Partial outround

A partial outround is an outround in which only some of the breaking competitors participate. The highest-seeded competitors receive a bye to the next outround, while the remaining competitors compete and only the winners advance to the next outround. Partial double octofinals are the most common form of partial outround.

For example, suppose 22 teams finish prelims with a winning record (4-2 or better) - too many for octofinals (16 teams), but too few for double octofinals (32 teams). When using partial outrounds, the 10 teams with the best prelim records advance directly to octofinals; the remaining 12 teams compete in a partial double octofinal round, with the winners advancing to fill the remaining 6 slots in octofinals. The remaining outrounds then proceed as usual.

Partial outrounds are used at NCFCA National Opens and the NCFCA National Championship. Most regional qualifiers do not use partial outrounds; instead, they break enough teams with 3-3 records to fill out a complete outround bracket.