The U16 Water Polo World Championship turned into chaos after World Aquatics introduced the TPI index. Montenegro eliminated with three wins, Greece penalized for losing to Russia, and Croatia's win over Georgia was worth less than Hungary's over Malaysia.
The U16 Water Polo World Championship in Zagreb will be remembered for one of the biggest scandals in the history of the sport. Instead of fighting for medals, 36 national teams found themselves in the whirlwind of a radical experiment by World Aquatics, which replaced the traditional scoring system with the TPI index (Tournament Performance Index), sparking outrage among federations, coaches, and fans.
The new format was inspired by the football Champions League and the chess Elo system. Each of the 36 teams played four matches against different opponents, with the top eight by average TPI advancing to the quarterfinals. The index was calculated based on three factors: match outcome, goal difference capped at +8, and opponent strength according to the world rankings and pre-tournament Elo ratings.
It was precisely this third factor-opponent weight-that created absurd situations where results achieved in the pool became completely irrelevant. Serbian media, including Kurir, dubbed this format a "sports crime."
The most drastic example of illogic is Montenegro. The national team recorded three wins and only one loss in the first phase, earning five points and losing only 20% of available points on paper. Despite this, due to a poor TPI index, they finished in 17th place and missed out on medal contention.
An even more bizarre situation occurred with Germany. Although they lost to both the USA and Montenegro, they finished 14th in the final standings, ahead of the Montenegrins, solely because their opponents statistically had a higher historical rating.
The system particularly punished Greece. Due to a hiatus in international competitions, the quality Russian selection was ranked at the very bottom of the official list. When Greece lost to Russia, the formula interpreted it as a loss to the worst underdog and drastically reduced Greece's TPI points. The Greeks thus missed out on a top-eight finish, despite having defeated powerhouses like Spain and Hungary during the tournament.
Even the host nation was not spared the absurdity. Hungary's convincing win over weak Malaysia (18:3) earned more TPI points than Croatia received for a dominant triumph over a very strong Georgia (20:4). Although the system was utterly confusing and demotivating for young water polo players, the Serbian national team managed to overcome all obstacles and ultimately won the bronze medal, defeating the USA after a thrilling penalty shootout.
