8 Team Single Elimination Bracket

How the draw is structured

Round by round

Opening round by seed

Seeds are paired so the strongest and weakest meet first, which keeps the top seeds in opposite halves of the draw. This is the order the board is drawn in, top to bottom.

• 1 v 8
• 4 v 5
• 2 v 7
• 3 v 6

How long it takes

Rounds run one after another, because a round cannot start until the one feeding it has finished. Matches inside a round can all run at once, so the number of courts you have decides the day more than the number of entrants does.

Playing time only. Add changeovers, warm-ups and the gap between rounds.

Questions

What are the matchups in an 8 team bracket?

Seed 1 plays 8, seed 4 plays 5, seed 2 plays 7, and seed 3 plays 6. The bracket is arranged so seeds 1 and 2 are in opposite halves and can only meet in the final.

How many games are in an 8 team single elimination tournament?

Seven: four quarter-finals, two semi-finals and a final. A third place play-off makes it eight.

Other sizes and formats

• 8 Team Double Elimination BracketEight teams, winners and losers brackets, fourteen matches. One bad game does not end a good run. Free and printable.
• 8 Team Round Robin ScheduleEight teams playing everyone: twenty eight matches across seven rounds of four. Free round robin generator, printable schedule.
• 4 Team Single Elimination BracketA four team knockout: two semi-finals, a final, and an optional third place play-off. Fill in four names, then print or share it.
• 6 Team Single Elimination BracketSix teams in an eight slot bracket: the top two seeds get a bye, and the other four play in. Free, printable, and shareable.
• 10 Team Single Elimination BracketTen teams in a sixteen slot bracket, with six byes to the top seeds. See the full draw, then print it or share the link.
• 12 Team Single Elimination BracketTwelve teams in a sixteen slot bracket: seeds 1 to 4 get byes and the other eight play in. Free, printable, shareable.
• 16 Team Single Elimination BracketA full sixteen team knockout with no byes: round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals, final. Fifteen matches, four rounds.
• 24 Team Single Elimination BracketTwenty four teams in a thirty two slot bracket, with eight byes to the top seeds. Draw it, print it, or share the link.