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The map elimination system is biased towards the second team to pick (Team B).

If both teams gave each map a number from 1 to 7. The number would represent the order they would to prefer to play on a map. E.g.

7 Badlands
6 Granary
5 Dustbowl
…
…
1 Well

After the elimination, add together the numbers given by each team for the three maps left, to give you a preferrence total.

For all permutations, team A would only have a higher score 33.6% of the time. Team B would have a higher score 50.6% of the time, and the score would be the same 15.8% of the time. This means that team B would more frequently get to play on maps they have ranked ‘more preferred’ than team A would.

If you changed this to an ABBA format, so team A would eliminate a map, then team B would eliminate 2 maps, then team A eliminates the final map, the scores would be more even. Team A would have a higher score 38.0% of the time, and team B would have a higher score 44.4% of the time, with 17.6% tie scores.

The reason for this is simply because, Team A can frequently eliminate maps that Team B would have chosen to eliminate themselves, giving them the ability to choose ‘the next least favourable’ map to eliminate, which could very well be one of Team A’s more preferred maps.

The same does apply to the last section of the process (choosing the map to play on), though if you view this as an independent event, it isn’t so bad, though again, it does give an advantage to Team B, because Team A might have picked the map they were going to pick to play, and Team B will have the additional bonus of being able to pick their second favourite map.

I think the best and fairest way to do the map elimination system (using a similar system to the existing one), would be to do it as follows:

Team A Eliminates a map.
Team B Eliminates a map.
Team B Eliminates a map.
Team A Eliminates a map.
Team B picks a map.
Team A picks a map.
Final map is the decider.

Some of the Math in this post might be a little bit out, but this is at least my understanding of it. Anyway, just had some free time, and thought I’d tickle my brain ^__^. Not even sure if this elimination system is used for anything anymore…

I guess that’s why it’s only used occasionally (such as playoffs and tie-breakers) and not during the main season ^^