The paper provides an operational research perspective on tournament design, focusing on three key criteria: efficacy and effectivity, fairness, and attractiveness. It reviews literature on tournament formats, seeding, draw, scheduling, and ranking methods, categorizing papers according to these components. The authors discuss the impact of tournament design on fairness and the importance of equal treatment among participants. They also explore the role of seeding in enhancing the tournament's ability to select the best players and the potential for misaligned seeding to favor weaker opponents. The paper highlights the need for a balanced approach in knockout tournaments to ensure both efficacy and fairness. Additionally, it examines the impact of tournament formats on the attractiveness of matches, including the importance of suspense and the number of participating teams. The review aims to provide insights for sports economists and administrators, emphasizing the practical applications of tournament design principles.The paper provides an operational research perspective on tournament design, focusing on three key criteria: efficacy and effectivity, fairness, and attractiveness. It reviews literature on tournament formats, seeding, draw, scheduling, and ranking methods, categorizing papers according to these components. The authors discuss the impact of tournament design on fairness and the importance of equal treatment among participants. They also explore the role of seeding in enhancing the tournament's ability to select the best players and the potential for misaligned seeding to favor weaker opponents. The paper highlights the need for a balanced approach in knockout tournaments to ensure both efficacy and fairness. Additionally, it examines the impact of tournament formats on the attractiveness of matches, including the importance of suspense and the number of participating teams. The review aims to provide insights for sports economists and administrators, emphasizing the practical applications of tournament design principles.