I have a couple of questions regarding tournament structure, and I would really appreciate any help here.

So I have been going to a new shop that opened up near my house and the TO seems to be doing odd things with top 8 and playoffs. Here are two scenarios:

1) At the NPH release party there were 18 players and the TO announced that we would play X amount of rounds (5 I think) and then go to a top 8. We played our rounds and at the end of the rounds I was in 3rd place and then for some reason there was no top 8 or playoff of any sort (1 and 2 got prizes, 3rd got nothing). So I was wondering is the TO allowed to just switch the announced structure of the tournament in the middle of the tournament?

2) This scenario is almost the opposite of the first scenario. Tonight at an FNM there were 10 players, and the TO announced that there would be 4 rounds and did not mention playoffs. My brother was playing as well and he won all his matches so he was, 4-0. Two questions, is a playoff needed and can the TO just decide to have one when there is a clear winner?

I am not saying the TO is doing anything intentionally incorrect. But it seems like one of these scenarios ought to be against the rules. If one these scenarios is against the rules, what can I do?

BONUS QUESTION: At today's FNM during the third round after I reported my results I saw the current standings and I saw that my previous match had been incorrectly reported. (The computer said I had 1 match win when I really had 2) I notified the TO and he said that he couldn't change it. Needless to say this really ****ed me off since I would have likely been in the top 4. So I know I can file an appeal with the DCI not that it makes a huge difference really, is there anything else I should do?

I only go there because its close and the competition level was a little lower than some of the other places around. But I don't think I'll participate in any of his tournaments any more because of the previously mentioned reasons and some of other things he does. Like never ever starting on time because we are always waiting for someone who is late and I end up waiting way to long to play. And I don't like how he lets his buddies take smoke breaks at the ends of matches when everyone else is waiting to play. Anyway I guess I won't be playing there anymore.

2 - Playoffs are not neccesary for running a tournament. You can run it purely on X number of normal swiss rounds (3 rounds for 8, 4 rounds for 9-16, 5 for 17-32, 6 for 33-64, etc). This will provide one clear winner 95% of the time, and is fine for FNM's and the like. My local store runs top 4 (or top 8 with very large turnouts) single elims at the end, but most of the time everybody looks at everybody else and just chooses to do a prize split since it's already 11pm or so.

1) The TO DID say that there would be playoffs in the beginning and then at the end he just announced the winners and that was that. I asked what happened to the playoffs and he kinda just blew me off.

2) My problem with this was that everyone else was 3-1 or worse and my brother was 4-0. Why have playoffs that you didn't announce earlier? If at the beginning he had said there will be playoffs at the end it would be fine, but not saying a word about playoffs until after all the regular matches have been completed. (and then the TO's buddy goes from 3rd or 4th to 1st).

BONUS: The TO asked me orally what the results were for my second round match. I reported "2-1 me". After the 3rd round I went up to him and reported my results 2-0 me and I asked to see the standings. The standings showed me being in something like 6th place with one win. I told him that the results were incorrect, and that I should have two wins. He said there was nothing he could do to change the results.

A store I was at a few years ago had an angry customer say they had seen such a thing, even though it never happened. The store was immediately under investigation the next day.

The store I'm currently the head judge at, does not under any circumstance allow me anywhere near the computer because I do participate in the tournament.

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Originally posted by Parva:
Well, the TO doesn't post pairings, he just calls out pairings. So, should I be going up to his computer and bugging him about my points every match (not that I plan on playing there any more).

Side Note: I remembered seeing one of the TO's buddies (the one that ended up in first at last nights FNM) on the computer running the tourney software. I have no idea what he was doing on the computer but is that okay for participants to be on the same computer as the tourney software? Doesn't seem right to me.

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Originally posted by FlashFrozen:
The store I'm currently the head judge at, does not under any circumstance allow me anywhere near the computer because I do participate in the tournament.

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As an aside to the topic at hand, I was under the impression that this was not a problem? I know of a few people who head judge, play, and run WER for events. While I can see the obvious conflict of interest, I've never considered it to be an issue because I trust them.

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Originally posted by JoshSherman:
As an aside to the topic at hand, I was under the impression that this was not a problem? I know of a few people who head judge, play, and run WER for events. While I can see the obvious conflict of interest, I've never considered it to be an issue because I trust them.

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Originally posted by Parva:
I've been at tournaments where TOs played and were entering results. But the difference there was if the TO won they split the prize money with the other players. This only happened a couple times at a store that just opened and only when there wasn't enough people to run the tournament.

I will definitely report the match error. And I will probably report the play off shenanigans. But I don't want to cause the store to go under because it is no longer able to run tournaments. I am considering writing a letter to the owner informing him of the errors made and how they must be corrected. Is this acceptable? I really don't want to cause harm to the man's business.

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I think you are wasting your time actually. The information with the packets for prerelease state that the format is only X rounds of swiss, no playoffs. If the TO/Judge misspoke then oh well, but he has to follow WoTC's rules

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Originally posted by stu55:
I would not going running to wizards and bitch about a new shop that is just learning things

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Originally posted by Parva:
BONUS QUESTION: At today's FNM during the third round after I reported my results I saw the current standings and I saw that my previous match had been incorrectly reported. (The computer said I had 1 match win when I really had 2) I notified the TO and he said that he couldn't change it.

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Thats complete BS. It can be changed. Had a few instances of this happen to me and each time I made sure it was corrected. The reason it isn't done at anything above a FNM/PR is due to the hassle it entails. You have to delete all the results back to that point and reenter them.

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Originally posted by Parva:

Didn't I just say that I wasn't going to go complain to the DCI about some of the errors? I said I was going to report the mis-recorded match results. And I might consider reporting the added playoffs at an FNM with a clear winner. And then I was going to write the owner and let him know what he can do to run the tourneys better.

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1) It is on you for the wrong match record...you need to check every round to make sure it is right

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Originally posted by stu55:
1) It is on you for the wrong match record...you need to check every round to make sure it is right

2) Why write? Why not just got to him and tell him. Writing is a cowards way out in my opinion

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1)If you read above, the guy doesnt print out pairings, so how is he supposed to check. And even without the pairings printed he said he checked his points.

@Malice: Is there a rule somewhere that says TO's are required to announce the structure? (btw the TO and shop owner are the same person this situation).