Brackets / Single elimination / 21 teams

21-team single elimination bracket

20 games over 5 rounds. Seed 1, seed 2, seed 3, seed 4, seed 5, seed 6, seed 7, seed 8, seed 9, seed 10 and seed 11 get a bye into round 2.

Round 1 Round 2 Quarterfinals Semifinals Final G1 16 17 G2 13 20 G3 12 21 G4 15 18 G5 14 19 G9 1 bye Winner G1 G6 8 bye 9 bye G10 4 bye Winner G2 G11 5 bye Winner G3 G12 2 bye Winner G4 G7 7 bye 10 bye G13 3 bye Winner G5 G8 6 bye 11 bye G14 Winner G9 Winner G6 G15 Winner G10 Winner G11 G16 Winner G12 Winner G7 G17 Winner G13 Winner G8 G18 Winner G14 Winner G15 G19 Winner G16 Winner G17 G20 Winner G18 Winner G19

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21teams
20games to a champion
5rounds
1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and 5 and 6 and 7 and 8 and 9 and 10 and 11seeds get a bye

The shape of a 21-team bracket

21 teams in a 32-slot bracket leave 11 byes, for seeds 1 to 11. The other 10 teams play 8 round-1 games, from 16 v 17 down to 6 v 11. After round 1, 16 teams are left and the bracket is full from there.

If the favourites win

That puts seed 1 against seed 4 and seed 2 against seed 3 in the semifinals.

SeedOpponents if favourites win (game)
1bye, then 16 (G9), 8 (G14), 4 (G18), 2 (G20)
2bye, then 15 (G12), 7 (G16), 3 (G19), 1 (G20)
3bye, then 14 (G13), 6 (G17), 2 (G19)
4bye, then 13 (G10), 5 (G15), 1 (G18)

How many games each team plays

The fewest is 1, for a team that loses its first game, which for a bye team is its round-2 game. The most is 5, and 4 for a champion that had a bye. In the favourites-win run, seed 1 plays 4 and seed 21 plays 1.

How long it takes

20 games at 30 minutes is 10 h of court time. No round has more than 8 games, so extra courts beyond that sit idle.

CourtsClock time
110 h
25 h 30 min
43 h 30 min

Every game in order

GameRoundTeam ATeam B
G1Round 1Seed 16Seed 17
G2Round 1Seed 13Seed 20
G3Round 1Seed 12Seed 21
G4Round 1Seed 15Seed 18
G5Round 1Seed 14Seed 19
G6Round 2Seed 8Seed 9
G7Round 2Seed 7Seed 10
G8Round 2Seed 6Seed 11
G9Round 2Seed 1Winner of G1
G10Round 2Seed 4Winner of G2
G11Round 2Seed 5Winner of G3
G12Round 2Seed 2Winner of G4
G13Round 2Seed 3Winner of G5
G14QuarterfinalsWinner of G9Winner of G6
G15QuarterfinalsWinner of G10Winner of G11
G16QuarterfinalsWinner of G12Winner of G7
G17QuarterfinalsWinner of G13Winner of G8
G18SemifinalsWinner of G14Winner of G15
G19SemifinalsWinner of G16Winner of G17
G20FinalWinner of G18Winner of G19

Questions

How many games are in a 21-team single elimination bracket?

20.

How many rounds does a 21-team single elimination bracket have?

5 rounds.

Who gets the byes with 21 teams?

Seed 1, Seed 2, Seed 3, Seed 4, Seed 5, Seed 6, Seed 7, Seed 8, Seed 9, Seed 10 and Seed 11. They start in round 2.

Can I add a third-place game to a 21-team bracket?

Yes. The two semifinal losers play once more, which makes 21 games.

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