Brackets / Double elimination / 12 teams

12-team double elimination bracket

22 games, or 23 if the team from the losers bracket wins the first grand final. Seed 1, seed 2, seed 3 and seed 4 skip the first round.

Winners bracket Losers bracket Winners round 1 Winners round 2 Winners round 3 Winners final Losers round 1 Losers round 2 Losers round 3 Losers round 4 Losers final G1 8 9 G2 5 12 G3 7 10 G4 6 11 G5 1 bye Winner G1 G6 4 bye Winner G2 G7 2 bye Winner G3 G8 3 bye Winner G4 G9 Winner G5 Winner G6 G10 Winner G7 Winner G8 G15 Winner G9 Winner G10 G11 Loser G1 Loser G8 G12 Loser G2 Loser G7 G13 Loser G3 Loser G6 G14 Loser G4 Loser G5 G16 Winner G11 Winner G12 G17 Winner G13 Winner G14 G18 Winner G16 Loser G9 G19 Winner G17 Loser G10 G20 Winner G18 Winner G19 G21 Winner G20 Loser G15 G22 Grand final Winner G15 Winner G21 G23 (only if needed) Winners-bracket team Losers-bracket team

Prints on one Letter or A4 page. Type your own names on the home page or after you click Run this live.

12teams
22games, 23 with a replayed final
4winners-bracket rounds
1 and 2 and 3 and 4seeds get a bye

The shape of a 12-team bracket

12 teams in a 16-slot bracket leave 4 byes, for seeds 1 to 4. The other 8 teams play 4 round-1 games: 8 v 9, 5 v 12, 7 v 10 and 6 v 11. After round 1, 8 teams are left and the bracket is full from there.

If the favourites win

In a favourites-win run seed 2 comes through the losers bracket (10 games) to meet seed 1 in game 22.

SeedOpponents if favourites win (game)
1bye, then 8 (G5), 4 (G9), 2 (G15), 2 (G22)
2bye, then 7 (G7), 3 (G10), 1 (G15), 3 (G21), 1 (G22)
3bye, then 6 (G8), 2 (G10), 5 (G19), 4 (G20), 2 (G21)
4bye, then 5 (G6), 1 (G9), 6 (G18), 3 (G20)

How many games each team plays

The fewest games a team can play is 2: two losses and out. The most is 9, for a team that loses once in the winners bracket, then wins every losers-bracket game and both grand finals.

How long it takes

22 games at 30 minutes is 11 h of court time. No round has more than 4 games, so extra courts beyond that sit idle; the replayed final is not counted.

CourtsClock time
111 h
26 h 30 min
45 h

Every game in order

GameRoundTeam ATeam B
G1Winners round 1Seed 8Seed 9
G2Winners round 1Seed 5Seed 12
G3Winners round 1Seed 7Seed 10
G4Winners round 1Seed 6Seed 11
G5Winners round 2Seed 1Winner of G1
G6Winners round 2Seed 4Winner of G2
G7Winners round 2Seed 2Winner of G3
G8Winners round 2Seed 3Winner of G4
G9Winners round 3Winner of G5Winner of G6
G10Winners round 3Winner of G7Winner of G8
G11Losers round 1Loser of G1Loser of G8
G12Losers round 1Loser of G2Loser of G7
G13Losers round 1Loser of G3Loser of G6
G14Losers round 1Loser of G4Loser of G5
G15Winners finalWinner of G9Winner of G10
G16Losers round 2Winner of G11Winner of G12
G17Losers round 2Winner of G13Winner of G14
G18Losers round 3Winner of G16Loser of G9
G19Losers round 3Winner of G17Loser of G10
G20Losers round 4Winner of G18Winner of G19
G21Losers finalWinner of G20Loser of G15
G22Grand finalWinner of G15Winner of G21
G23Grand final reset (if needed)Winners-bracket teamLosers-bracket team

Questions

How many games are in a 12-team double elimination bracket?

22. If the grand final needs a second game, 23.

How many rounds does a 12-team double elimination bracket have?

4 rounds in the winners bracket, plus 5 losers rounds and the grand final.

Who gets the byes with 12 teams?

Seed 1, Seed 2, Seed 3 and Seed 4. They start in round 2.

Can a team lose twice and still win a 12-team double elimination?

No. A second loss ends a team's run. The only champion who has lost once is the team that came up through the losers bracket.

Last updated