signup selection method

Step 1: You begin by selecting the player number. This number is selected by finding the number closest to the signup number (39 in this case) that is a power of 2 or is 3 times a power of 2. With 39 signups, our number is 32.

Step 2: Then, the first 5/8 signups of the player number, not the total signup count, get into the tournament automatically. With 32 player seats, our first 20 signups were automatically entered into the tournament.

Step 3: The remaining 12 seats are filled at random from the remaining 19 signups. I then randomized the entire selection of 32 players.

Step 4: The remaining 7 players who did not initially get into the tournament are made into substitutes and given priority based on their signup time.