Single Elimination Bracket Generator
One loss and you're out. Set your field size (2–64 teams), paste names, and this generator lays out a seeded single elimination bracket — the fastest format for leagues, office pools and game nights.
Paste a roster straight from your spreadsheet or chat. Blank lines are skipped; missing names fall back to Team 1, Team 2, …
Fields hidden — the bracket prints clean. Click “Add scores & times” to log results.
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Final
Champion
The arithmetic of a single elimination bracket
Every match eliminates exactly one team, and a champion has to be left standing — so an N-team single elimination bracket always plays N − 1 matches, whatever N is. That's computed live by the generator above, not typed in: switch from 8 to 16 teams and the match count moves from 7 to 15 by itself.
Fields that aren't a power of two (6, 12, 20…) can't split into clean pairs, so the bracket pads to the next power of two and the difference becomes byes — walkovers awarded to the top seeds. The engine marks them on the bracket automatically; a bye never appears as a playable match.
Preset sizes with the facts already worked out
Ready-to-print brackets with match counts, rounds and byes precomputed: 4 teams · 6 teams (2 byes) · 8 teams · 12 teams (4 byes) · 16 teams · 32 teams. Prefer a different shape? The double elimination generator gives losers a second life, and the printable blanks need no interaction at all.
Single elimination FAQ
How many matches does a single elimination bracket have?
Always N − 1: 8 teams play 7 matches, 16 teams play 15, 32 teams play 31. Each match removes exactly one team and only the champion never loses one.
What happens with a team count that isn't a power of two?
The bracket pads to the next power of two and the top seeds get byes into round two. A 6-team bracket plays in a 8-slot frame: 2 byes, 2 first-round matches, 5 matches total.
Is seeding really 1 vs the last seed?
Yes — standard interleave: 1 plays the lowest seed, 2 plays second-lowest, and the top seeds meet as late as possible. Pick “Random draw” instead for a blind draw night.