Group stages

Group stages are initial rounds in a tournament where teams or players are divided into small groups. Each team competes against the others in their group, earning points for wins or draws. The purpose is to determine which teams perform best. Typically, the top one or two teams from each group progress to the knockout stage, where the competition becomes single-elimination until a winner is decided. This format helps ensure multiple matches, gives evenly matched teams a fair chance, and builds excitement as the tournament advances toward the final.