Brackets / Single elimination / 8 teams
8-team single elimination bracket
7 games over 3 rounds. No byes: every team plays round 1.
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The shape of a 8-team bracket
8 fills an 8-slot bracket exactly, so round 1 is a full set of 4 games, from 1 v 8 down to 3 v 6. Nobody gets a free pass, and every later round halves the field: 4, 2, 1 games.
If the favourites win
That puts seed 1 against seed 4 and seed 2 against seed 3 in the semifinals.
| Seed | Opponents if favourites win (game) |
|---|---|
| 1 | 8 (G1), 4 (G5), 2 (G7) |
| 2 | 7 (G3), 3 (G6), 1 (G7) |
| 3 | 6 (G4), 2 (G6) |
| 4 | 5 (G2), 1 (G5) |
How many games each team plays
The fewest is 1, for a team that loses its first game. The most is 3. In the favourites-win run, seed 1 plays 3 and seed 8 plays 1.
How long it takes
7 games at 30 minutes is 3 h 30 min of court time. No round has more than 4 games, so extra courts beyond that sit idle.
| Courts | Clock time |
|---|---|
| 1 | 3 h 30 min |
| 2 | 2 h |
| 4 | 1 h 30 min |
Every game in order
| Game | Round | Team A | Team B |
|---|---|---|---|
| G1 | Quarterfinals | Seed 1 | Seed 8 |
| G2 | Quarterfinals | Seed 4 | Seed 5 |
| G3 | Quarterfinals | Seed 2 | Seed 7 |
| G4 | Quarterfinals | Seed 3 | Seed 6 |
| G5 | Semifinals | Winner of G1 | Winner of G2 |
| G6 | Semifinals | Winner of G3 | Winner of G4 |
| G7 | Final | Winner of G5 | Winner of G6 |
Questions
How many games are in a 8-team single elimination bracket?
7.
How many rounds does a 8-team single elimination bracket have?
3 rounds.
Are there byes with 8 teams?
No. 8 fills a bracket of 8 exactly.
Can I add a third-place game to a 8-team bracket?
Yes. The two semifinal losers play once more, which makes 8 games.
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