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Free · No sign-up · Runs in your browserKnockout Bracket Generator
Enter your entries and get a seeded single-elimination bracket with byes handled for any number from 2 to 64.
How the knockout bracket generator works
Enter your entries, best first, or just a number from 2 to 64. The tool builds a single-elimination bracket: it rounds the field up to the next power of two, places the seeds in the standard order, and gives the empty places to the top seeds as byes. A bye means the entry skips round one. Seeds 1 and 2 are placed in opposite halves so they can only meet in the final, and seeds 1 to 4 cannot meet before the semi-finals.
Byes for fields that are not a power of two
Brackets run in rounds that halve the field, so they have 2, 4, 8, 16, 32 or 64 places. With 12 entries the next size up is 16, which leaves 4 places empty; the four top seeds take byes and the other eight play four first-round games to bring the field to eight. The tool checks that every entry appears exactly once and that no first-round game has two byes.
| Entries | Bracket places | Byes | Rounds | Games | Who gets byes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | seeds 1 to 1 |
| 5 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 4 | seeds 1 to 3 |
| 6 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 5 | seeds 1 to 2 |
| 7 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 6 | seeds 1 to 1 |
| 9 | 16 | 7 | 4 | 8 | seeds 1 to 7 |
| 10 | 16 | 6 | 4 | 9 | seeds 1 to 6 |
| 11 | 16 | 5 | 4 | 10 | seeds 1 to 5 |
| 12 | 16 | 4 | 4 | 11 | seeds 1 to 4 |
| 13 | 16 | 3 | 4 | 12 | seeds 1 to 3 |
| 14 | 16 | 2 | 4 | 13 | seeds 1 to 2 |
| 15 | 16 | 1 | 4 | 14 | seeds 1 to 1 |
| 16 | 16 | 0 | 4 | 15 | none |
| 20 | 32 | 12 | 5 | 19 | seeds 1 to 12 |
| 24 | 32 | 8 | 5 | 23 | seeds 1 to 8 |
| 32 | 32 | 0 | 5 | 31 | none |
The number of games is always one fewer than the number of entries, however many byes there are. Pick a size to see its bracket:
Single elimination is not always fair
One loss ends your tournament, so a single bad game can eliminate the best entry. If you want everyone to get several games, use a round robin, or play pools followed by a knockout. Double elimination, where an entry is out after two losses, is not built here.
Seeding or random draw
If you can rank the entries, type them best first. If not, tick Randomise the seeding for a random draw. Printing gives a clean bracket with blank lines for scores. If you need to make the teams first, use the random team generator.
- How do I make a bracket with byes?
- Enter the number of entries or the names. The tool rounds up to the next power of two and gives the extra places to the top seeds as byes.
- How many games in a knockout tournament?
- One fewer than the number of entries: 8 entries is 7 games, 12 entries is 11 games, 16 is 15.
- Who gets the byes?
- The highest seeds, one bye each, starting with seed 1.
- Why can seed 1 and seed 2 only meet in the final?
- Standard seeding puts them in opposite halves of the bracket.
- Is there a limit?
- From 2 to 64 entries.
- Can I print the bracket?
- Yes. Press Print after you generate.