The Infinite Art Tournament Turns 1

Tomorrow ends the first year of the Infinite Art Tournament!  In 52 weeks, we’ll have looked at 104 artists (from Agasse to Cornell!), evolved the general rules of a complex double-elimination tournament, stocked and commenced a play-in tournament, and accomplished a hell of a lot of art appreciation.  It has been terrific fun, for me at least. 

And, it has all been founded on a gross misapprehension.  But more about that on Monday.  First, a little something for the bracket dorks to chew on.

How to Pace a Double-Elimination Democracy-Driven Interactive Art Tournament

Every Saturday for the last year, a fresh pair of hopefuls has entered the tournament’s first round.  On Tuesdays, and sometimes on Thursdays, the second and third rounds, as well as the left-hand (or “recovery” or, to be crude, the “losers’”) bracket has been worked out.  And gradually, gradually, the rest of the tournament has started to fall behind the first round.

Doing the Math

The first round has a tendency to run out ahead, over time, because every First-Round Contest generates quite a bit of subsequent traffic:

• ½ of a Second-Round Contest (because after two First-Round matches are over, a Second-Round Match begins).
• ¼ of a Third-Round Contest (after two Second-Round matches, a Third-Round match must begin.  If you are bothering to read this, you get the picture).
• 1/8 of a Fourth-Round Contest
• ¼ of a Left Bracket First-Round Elimination event (because the first round loser will compete in one of two simultaneous First-Round Elimination matches)
• ¼ of a Left Bracket Second-Round Contest
• ¼ of a Left Bracket Second-Round Elimination Contest
• 1/8 of a Left Bracket Third-Round Contest
• 1/8 of a Left Bracket Third-Round Elimination Contest

This all adds up (before even accounting for pesky things like ties, the play-in tournament, and the advancement of the tournament beyond the Fourth Round) to a whopping 3 1/8 posts a week needed to keep the IAT going at its current pace.  That's obviously more volume than the Saturday, Tuesday, and sometimes Thursday plan can accommodate.

Better Add Another Day, Then?

I think not.  There are worries of “voter fatigue.”

The Solution

The best solution, as so often in life, will I think be to kill two birds with one stone.  What we’re going to do is (1) ease back on the throttle a bit on new entrants and (2) create a suitably prominent spot for the advancement of the tourney into the Fourth Round. 

Starting this October, the first weekend of every even-numbered month will feature an elite Fourth-Round faceoff, matches between the artists who have struggled to the top of the group of eight in their immediate bracket (which is to say, who have won in the Third Round)!  Since those weekends won’t have newcomers to the tournament, the other rounds will have a bit of a chance to catch up.  Assuming four weeks a year spent accommodating ties and what-not, each week will now (averaged across a couple of months) introduce:

• 7/8 of a First-Round Contest
• 7/16 of a Second-Round Contest
• 7/32 of a Third-Round Contest
• 7/32 of a Left Bracket First-Round Elimination event (because the first round loser will compete in one of two simultaneous First-Round Elimination matches)
• 7/32 of a Left Bracket Second-Round Contest
• 7/32 of a Left Bracket Second-Round Elimination Contest
• 7/64 of a Left Bracket Third-Round Contest
• 7/64 of a Left Bracket Third-Round Elimination Contest

Which adds up to a mere 2½  (well, 2 and 33/64, but who's counting?) pairings a week.  Clearly, this is a much more sensible approach to our schedule. 

But Won’t That Drag This Thing Out Even Longer than the Absurd More-Than-a-Decade Length it Already Aspires To??

Yes and no.  For, as I mentioned earlier, the entire Tournament has been founded on a gross misapprehension.  This new approach will lengthen the Tournament somewhat, yes, but it turns out that the Tournament isn’t going to be quite as long as we thought.   More about that on Monday.

Have a superb weekend.