Players or teams are "planted" into the bracket in such a manner that the best do not meet until later in the competition, usually based on ranking from the regular season.
[5] Rankings of tennis players, based on a history of performance, tend to change positions gradually, and so a more "equitable" method of determining the pairings might result in many of the same head-to-head match-ups being repeated in successive tournaments.
Seeding is based on a variety of factors, including team performance in previous tournaments, rankings, and coefficients.
The World Cup seeds are now primarily based on these rankings, which reflect the overall strength and performance of national teams in international matches.
The UEFA Champions League adopted seeding in its qualification stages starting in the 1992–93 season, initially for the preliminary round.
By the 1994–95 season, seeding was extended to the full tournament, ensuring that the top clubs based on historical performance were separated for the group stages.
Seeding in the Champions League is determined by a UEFA coefficient system, which takes into account the results of clubs in European competitions over the previous five seasons.
The third round proper, when clubs from the top divisions enter, typically features a few matchups between Premier League sides.
This system ensures that teams with better regular-season records are rewarded in the postseason by having an advantage in the event of a draw, allowing them to progress to the next stage.