College World series elimination rules: Complete format, important rules and more

If your team loses in the College World Series, don't give up hope. Raise those chins, Virginia and Florida State fans. Nobody is eliminated from the College World Series yet.

Unlike most professional sport events, which employ a single-game format, best-of-5 or best-of-7 series, the College World Series is a unique double elimination tournament. If you don't understand, we've got you covered.

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College World series elimination rules

Florida State's ninth-inning loss to Tennessee was devestating but not fatal to the Seminoles' College World Series hopes.

Don't think of it as one tournament; think of it as two

The first key to understanding the College World Series format is to not think of it as an eight-team Tournament. Of course, it's an eight-team tournament, but it doesn't set up or act like one.

Consider the Series as two separate four-team tournaments. Tournament A includes Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia and Florida State. Tournament B includes Kentucky, Texas A&M, NC State and Florida.

Each separate "Tournament" is a four-team double elimination battle - just like the NCAA Tournament's regional play.

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One loss is not the end

By losing on Friday, Virginia and Florida State were not eliminated. They dropped to the loser's bracket and will face each other on Sunday.

The loser of that game will be eliminated. The winner will play again on Tuesday against the loser of the Tennessee/North Carolina game played later on Sunday. The loser of that game on Tuesday will also be eliminated.

The team that emerges from the loser's bracket on Tuesday will play the 2-0 team in a game slated for Wednesday. Should the team without a loss win, that team wins the pseudo mini-Tournament and advances to the finals. But should the team without a loss loses, the two teams play again in a winner-take-all game for a spot in the Finals.

The same scenario as above plays out in the other four-team mini-Tournament. The losers of Saturday's game meet on Monday to eliminate one team. The winner of that game will play the loser of Monday's game featuring the two winning teams from Saturday. The loser of that game will be eliminated, and the same situation plays out with the winners.

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Finals Format

For the two teams that emerge from the four-team mini-Tournament, the Finals is fortunately much clearer. The two teams in the Finals play a best-of-three series, like the Super Regional round of the NCAA Tournament.

The Finals games are scheduled for June 22 and 23, with June 24 reserved for a decisive third game if the first two games are split. The winner is the champion.

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