A robust method of assessing foosball matchups independent of tournament structure

Abstract

The results of randomly seeded single-elimination tournaments does not reflect a player or team's relative rank, or foosball performance score. Existing ranking such as Elo Ranking or Swiss systems depend on a large number of matches to be played to produce accurate results. We present a method of determining rank using the relative performance of a player's opponent and the points scored on that opponent during a foosball match. We demonstrate that the Hing-King-Linden Score, or HKL, is a robust method of predicting foosball matchups between two players or teams, and a reliable way to seed teams and tournaments fairly based on only the number of matches played and tracking points scored against each opponent. We show the utility of HKL using the real results of a randomly seeded single-elimination tournament.