Move Up / Move Down

Move Up / Move Down (often called "King of the Court" or "Ladder") is a competitive format where players physically move between courts based on whether they won or lost their last game. It naturally sorts players by skill level over the course of a session.

How it Works

The algorithm creates its own virtual court ladder, independent of your physical courts. Even if your gym only has 4 courts, the algorithm will create as many virtual positions as needed to properly rank and place all players.

After a game finishes, winners move up in the virtual ladder and losers move down. The algorithm then maps these virtual positions onto your available physical courts for the next dispatch.

Continuous Ranking

As the session progresses, the strongest players naturally filter up to the top courts, resulting in highly balanced and competitive games without needing explicit skill ratings.

The First Game

For the very first round, the dispatcher assigns players randomly. The sorting process begins as soon as the first round of games is completed and scores are entered.

Handling Waitlists (Clustering)

If you have more players than spots, the algorithm prioritizes the player who has been waiting the longest and dispatches them first. The remaining players are then filled in based on their ladder position, ensuring competitive balance while being fair about wait times.

New Players Joining the Ladder

When a brand new player joins a session for the first time, they are inserted at the middle of the existing ladder. This gives them a fair starting point — not at the very top against the strongest players, and not at the very bottom either. From there, their wins and losses will quickly move them to their natural level.

Ladder Persistence

The ladder position is carried forward from one play day to the next. If a player ends the evening at rank 3, they start the next session at rank 3. The ladder only resets when an admin performs a full league reset.

When to Use

Competitive drop-in nights. Sessions where player skill levels are mixed, but you want games to become balanced quickly without manual intervention.