What this bracket generator does
It turns a list of 2 to 64 players or teams into a single-elimination bracket. In single elimination every match has a winner and a loser, the loser is out, and the last one standing is the champion. The page places the entrants by seed, fills empty slots with byes, and lets you record each winner with one click until the champion is known. You can add scores, undo changes, and download the bracket as a PDF to print or as a PNG image to share.
How this tool seeds the bracket
The first name in your list is seed 1, the second is seed 2, and so on. The bracket gets the next power of two of slots: 2, 4, 8, 16, 32 or 64. To place the seeds, the page starts with the pair 1 and 2 and doubles the list step by step: each seed s gets the partner (slots + 1 − s) right after it. For 4 slots that gives 1, 4, 2, 3. For 8 slots it gives 1, 8, 4, 5, 2, 7, 3, 6, read in pairs from the top:
| Round 1 match | Seeds | Sum |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 vs 8 | 9 |
| 2 | 4 vs 5 | 9 |
| 3 | 2 vs 7 | 9 |
| 4 | 3 vs 6 | 9 |
So the seeds of every first-round match add up to the number of slots plus one, and seed 1 faces the lowest seed. Seeds 1 and 2 sit in different halves and can only meet in the final. Seeds 1 to 4 sit in four different quarters, so if the favorites keep winning, they meet in the semifinals.
Byes
When your count is not a power of two, the seeds above your count do not exist. Their slots are byes, and whoever is drawn against a bye moves to round 2 without playing. Because the missing seeds are the lowest ones, the byes go to the top seeds: with 12 entrants in a bracket of 16, seeds 13 to 16 are empty, and seeds 1 to 4 get the byes. Two byes never meet in one match.
| Entrants | Bracket size | Byes |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | 4 | 1 |
| 5 | 8 | 3 |
| 6 | 8 | 2 |
| 10 | 16 | 6 |
| 12 | 16 | 4 |
| 20 | 32 | 12 |
| 24 | 32 | 8 |
| 40 | 64 | 24 |
If you pick Random draw, the page shuffles the names first, and the shuffled order becomes the seeding. That is useful for a casual event where nobody is ranked. The byes then fall on whoever lands in the top positions.
Winners, scores and undo
Click or tap a name to make it the winner of that match. The name moves into the next round, and the champion box fills once the final is decided. Click the same name again to clear the result, or the other name to change it. When you change a result, every later result on that path is cleared, because a different entrant now plays there. Undo goes back through your recent changes, including a newly created bracket. With score fields switched on, each match gets a small box per entrant. Scores are only notes: the winner is still the name you click.
Printing and downloads
The PDF uses landscape pages, Letter in the US and Canada and A4 elsewhere, chosen from your browser language. A bracket of up to 16 slots fits on one page. Bigger brackets are split so the names stay readable: one page per 16 slots for the first four rounds, then one page with the rest of the rounds and the champion. A full 64-entrant bracket takes 5 pages, a 32-entrant bracket 3 pages. Names with letters outside the standard PDF font are simplified, for example an accent dropped, or shown as a question mark. The PNG shows the whole bracket in one image, for a group chat or a screen.
A worked example
Say 6 teams sign up for a table tennis evening and you list them by strength. The bracket has 8 slots and 2 byes. Seeds 1 and 2 skip round 1. The first round has two matches, seed 4 against seed 5 and seed 3 against seed 6. In the semifinals, seed 1 meets the winner of 4 against 5, and seed 2 meets the winner of 3 against 6. That makes 5 matches in total, always one fewer than the number of entrants, because each match sends exactly one entrant home.
Limits
- Single elimination only. There is no double-elimination bracket and no match for third place.
- One bracket at a time. Creating a new one replaces the old one, though Undo brings it back while the page is open.
- The bracket is saved in this browser. It does not sync between devices, and a private window forgets it.
- Names are cut to 60 characters. In the boxes, long names wrap to two lines and in the PDF and PNG they are shortened with "...".
How to use the tournament bracket generator
- 1Type or paste the entrants, one per line, with the strongest first. Add a tournament name if you like.
- 2Choose Seeded as entered or Random draw, and whether you want score fields. Press Create bracket.
- 3After each match, click the winner's name. On a phone, swipe the bracket sideways to see the later rounds.
- 4Download the PDF to print a wall chart, or the PNG to share the current state.
Related guides
- How to Pick a Random Winner Fairly: Draws People Trust
- How to Organize a Secret Santa: Rules, Budget, Remote Draws
- How to Make a Round Robin Schedule: Pairings and Timing
Frequently asked questions
How many entrants can a bracket have?
From 2 to 64 players or teams. The bracket always has a power-of-two number of slots (2, 4, 8, 16, 32 or 64). When your count is in between, the empty slots become byes, so 12 entrants get a bracket of 16 with 4 byes.
Who gets the byes?
The top seeds. Seed 1 is placed against the lowest seed, so in a bracket of 16 seed 1 would meet seed 16. If there are only 12 entrants, seeds 13 to 16 do not exist, and seeds 1 to 4 go straight to round 2.
What if I do not want to seed the entrants?
Pick Random draw. The page shuffles your list before it builds the bracket, and the shuffled order then counts as the seeding. Byes still go to whoever lands on the seed 1 to 4 positions, so they are random too.
How do I record a winner or fix a mistake?
Click the winner's name. It moves into the next round. Click the same name again to clear the result, or click the other name to change it. Results later in the bracket that depended on the old winner are cleared. Undo steps back through your last changes.
Does it do double elimination?
No. This generator makes single-elimination brackets only: one loss and an entrant is out. It also has no match for third place. For double elimination you would need a second, losers' bracket, which this page does not draw.
Where is my bracket saved?
In this browser only, in its local storage, so it is still there when you come back on the same device. Nothing is uploaded. Private windows and cleared site data remove it. Download a PDF or PNG to keep a copy or share the bracket.
How does a 64-entrant bracket print?
The PDF is landscape. Up to 16 entrants fit on one page. Larger brackets get one page per group of 16 entrants for the first four rounds, plus a last page with the remaining rounds and the champion, so the names stay readable. A 64-entrant bracket has 5 pages.