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Free · No sign-up · Runs in your browser12 Team Bracket with Byes
12 entries means 11 games over 4 rounds, with 4 first-round byes for seeds 1 to 4. Edit the names below or use the printed bracket.
The 12-team bracket with byes
Twelve entries in a sixteen-place bracket leaves four byes: seeds 1 to 4 skip round one and four first-round games cut the field to eight. Twelve is a common size for league playoffs because four byes reward the top four.
- Bracket size: 16 places (12 entries, 4 empty)
- Rounds: 4
- Games in total: 11 (every game knocks one entry out, so 11 games leave one winner)
- Byes: 4: seeds 1 to 4
- Round 1 games: 4
The bracket, game by game
Entries are labelled Seed 1 to Seed 12; seed 1 is the strongest. In each game the winner goes to the game named in a later round.
Round 1 4 games
Quarter-finals 4 games
Semi-finals 2 games
Final 1 game
How the seeding is built
Bracket places are filled in the standard order, where every first-round pairing adds up to 17. The pairings for this bracket are:
| Slot | Seed pairing | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 v (empty) | seed 1 gets a bye |
| 2 | 8 v 9 | played in round 1 |
| 3 | 4 v (empty) | seed 4 gets a bye |
| 4 | 5 v 12 | played in round 1 |
| 5 | 2 v (empty) | seed 2 gets a bye |
| 6 | 7 v 10 | played in round 1 |
| 7 | 3 v (empty) | seed 3 gets a bye |
| 8 | 6 v 11 | played in round 1 |
Because the field is 12 and the bracket has 16 places, the seeds that would face a non-existent opponent (17 minus seed number is more than 12) get byes. The top seeds therefore start in round two, which is the reward for ranking highest. Seeds 1 and 2 are placed in opposite halves, so they can only meet in the final.
How long will it take?
Games in each round are played in parallel, up to the number of courts. Total time with the game length shown, counting every round in sequence:
| Venues | 20 min games | 30 min games | 45 min games | 60 min games |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 court or pitch | 3 h 40 min | 5 h 30 min | 8 h 15 min | 11 h |
| 2 courts or pitches | 2 h | 3 h | 4 h 30 min | 6 h |
| 4 courts or pitches | 80 min | 2 h | 3 h | 4 h |
Seeding fairly, or randomly
If you can rank the entries, type them best first. If you cannot, tick Randomise the seeding and the tool shuffles them into random seeds before building the bracket. With a random draw, remember that byes go to the top seeds, so a random seed 1 is a lucky entry.
Other bracket sizes
For any other size, use the knockout bracket generator. If everyone must play everyone, see the 12-team round robin, which has 66 games for 12 teams against 11 here.
- How many games are in a 12-team knockout bracket?
- 11 games. Every game eliminates one entry, so 11 games leave one champion.
- How many rounds in a 12-team bracket?
- 4 rounds. The bracket has 16 places.
- How many byes in a 12-team bracket?
- 4: 16 places minus 12 entries. The byes go to seeds 1 to 4.
- Who gets the byes?
- The top seeds. A bye is a free pass to round two for an entry whose first-round opponent does not exist.
- Can I use my own names and seeds?
- Yes. Type the entries best first in the tool above, or tick Randomise the seeding.
- Can I print the bracket?
- Yes. Press Print after you generate; the printout has blank lines for scores.