16-team double elimination bracket
A blank 16-team double elimination bracket: 30 or 31 games, numbered in playing order. Print it, or add your team names and play it online.
- Teams
- 16
- Games
- 30 or 31
- Rounds
- 4 + 6 losers’
- Byes
- 0
- First-round games
- 8
- Most games, one team
- 9
About a 16-team bracket
Sixteen-team double elimination runs to 30 or 31 games over four winners’ rounds, six losers’ rounds and the grand final. A team that loses its first game can still win the title, but only by winning up to eight more games in a row, including the reset.
It needs a long day or a weekend: with four courts the losers’ bracket keeps them busy while the winners’ bracket waits. Print it on Tabloid or A3 if you can; on Letter the losers’ bracket lines are narrow.
Byes and the first round
16 is a power of two, so there are no byes: all 16 teams play in the first round (1 v 16, 8 v 9, 4 v 13, 5 v 12, 2 v 15, 7 v 10, 3 v 14, 6 v 11). Each pairing adds up to 17, so seed 1 meets the lowest seed and seeds 1 and 2 can only meet in the final.
No seeding? Write the names in at random, or put the names into the bracket maker and choose Random draw for a reproducible draw you can print.
Round by round
| Round | Games | Game numbers |
|---|---|---|
| Winners round 1 | 8 | M1–M8 |
| Losers round 1 | 4 | M9–M12 |
| Winners round 2 | 4 | M13–M16 |
| Losers round 2 | 4 | M17–M20 |
| Losers round 3 | 2 | M21–M22 |
| Winners semifinals | 2 | M23–M24 |
| Losers round 4 | 2 | M25–M26 |
| Losers round 5 | 1 | M27 |
| Winners final | 1 | M28 |
| Losers final | 1 | M29 |
| Grand final | 1 | M30 |
| Grand final reset | 1 | M31 |
Every game, in order
The same numbers as on the printed bracket, so a scorer can call out “game 5” and everyone knows where to write.
- M1 (Winners round 1): Seed 1 v Seed 16
- M2 (Winners round 1): Seed 8 v Seed 9
- M3 (Winners round 1): Seed 4 v Seed 13
- M4 (Winners round 1): Seed 5 v Seed 12
- M5 (Winners round 1): Seed 2 v Seed 15
- M6 (Winners round 1): Seed 7 v Seed 10
- M7 (Winners round 1): Seed 3 v Seed 14
- M8 (Winners round 1): Seed 6 v Seed 11
- M9 (Losers round 1): Loser of M1 v Loser of M2
- M10 (Losers round 1): Loser of M3 v Loser of M4
- M11 (Losers round 1): Loser of M5 v Loser of M6
- M12 (Losers round 1): Loser of M7 v Loser of M8
- M13 (Winners round 2): Winner of M1 v Winner of M2
- M14 (Winners round 2): Winner of M3 v Winner of M4
- M15 (Winners round 2): Winner of M5 v Winner of M6
- M16 (Winners round 2): Winner of M7 v Winner of M8
- M17 (Losers round 2): Winner of M9 v Loser of M16
- M18 (Losers round 2): Winner of M10 v Loser of M15
- M19 (Losers round 2): Winner of M11 v Loser of M14
- M20 (Losers round 2): Winner of M12 v Loser of M13
- M21 (Losers round 3): Winner of M17 v Winner of M18
- M22 (Losers round 3): Winner of M19 v Winner of M20
- M23 (Winners semifinals): Winner of M13 v Winner of M14
- M24 (Winners semifinals): Winner of M15 v Winner of M16
- M25 (Losers round 4): Winner of M21 v Loser of M24
- M26 (Losers round 4): Winner of M22 v Loser of M23
- M27 (Losers round 5): Winner of M25 v Winner of M26
- M28 (Winners final): Winner of M23 v Winner of M24
- M29 (Losers final): Winner of M27 v Loser of M28
- M30 (Grand final): Winner of M28 v Winner of M29
- M31 (Grand final reset): Winner of M30 v Loser of M30
How long it takes
Time slots needed if each court or field plays one game per slot and a round must finish before the next starts (in double elimination the two brackets can overlap, so a tight schedule can do a little better):
| Courts or fields | Time slots | At 45 minutes a slot |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 31 | 23 h 15 min |
| 2 | 18 | 13 h 30 min |
| 4 | 13 | 9 h 45 min |
How it differs from single elimination
Losing once drops a team into the losers’ bracket (drawn underneath) instead of ending its tournament. Losers’ rounds alternate between survivors playing each other and survivors meeting teams just knocked down from the winners’ bracket, whose lines are marked “Loser of M…”. The losers’ bracket champion meets the unbeaten winners’ bracket champion in the grand final; if the losers’ side wins, both have one loss and the final is replayed. A 16-team single elimination bracket is only 15 games (print one here).
Final placings
A finished bracket places every team. Teams knocked out in the same losers’ round share a place.
- 1st: 1 team
- 2nd: 1 team
- 3rd: 1 team
- 4th: 1 team
- 5th–6th: 2 teams
- 7th–8th: 2 teams
- 9th–12th: 4 teams
- 13th–16th: 4 teams
Printing it
The Print button prints only the bracket, landscape, scaled to one page, with a title and a date line. Smallest text on the page for each paper size (below about 6 pt it is hard to read; handwriting needs the line, not the text):
- Letter (11 × 8.5 in): about 5 pt
- A4 (297 × 210 mm): about 5.3 pt
- Legal (14 × 8.5 in): about 6.4 pt
- Tabloid (17 × 11 in): about 7.9 pt
Tabloid (or A3) is the best fit for this size. On Letter or A4 it still fits on one page, but the text is small: keep names short, or write team numbers.
Page last reviewed 30 September 2026.
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Common questions
How many games are in a 16-team double elimination bracket?
30 if the winners’ bracket champion wins the grand final, 31 if the losers’ bracket champion wins it and the final is replayed. Everyone but the champion loses twice, and the champion loses once at most.
How many rounds does a 16-team bracket have?
4 in the winners’ bracket, 6 in the losers’ bracket, then the grand final and, if needed, the reset. The champion from the winners’ side plays 5 or 6 games; a team that loses its first game plays up to 9.
Does a 16-team bracket need byes?
No. 16 is a power of two, so every team plays in the first round and every round halves the field.