💬 Discussion 💬

Americano style tournaments are the best !!

I played an Americano with challenger / champion courts once and honestly it was probably the most fun and competitive session I’ve had. Every set felt intense, moving up and down courts, new partners each time… it was super fast and competitive. But thinking back on it, I’m not even sure if it was actually fair or if it just felt that way in the moment. Because some rounds you get a really strong or really weak partner and it can completely swing things, especially if there’s a prize pool. Part of me feels like if you’re good it balances out over time and you’ll still end up near the top. But part of me feels like timing and who you get paired with matters way more than we think. Not sure if it’s genuinely fair or just feels fair when you’re in it.

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Comments (27)

u/TopgearM4d ago

A partner means everything. You always have your base level. But your connection and feeling with your partner and the level of your partner will decide if you keep your base level or if you go up or under it.

u/Prior_Psychology_1503d ago

This 👆 A partner is so much more than their level!

u/1sty3d ago

I hate them. I have zero synergy with randoms, and find most teammates never strike a balance between control and attack I also don’t feel particularly great beating other duos when you know they’re struggling with the same balance

u/hussainhssn1d ago

It’s a great way to get experience for beginners but the inconsistency of it means you won’t get better just doing them alone, not that OP is saying that

u/1sty1d ago

Great reason to stay away from such tournaments if you’re not a beginner, by that logic

u/Old_Mathematician8663d ago

If you moved up and down courts, that sounds like a Mexicano rather an americano

u/Masatto3d ago

Plus 1. Mexicano is meant to be competitive, Americano is meant to be social. In Mexicano, round 1 winners play against other round 1 winners (and so forth), while in Americano partners are swapped after each round to give everyone a chance to play with and against everyone else regardless of previous round results.

u/Royal-Dish5364OP3d ago

I think it’s the same concept people may call it differently. Valid point tho

u/Old_Mathematician8663d ago

They are different. An americano will have games of certain number of points, which are totalled at the end. Every player plays with every other player. A mexicano you move up and down the court based on prior performance so there will be some players that you never play with or against.

u/Admirable-Author31313d ago

Use Americanos to focus on one aspect of your game …the maths don’t make sense unless you play everyone once but it is still random

u/Just_Housing80413d ago

As soon as you play competitive random partners are trash.

u/krustyDC3d ago

I understand why you're saying that, but I think you're missing the point of everybody facing exactly the same challenge of random partners. And since everybody has that same challenge, winning does not come from being the objectively best duo anymore, but other factors like being able to quickly develop a working situationship become more important. Obviously there's always a little luck involved as well.

u/station_terrapin3d ago

Well, not everyone has the same challenge. Random means random, not necessarily balanced. Random partner would only kind-of balance out if an statistically meaningful numer of games were played, which is not the case in any one-day tournament. And even in that scenario, some people may still click better together than others, skill level aside, and this can have a huge influence.

u/Royal-Dish5364OP3d ago

Exactly, with 8 people and. 20 minute rotation everyone gets to play with with everyone. And only the best, that’s able to carry all the games wins and is glorified which makes it super competitive in my opinion

u/Canis_Rex_4d ago

It is kind of fair because everyone gets that weaker partner for one game. I really enjoy Americano as our local court organizes a few weekly competitions. Great way to connect with new people to play against too.

u/Fit_Estimate71514d ago

It’s great until you do a tournament with a bunch of beginners who can’t hit the ball. A tournament just for beginners would be best solution. usually they set it as 0-3 level and a better level one is 3+ which I’m not at the level of yet on Playtomic app. But I agree if the others can hold a rally it can be lots of fun.

u/tiredtelefonecar3d ago

An Americano with sets? Sounds like what they do in my city at some clubs is snakes and ladders

u/Royal-Dish5364OP3d ago

Yeah well, every 20 minutes you change partner and or court

u/tiredtelefonecar3d ago

Ok so you play regular scoring until 20mins and then either move up a court or down depending on win loss.

u/frolicols3d ago

I've got my first ever Americano tomorrow (I've only been playing for a few weeks). It's a mix of 1-2 level players, both genders and a large age range too! What can I expect as an evil lefty southpaw? I've already accepted I will be forever a right hand side player.

u/Klutzy_Anxiety_11171d ago

Americano is fun! Bring the best out of yourself and your partners each time, then you will end up beeing Champions.

u/BadmashN3d ago

I love it too. I play at the 2-2.5 level ones and it’s fun, rewarding and challenging.

u/Volpe1613d ago

Il problema dei tornei all’americana è che ci vuole anche fortuna negli accoppiamenti degli avversari!! Se sei in lizza per vincere e nelle partite magari contro i tuoi avversari diretti di classifica tu sei con un compagno dal livello basso e loro magari con uno mediocre…perdi lo scontro diretto e di fatto perdi il torneo!! Quando invece il tuo avversario diretto della classifica sarà assieme a qualcuno di basso livello, magari dovrà affrontare una coppia “media” e magari riesce anche a vincere!! Quindi si, sono belli, ma non sempre veritieri sul risultato finale.. Mia opinione!!