opening round
Initial competition phase
The opening round is the first stage of a competition, negotiation, or conflict.
In sports tournaments, it's the initial set of matches that winnows the field: They were eliminated in the opening round.
In boxing, it's the first of several scheduled rounds.
The phrase extends to any sequential process: The opening round of talks produced no agreement.
- preliminaryBefore the main part
- kickoffOpening play in football
- startTo set going
- initialName's opening letter
- boutLimited stretch of something
match · tournament · group stage · qualifier · bracket · seed · contender · bell · beginning · introduction · prelude · inauguration · debut · curtain raiser · heat · elimination · chess · boxing
- pokerblinds, all-in, all in, call, seven-card stud
- Competition Stagesheats, trials, prelims, preliminaries, qualifier
- tournament roundsqualifier, quarterfinals, semifinals, finals, playoff game
- tournamentstournament, tournaments, bracket, brackets, tournament brackets
- chess tournamentsWorld Cup, invitational, national championship, amateur tournament, qualifier
- competitionscontests, tournaments, match, matches, game
opening roundfinal round
Ultimate competitive stage
finals · last round · championship game · title match · final stage
opening, round, open, opens, opened, opener, openers, openly, openness