Old PACE NSC tournament format
This article is about the format used to schedule the tournament prior to 2009. For the game format used prior to 2010, see Old PACE format.
In 1998, 1999, 2001, and 2003 through 2008, the PACE NSC used the same basic format for the tournament.
For the tournament formats used in 2000 and 2002 see those pages.
Teams were divided into round-robin prelim pools of seven to ten teams. Pools in a particular year would not vary in size by more than one team. 12 teams were always selected to move to the championship playoffs. The top 4 teams from each prelim pool moved on if using 3 prelim pools, the top 3 from each pool if using 4 pools and, in the one year (2004) that 5 prelim groups were used, the top 2 from each group automatically qualified and the five third-place teams played minimatches to determine the remaining two spots.
The 12 championship playoff teams were put into two pools of six and played a five-game playoff round robin, with no games carrying over from the prelims. The top two from each playoff pool then moved on to a single-elimination final four. Ties for the top two spots out of each playoff pool were resolved with minimatches.
Third place games and other placement games were not used in this format.
In this format, teams could not be eliminated outright based on a single loss prior to reaching the final four. The only mathematically possible outcomes for a 1-loss team in either a prelim or a playoff pool were to finish in first or second place outright and move on to the next phase, or to be part of a three-way tie for two advancing spots, in which case only the team that lost a tiebreaker minimatch series would be eliminated.
Teams not advancing to the 12-team championship playoff were offered the opportunity to play in consolation rounds. Through 2005, this consisted of a modified single-elimination bracket (every team had the chance to win the consolation title if they continued winning, and every team had the chance to continue playing until the end of the consolation schedule, even if they were eliminated from winning the bracket by a loss). Beginning in 2006 this was changed to use tiered round-robin pools based on prelim finish.
Every PACE NSC has concluded with an All-Star Game.