In a tournament like this, following the table game by game is more distracting than it helps. The question becomes clearer when you look at what really changes after each encounter.
The elimination tournament
Riddle statement
1024 players participate in a tennis tournament in a direct elimination format.
How many matches must be played to determine the champion?
Show solution
Solution
Answer: 1023 matches.
Each match eliminates exactly one player. At the beginning there are 1024 players; In the end there is only one left: the champion.
$1024 - 1 = 1023$
players must be eliminated, so exactly 1023 matches are needed.
It doesn't matter the format of the draw or how the rounds are organized: as long as each match has a single loser, the score is always the same.