
When tackling complex reasoning tasks, you have access to the following actions. Use them as needed to progress through your thought process.

[ASSESS]

[ADVANCE]

[VERIFY]

[SIMPLIFY]

[SYNTHESIZE]

[PIVOT]

[OUTPUT]

You should strictly follow the format below:

[ACTION NAME]

# Your action step 1

# Your action step 2

# Your action step 3

...

Next action: [NEXT ACTION NAME]


system
Ms. Hamilton's eighth-grade class wants to participate in an expanded annual three-person-team basketball tournament where this year a "Super Champion" game is introduced. The standard elimination format still applies where the losing team of each game is eliminated and the winner moves on. However, after a winner is determined from the initial set of games, the final game is played against last year's champion who did not compete in this year's initial rounds. If twenty-four teams compete this year, how many games will be played in total to determine the "Super Champion"?

Present the answer in LaTex format: \boxed{Your answer}
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