Brackets / Double elimination / 16 teams
16-team double elimination bracket
30 games, or 31 if the team from the losers bracket wins the first grand final. Every team plays in round 1.
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The shape of a 16-team bracket
16 fills a 16-slot bracket exactly, so round 1 is a full set of 8 games, from 1 v 16 down to 6 v 11. Nobody gets a free pass, and every later round halves the field: 8, 4, 2, 1 games.
If the favourites win
In a favourites-win run seed 2 comes through the losers bracket (14 games) to meet seed 1 in game 30.
| Seed | Opponents if favourites win (game) |
|---|---|
| 1 | 16 (G1), 8 (G9), 4 (G17), 2 (G23), 2 (G30) |
| 2 | 15 (G5), 7 (G11), 3 (G18), 1 (G23), 3 (G29), 1 (G30) |
| 3 | 14 (G7), 6 (G12), 2 (G18), 5 (G27), 4 (G28), 2 (G29) |
| 4 | 13 (G3), 5 (G10), 1 (G17), 6 (G26), 3 (G28) |
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
30 games at 30 minutes is 15 h of court time. No round has more than 8 games, so extra courts beyond that sit idle; the replayed final is not counted.
| Courts | Clock time |
|---|---|
| 1 | 15 h |
| 2 | 8 h 30 min |
| 4 | 6 h |
Every game in order
| Game | Round | Team A | Team B |
|---|---|---|---|
| G1 | Winners round 1 | Seed 1 | Seed 16 |
| G2 | Winners round 1 | Seed 8 | Seed 9 |
| G3 | Winners round 1 | Seed 4 | Seed 13 |
| G4 | Winners round 1 | Seed 5 | Seed 12 |
| G5 | Winners round 1 | Seed 2 | Seed 15 |
| G6 | Winners round 1 | Seed 7 | Seed 10 |
| G7 | Winners round 1 | Seed 3 | Seed 14 |
| G8 | Winners round 1 | Seed 6 | Seed 11 |
| G9 | Winners round 2 | Winner of G1 | Winner of G2 |
| G10 | Winners round 2 | Winner of G3 | Winner of G4 |
| G11 | Winners round 2 | Winner of G5 | Winner of G6 |
| G12 | Winners round 2 | Winner of G7 | Winner of G8 |
| G13 | Losers round 1 | Loser of G1 | Loser of G2 |
| G14 | Losers round 1 | Loser of G3 | Loser of G4 |
| G15 | Losers round 1 | Loser of G5 | Loser of G6 |
| G16 | Losers round 1 | Loser of G7 | Loser of G8 |
| G17 | Winners round 3 | Winner of G9 | Winner of G10 |
| G18 | Winners round 3 | Winner of G11 | Winner of G12 |
| G19 | Losers round 2 | Winner of G13 | Loser of G12 |
| G20 | Losers round 2 | Winner of G14 | Loser of G11 |
| G21 | Losers round 2 | Winner of G15 | Loser of G10 |
| G22 | Losers round 2 | Winner of G16 | Loser of G9 |
| G23 | Winners final | Winner of G17 | Winner of G18 |
| G24 | Losers round 3 | Winner of G19 | Winner of G20 |
| G25 | Losers round 3 | Winner of G21 | Winner of G22 |
| G26 | Losers round 4 | Winner of G24 | Loser of G17 |
| G27 | Losers round 4 | Winner of G25 | Loser of G18 |
| G28 | Losers round 5 | Winner of G26 | Winner of G27 |
| G29 | Losers final | Winner of G28 | Loser of G23 |
| G30 | Grand final | Winner of G23 | Winner of G29 |
| G31 | Grand final reset (if needed) | Winners-bracket team | Losers-bracket team |
Questions
How many games are in a 16-team double elimination bracket?
30. If the grand final needs a second game, 31.
How many rounds does a 16-team double elimination bracket have?
4 rounds in the winners bracket, plus 6 losers rounds and the grand final.
Are there byes with 16 teams?
No. 16 fills a bracket of 16 exactly.
Can a team lose twice and still win a 16-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.
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