Brackets / Single elimination / 26 teams

26-team single elimination bracket

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

Round 1 Round 2 Quarterfinals Semifinals Final G1 16 17 G2 8 25 G3 9 24 G4 13 20 G5 12 21 G6 15 18 G7 7 26 G8 10 23 G9 14 19 G10 11 22 G11 1 bye Winner G1 G12 Winner G2 Winner G3 G13 4 bye Winner G4 G14 5 bye Winner G5 G15 2 bye Winner G6 G16 Winner G7 Winner G8 G17 3 bye Winner G9 G18 6 bye Winner G10 G19 Winner G11 Winner G12 G20 Winner G13 Winner G14 G21 Winner G15 Winner G16 G22 Winner G17 Winner G18 G23 Winner G19 Winner G20 G24 Winner G21 Winner G22 G25 Winner G23 Winner G24

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26teams
25games to a champion
5rounds
1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and 5 and 6seeds get a bye

The shape of a 26-team bracket

26 teams in a 32-slot bracket leave 6 byes, for seeds 1 to 6. The other 20 teams play 10 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 (G11), 8 (G19), 4 (G23), 2 (G25)
2bye, then 15 (G15), 7 (G21), 3 (G24), 1 (G25)
3bye, then 14 (G17), 6 (G22), 2 (G24)
4bye, then 13 (G13), 5 (G20), 1 (G23)

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 26 plays 1.

How long it takes

25 games at 30 minutes is 12 h 30 min of court time. No round has more than 10 games, so extra courts beyond that sit idle.

CourtsClock time
112 h 30 min
26 h 30 min
44 h

Every game in order

GameRoundTeam ATeam B
G1Round 1Seed 16Seed 17
G2Round 1Seed 8Seed 25
G3Round 1Seed 9Seed 24
G4Round 1Seed 13Seed 20
G5Round 1Seed 12Seed 21
G6Round 1Seed 15Seed 18
G7Round 1Seed 7Seed 26
G8Round 1Seed 10Seed 23
G9Round 1Seed 14Seed 19
G10Round 1Seed 11Seed 22
G11Round 2Seed 1Winner of G1
G12Round 2Winner of G2Winner of G3
G13Round 2Seed 4Winner of G4
G14Round 2Seed 5Winner of G5
G15Round 2Seed 2Winner of G6
G16Round 2Winner of G7Winner of G8
G17Round 2Seed 3Winner of G9
G18Round 2Seed 6Winner of G10
G19QuarterfinalsWinner of G11Winner of G12
G20QuarterfinalsWinner of G13Winner of G14
G21QuarterfinalsWinner of G15Winner of G16
G22QuarterfinalsWinner of G17Winner of G18
G23SemifinalsWinner of G19Winner of G20
G24SemifinalsWinner of G21Winner of G22
G25FinalWinner of G23Winner of G24

Questions

How many games are in a 26-team single elimination bracket?

25.

How many rounds does a 26-team single elimination bracket have?

5 rounds.

Who gets the byes with 26 teams?

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

Can I add a third-place game to a 26-team bracket?

Yes. The two semifinal losers play once more, which makes 26 games.

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