How do you make a tournament bracket?

Write down everyone taking part, decide whether the draw should follow a ranking or be random, then pair entrants off so that each match sends one winner to the next round. A bracket generator does the fiddly part for you: it works out the size, places the byes and draws the lines so the winners meet in the middle.

Here you type the entrants, one per line, and the bracket appears in the preview, with every line, bye and round label in place. Smaller brackets print with the rounds running from left to right, and big ones can use a two-sided layout that keeps even 64 entrants on a single page.

What happens when the number of entrants is not 4, 8, 16, 32 or 64?

A single elimination bracket works cleanly with a power of two, because every round halves the field. With any other number, some entrants get a bye: they skip round one and go straight to round two. The number of byes is the bracket size minus the number of entrants. Ten players fill a 16-slot bracket, so six of them get a bye.

The generator gives byes to the top seeds, which is the usual convention, and spreads them through the draw so that no half of the bracket is crowded. On the printed bracket a bye shows as a grey "bye" line, and the player who moves through already has their name written in round two. The round 1 score sheet lists byes separately, so nobody waits for a match that is not happening.

Should your bracket be seeded or random?

Seeding keeps the strongest entrants apart until the later rounds. In a 16-slot bracket, seed 1 plays seed 16, seed 8 plays seed 9, and seeds 1 and 2 can only meet in the final. Use it when you have a fair ranking, such as last season's table, a ladder or a qualifying round.

A random draw suits friendly events where nobody has a ranking, or where you want the draw itself to be part of the fun. The shuffle is tied to your title and list, so the same link always prints the same draw. If you want a fresh draw, change the title slightly, for example by adding the year.

  • Seeded: type the best entrant first. The seed number prints next to each name if you leave Show seed numbers on.
  • Random: the list order does not matter, and seed numbers are hidden because they would not mean anything.

How many games does a single elimination tournament need?

One fewer than the number of entrants, because every match knocks out exactly one player and only the champion is never knocked out. Eight teams need seven games, 20 teams need 19, and 64 need 63. The number of rounds is the number of times you can halve the bracket size: 3 rounds for 8 slots, 4 for 16, 5 for 32 and 6 for 64.

That makes planning easy. If each game takes 20 minutes and you have two tables, a 16-player event needs 15 games, which is about eight rounds of play on two tables, or roughly two and a half to three hours with breaks.

How do you print a bracket for 32 or 64 teams?

Page layout matters most for big brackets. Upright runs the rounds from left to right with the champion on the right, which gives the largest names for up to 32 entrants. Two halves meeting in the middle is the familiar layout for big tournaments: the draw is split in two and the finalists meet in the centre. Turned sideways, that two-sided layout fills the whole page, which is what Automatic uses for a 64-slot bracket; you simply read the printed page in landscape.

Names longer than about 16 characters are shortened on the bracket to keep the lines tidy, but they print in full on the round 1 score sheet. For a wall chart, print on A3 or tabloid paper by choosing it in your printer settings and selecting fit to page; the bracket is drawn as a vector image, so it stays sharp at any size.

What can you use a printable bracket for?

  • Sports days, five-a-side leagues and club knockouts.
  • Table tennis, pool, darts and chess tournaments at the office or in the pub.
  • Video game nights, where each match is a best of three.
  • Classroom debates, spelling bees and "best book" votes.
  • Family fun: the best biscuit, the best film of the year, the best holiday song. Vote on each pairing and move the winner on.

Questions people ask

Is the bracket generator free?

Yes. There is no account and no limit. Your list stays in the page link on your device and is never sent to us.

How many teams can the bracket hold?

From 4 to 64 entrants in one single elimination bracket. Any number in between works; the generator adds byes to fill the bracket up to 8, 16, 32 or 64 slots.

Who gets the byes?

The top seeds. With 12 entrants in a 16-slot bracket, seeds 1 to 4 go straight through to round two. In a random draw, the byes land on whoever the shuffle puts in those top positions.

Can I make a blank bracket?

Yes. Leave the list empty, or choose a bracket size larger than your list, and the extra lines print blank so you can write names in by hand.

Does it do double elimination?

Not yet. This tool makes single elimination brackets, where one loss knocks a player out. For a format where everyone plays everyone, use our round robin generator.

How do I get a different random draw?

The draw is tied to the title and the list, so reprints match. Change the title slightly, for example add the date, and you get a new shuffle.

Why is my bracket printed sideways?

A 64-slot bracket turns sideways on Automatic so that the two halves fill the whole page and the names stay readable. Choose Upright under Page layout if you prefer to read it without turning the page.