One of the officials stood up and gathered everyone’s attention. He smiled brightly and said, “First, I would like to congratulate every team that’s managed to qualify for the quarterfinals. As you all know, this is the first tournament that sects have been allowed to participate in, and it’s been a lot more competitive than previous seasons…”

This official went on with his formalities for fifteen minutes before finally touching on the topic that everyone was waiting for.

“Now, we will draw the lots for the quarterfinal matchups. This lottery will not only determine who you will face in the next round, it will also determine the teams that you might face in the subsequent rounds. I trust that the outcome of this lottery will be beneficial for your preparations. The rules are as follows...

“We will invite the four first-place teams onto the stage, and they will take their turns drawing lots to decide which teams will be in the first group and which teams will be in the second group. Every first-place team will draw lots against a second-place team, and the only rule is that the first-place team cannot be...