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8 entries means 7 games over 3 rounds and no byes. Edit the names below or use the printed bracket.
The 8-team bracket
Eight entries is a perfect bracket: four quarter-finals, two semi-finals and a final, seven games, no byes. Seeding keeps seeds 1 and 2 apart until the final and seeds 1 to 4 apart until the semi-finals.
- Bracket size: 8 places
- Rounds: 3
- Games in total: 7 (every game knocks one entry out, so 7 games leave one winner)
- Byes: none
- Round 1 games: 4
The bracket, game by game
Entries are labelled Seed 1 to Seed 8; seed 1 is the strongest. In each game the winner goes to the game named in a later round.
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 9. The pairings for this bracket are:
| Slot | Seed pairing | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 v 8 | played in round 1 |
| 2 | 4 v 5 | played in round 1 |
| 3 | 2 v 7 | played in round 1 |
| 4 | 3 v 6 | played in round 1 |
With no byes every entry plays in round one. 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 | 2 h 20 min | 3 h 30 min | 5 h 15 min | 7 h |
| 2 courts or pitches | 80 min | 2 h | 3 h | 4 h |
| 4 courts or pitches | 60 min | 90 min | 2 h 15 min | 3 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 8-team round robin, which has 28 games for 8 teams against 7 here.
- How many games are in a 8-team knockout bracket?
- 7 games. Every game eliminates one entry, so 7 games leave one champion.
- How many rounds in a 8-team bracket?
- 3 rounds. The bracket has 8 places.
- How many byes in a 8-team bracket?
- None. The field is a power of two.
- 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.