The serpentine system (also called snake seeding) is a method employed in the organization of a competition to define the seeded teams and arrange them in pools. The n ranked teams that will be involved in the tournament are distributed in m pools according to the following algorithm:

Pool 1Pool 2. . .Pool m − 1Pool m
12. . .m − 1m
2m2m − 1. . .m + 2m + 1
2m + 12m + 2. . .3m − 13m
...    

For instance, 12 teams would be organized in four-team pools, according to the serpentine system, as follows:

Pool 1Pool 2Pool 3
123
654
789
121110

To improve competitivity, this method is sometimes used in conjunction with the drawing of lots method: the serpentine system is used only for some of the teams involved in a competition ("seeds"); the rest are distributed in pools following a drawing of lots.


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