Notwithstanding all of the "ideal format" talk, what drives the
format and playoff structure at the tourneys we host as much as
anything else is practical: We try to reconcile the number of teams
that will show up with the number of games we've promised them, and
with the number of rounds they can stand to play. Whatever
structures result from that process might not be ideal theoretically,
but no one has complained about them (as far as I know), at any level
of quiz bowl.
Andrew
U of Oklahoma