Play offs area a kind of limbo between group and brackets which may or may not take place. Their purpose is to increase the number of opportunities for games for players. Therefore, they may be skipped and simply calculated through points in the group stages. Generally speaking, they are not required if there are an even number of teams in each group in a competition but add fairness when there are not (due to having fewer points opportunities in varied sized groups).
Play offs area a kind of limbo between group and brackets which may or may not take place. Their purpose is to increase the number of opportunities for games for players. Therefore, they may be skipped and simply calculated through points in the group stages. Generally speaking, they are not required if there are an even number of teams in each group in a competition but add fairness when there are not (due to having fewer points opportunities in varied sized groups).