Can one choose a winning team from each day in a round-robin tournament with no repeats?

  • MHB
  • Thread starter Ackbach
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In summary, it is not possible to predict the winning team before a round-robin tournament begins due to the unpredictable nature of each game's outcome. While it is possible to make educated guesses or predictions based on past performances and rankings, there are no guarantees of accuracy. It is possible for a team to win every game in a round-robin tournament, but it is unlikely due to varying opponents and skill levels. Some strategies for increasing the chances of choosing a winning team include analyzing statistics and past performances, considering injuries and home-field advantage, but these do not guarantee success. The fairness of a team playing multiple games in a day during a round-robin tournament depends on the specific rules and regulations in place, as long as all teams are aware
  • #1
Ackbach
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MHB
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Here is this week's POTW:

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A round-robin tournament of $2n$ teams lasted for $2n-1$ days, as follows. On each day, every team played one game against another team, with one team winning and one team losing in each of the $n$ games. Over the course of the tournament, each team played every other team exactly once. Can one necessarily choose one winning team from each day without choosing any team more than once?

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  • #2
No one solved this week's POTW, which was Problem B-3 in the 2012 Putnam Archives. The solution, attributed to Kiran Kedlaya and associates, follows.

[sp]The answer is yes. We first note that for any collection of $m$
days with $1\leq m\leq 2n-1$, there are at least $m$ distinct teams that
won a game on at least one of those days. If not, then any of the teams
that lost games on all of those days must in particular have lost to $m$
other teams, a contradiction.

If we now construct a bipartite graph whose vertices are the $2n$ teams
and the $2n-1$ days, with an edge linking a day to a team if that team
won their game on that day, then any collection of $m$ days is connected
to a total of at least $m$ teams. It follows from Hall's Marriage Theorem
that one can match the $2n-1$ days with $2n-1$ distinct teams that won on
their respective days, as desired.[/sp]
 

Related to Can one choose a winning team from each day in a round-robin tournament with no repeats?

1. Can a winning team be predicted before the round-robin tournament begins?

No, it is not possible to predict the winning team before the tournament begins as the results of each game can greatly impact the overall outcome.

2. Is it possible to accurately choose a winning team for each day of the round-robin tournament?

It is possible to make educated guesses or predictions based on the teams' past performances and current rankings, but there are no guarantees that these predictions will be accurate.

3. Can a team win every game in a round-robin tournament?

Yes, it is possible for a team to win every game in a round-robin tournament. However, it is highly unlikely as each team will face different opponents and have varying levels of skill.

4. Are there any strategies or methods to increase the chances of choosing a winning team in a round-robin tournament?

Some common strategies include analyzing the teams' statistics and past performances, considering any key injuries or absences, and taking into account the home-field advantage for certain teams. However, these strategies do not guarantee a winning prediction.

5. Is it fair for a team to have to play multiple games in a single day during a round-robin tournament?

This ultimately depends on the specific tournament rules and regulations. Some tournaments may have a limit on the number of games a team can play in a day, while others may allow for multiple games in a day. As long as all teams are aware of and agree to the rules beforehand, it can be considered fair.

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