated against the sport's format (best-of-N, point target).

   Using imgr

   imgr tournament start $TOURNAMENT_ID
   imgr match list $TOURNAMENT_ID --status in_progress
   imgr match result $MATCH_ID --winner entry1 --scores "11-7,11-9,11-6"
   imgr match result $MATCH_ID --winner entry1 --walkover

   Disputes, walkovers, and no-shows are all handled — Ch. 10.

8. Finalize, check standings & publish.

   As results land, standings update (ranked by wins, then the tiebreak ladder: head-to-head → games ratio → points ratio). When the event is decided, complete it — the results are finalized and can be exported to federation formats (OTRF).

   Using imgr

   imgr bracket standings $BRACKET_ID       # look up the bracket id via: imgr match list $EVENT_ID
   imgr tournament complete $TOURNAMENT_ID

If you get stuck

iMatch is designed so that a blank screen or a disabled control usually means “not yet, in this order,” not “broken.” If you ever see a raw error code, that's a defect in the software, not a gap in your knowledge. Start with Ch. 15 (Troubleshooting), and keep the full manual within reach on the day.

Learn the concepts interactively

Every stage above — seeding, the draw archetypes, scheduling, scoring, standings, ratings — has a hands-on lesson in the iMatch Academy. Press play and watch the algorithm build the result.