Free tool · Single elimination bracket
Single elimination bracket maker built for match day
Lose and you’re out — simple for players, unforgiving for organizers, because one mis-advanced winner ruins the whole draw. Tournamyx advances winners automatically the moment a score is saved, on a bracket everyone can see.
Free for small events · Nothing to install
8 teams · 7 matches · 3 rounds · type scores to advance winners
Quarter-Finals
Semi-Finals
Final
Type scores straight into the bracket — winners advance automatically. Nothing is saved here; save it on Tournamyx Scores to score live and share the link.
How it works
Set up single elimination in three steps.
- 01~2 min
Add teams — byes sort themselves
Enter any number of teams. If it isn’t a power of two, byes are placed automatically so the bracket still resolves to one winner.
- 02~1 min
Check the draw
Preview every first-round matchup. Seed by hand, randomise in one click, or drag teams around until the draw looks right.
- 03match day
Score it — winners advance live
Save a result and the winner moves forward on every screen at once. Spectators refresh the link, not you.
Field guide
Single elimination by the numbers
The defining property of a single elimination bracket: every match eliminates exactly one team, so crowning a champion from n teams always takes n − 1 matches. No format gets to a winner in fewer games — that’s why it owns the tight one-day schedule.
Rounds grow logarithmically: doubling the field adds just one round. A 16-team knockout is only one round longer than an 8-team one, which is why single elimination scales to huge fields where a round robin would take a week.
Bracket size, matches, rounds, byes
| Teams | Matches | Rounds | First-round byes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| 8 | 7 | 3 | 0 |
| 12 | 11 | 4 | 4 |
| 16 | 15 | 4 | 0 |
| 24 | 23 | 5 | 8 |
How byes actually work
Brackets only resolve cleanly at powers of two — 4, 8, 16, 32. Any other entry count gets padded with byes: free passes through round one, placed against the top seeds by convention, so the reward for seeding high is a guaranteed spot in round two.
With 12 teams, the bracket is built at 16 with four byes; seeds one through four skip straight to the quarter-finals while seeds five through twelve play in. Type 12 names into the generator above and you’ll see exactly that draw, byes advanced automatically.
The trade-off: speed for games
Single elimination’s speed has a price — half of your field is done after one match, which is a hard sell when teams paid an entry fee and drove an hour. If guaranteed games matter, put a short group stage in front of the knockout: everyone gets three matches, the bracket still delivers the finish.
The other classic fix is double elimination, which gives every team a second life through a losers bracket at roughly double the match count — the full comparison is in single vs double elimination. Whichever you pick, budget the day with the tournament schedule maker before you publish the draw.
More free tools
Running a different format?
Bracket generator
Any format, seeded or random, scored live from any phone.
Round robin generator
Every team plays every team — fixtures, standings, live scores.
Group + knockout generator
World Cup format: groups that feed a bracket automatically.
Schedule maker
Conflict-free match times across your real courts.
What if my team count isn’t a power of two?
Byes are placed automatically. With 12 teams, four receive a first-round bye and the bracket resolves cleanly to a final — no manual bracket surgery.
Should I use single or double elimination?
Single elimination is the fastest format and fits tight one-day schedules; double elimination gives everyone a second life but roughly doubles the matches. On limited courts, a group stage feeding a single elimination bracket is usually the better trade.
How many matches does single elimination take?
Always one fewer than the team count: 8 teams take 7 matches, 16 teams take 15. Every match eliminates exactly one team until one remains — the maths never changes.
Who advances winners on the bracket?
Nobody has to. When a score is saved — from any phone — the winner advances automatically and the bracket updates on the public link everyone is watching.
Can I add a group stage before the knockout?
Yes. Chain a round robin group stage in front of the bracket and qualifiers are seeded into it automatically when group play ends.
Is the single elimination bracket maker free?
Yes for brackets of up to 8 teams, with no limit on events. Larger draws upgrade to a paid plan or unlock one event for a one-off fee — no credit card to start.
Kickoff
Your bracket, five minutes from now.
Free for small events · No credit card · Nothing to install