Brackets / Single elimination / 24 teams

24-team single elimination bracket

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

Round 1 Round 2 Quarterfinals Semifinals Final G1 16 17 G2 9 24 G3 13 20 G4 12 21 G5 15 18 G6 10 23 G7 14 19 G8 11 22 G9 1 bye Winner G1 G10 8 bye Winner G2 G11 4 bye Winner G3 G12 5 bye Winner G4 G13 2 bye Winner G5 G14 7 bye Winner G6 G15 3 bye Winner G7 G16 6 bye Winner G8 G17 Winner G9 Winner G10 G18 Winner G11 Winner G12 G19 Winner G13 Winner G14 G20 Winner G15 Winner G16 G21 Winner G17 Winner G18 G22 Winner G19 Winner G20 G23 Winner G21 Winner G22

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24teams
23games to a champion
5rounds
1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and 5 and 6 and 7 and 8seeds get a bye

The shape of a 24-team bracket

24 teams in a 32-slot bracket leave 8 byes, for seeds 1 to 8. The other 16 teams play 8 round-1 games, from 16 v 17 down to 11 v 22. 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 (G17), 4 (G21), 2 (G23)
2bye, then 15 (G13), 7 (G19), 3 (G22), 1 (G23)
3bye, then 14 (G15), 6 (G20), 2 (G22)
4bye, then 13 (G11), 5 (G18), 1 (G21)

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 24 plays 1.

How long it takes

23 games at 30 minutes is 11 h 30 min of court time. No round has more than 8 games, so extra courts beyond that sit idle.

CourtsClock time
111 h 30 min
26 h
43 h 30 min

Every game in order

GameRoundTeam ATeam B
G1Round 1Seed 16Seed 17
G2Round 1Seed 9Seed 24
G3Round 1Seed 13Seed 20
G4Round 1Seed 12Seed 21
G5Round 1Seed 15Seed 18
G6Round 1Seed 10Seed 23
G7Round 1Seed 14Seed 19
G8Round 1Seed 11Seed 22
G9Round 2Seed 1Winner of G1
G10Round 2Seed 8Winner of G2
G11Round 2Seed 4Winner of G3
G12Round 2Seed 5Winner of G4
G13Round 2Seed 2Winner of G5
G14Round 2Seed 7Winner of G6
G15Round 2Seed 3Winner of G7
G16Round 2Seed 6Winner of G8
G17QuarterfinalsWinner of G9Winner of G10
G18QuarterfinalsWinner of G11Winner of G12
G19QuarterfinalsWinner of G13Winner of G14
G20QuarterfinalsWinner of G15Winner of G16
G21SemifinalsWinner of G17Winner of G18
G22SemifinalsWinner of G19Winner of G20
G23FinalWinner of G21Winner of G22

Questions

How many games are in a 24-team single elimination bracket?

23.

How many rounds does a 24-team single elimination bracket have?

5 rounds.

Who gets the byes with 24 teams?

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

Can I add a third-place game to a 24-team bracket?

Yes. The two semifinal losers play once more, which makes 24 games.

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