This paper reviews the literature on tournament design from an operational research perspective, focusing on three key design criteria: effectiveness and efficacy, fairness, and attractiveness. It classifies papers based on main components of tournament design: format, seeding, draw, scheduling, and ranking. The study also outlines open questions and promising research directions. Tournament design involves setting rules for organizing competitions, including match formats, scheduling, seeding, and ranking. The goal is to ensure the tournament reveals the true ranking of participants, is fair, and is attractive to spectators. The paper discusses various tournament formats, including round robin, knockout, and Swiss system, and their implications for effectiveness, fairness, and attractiveness. Key findings include that round robin tournaments are generally more effective than knockout tournaments in revealing true rankings. However, fairness and attractiveness can be affected by factors such as seeding, scheduling, and the number of teams. The paper also highlights the importance of balancing these criteria to ensure a fair and attractive tournament. The study emphasizes the need for further research on how tournament design affects fairness, attractiveness, and effectiveness, particularly in complex hybrid tournaments. It also notes the importance of considering the number of participants and the impact of changes in tournament size on overall effectiveness and fairness. The paper concludes that operational research provides valuable insights into tournament design, and future research should focus on improving the fairness and attractiveness of tournaments while maintaining their effectiveness.This paper reviews the literature on tournament design from an operational research perspective, focusing on three key design criteria: effectiveness and efficacy, fairness, and attractiveness. It classifies papers based on main components of tournament design: format, seeding, draw, scheduling, and ranking. The study also outlines open questions and promising research directions. Tournament design involves setting rules for organizing competitions, including match formats, scheduling, seeding, and ranking. The goal is to ensure the tournament reveals the true ranking of participants, is fair, and is attractive to spectators. The paper discusses various tournament formats, including round robin, knockout, and Swiss system, and their implications for effectiveness, fairness, and attractiveness. Key findings include that round robin tournaments are generally more effective than knockout tournaments in revealing true rankings. However, fairness and attractiveness can be affected by factors such as seeding, scheduling, and the number of teams. The paper also highlights the importance of balancing these criteria to ensure a fair and attractive tournament. The study emphasizes the need for further research on how tournament design affects fairness, attractiveness, and effectiveness, particularly in complex hybrid tournaments. It also notes the importance of considering the number of participants and the impact of changes in tournament size on overall effectiveness and fairness. The paper concludes that operational research provides valuable insights into tournament design, and future research should focus on improving the fairness and attractiveness of tournaments while maintaining their effectiveness.