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Free printable bracket · Double elimination

16 team double elimination bracket

A 16-team double elimination bracket has 30 games, or 31 if the team that comes through the losers bracket wins the grand final, and no byes: every team plays in round one.

Sixteen teams fills the frame: no byes, 30 games, and a losers bracket that runs 6 rounds. It's the biggest double elimination most one-weekend events run; above it, pool play into a playoff is usually kinder.

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  • 30 +1games, plus a reset final if needed
  • 0first-round byes
  • 4 + 6winners + losers rounds
  • 2–9games per team

The bracket

16 teams, 30 games, every one numbered.

Bracket

Show the bracket as

Winners bracket

Losers bracket

Championship

Winners bracket

Round of 16Games 1–8

  1. 11Team 1v.16Team 16
  2. 28Team 8v.9Team 9
  3. 34Team 4v.13Team 13
  4. 45Team 5v.12Team 12
  5. 52Team 2v.15Team 15
  6. 67Team 7v.10Team 10
  7. 73Team 3v.14Team 14
  8. 86Team 6v.11Team 11

QuarterfinalsGames 9–12

  1. 9Winner of Game 1v.Winner of Game 2
  2. 10Winner of Game 3v.Winner of Game 4
  3. 11Winner of Game 5v.Winner of Game 6
  4. 12Winner of Game 7v.Winner of Game 8

SemifinalsGames 13–14

  1. 13Winner of Game 9v.Winner of Game 10
  2. 14Winner of Game 11v.Winner of Game 12

FinalGame 15

  1. 15Winner of Game 13v.Winner of Game 14

Losers bracket

Round 1Games 16–19

  1. 16Loser of Game 1v.Loser of Game 2
  2. 17Loser of Game 3v.Loser of Game 4
  3. 18Loser of Game 5v.Loser of Game 6
  4. 19Loser of Game 7v.Loser of Game 8

Round 2Games 20–23

  1. 20Winner of Game 16v.Loser of Game 12
  2. 21Winner of Game 17v.Loser of Game 11
  3. 22Winner of Game 18v.Loser of Game 10
  4. 23Winner of Game 19v.Loser of Game 9

Round 3Games 24–25

  1. 24Winner of Game 20v.Winner of Game 21
  2. 25Winner of Game 22v.Winner of Game 23

Round 4Games 26–27

  1. 26Winner of Game 24v.Loser of Game 13
  2. 27Winner of Game 25v.Loser of Game 14

Round 5Game 28

  1. 28Winner of Game 26v.Winner of Game 27

FinalGame 29

  1. 29Winner of Game 28v.Loser of Game 15

Championship

Grand FinalGame 30

  1. 30Winner of Game 15v.Winner of Game 29

Reset FinalGame 31

  1. 31Winners bracket championv.Losers bracket championPlayed only if the losers-bracket champion wins Game 30.

Byes

No byes: every team plays in round one.

16 is a power of two, so the frame is full: round one has 8 games and nobody sits out. Seeding still matters: seed 1 plays seed 16 first, seed 2 plays seed 15, and so on, so the top seeds can only meet late.

Game order

All 30 games in play order, and the reset final.

  1. Game 1Winners Round of 16Team 1 vs Team 16Winner plays the Game 2 winner in Game 9. Loser drops to Game 16.
  2. Game 2Winners Round of 16Team 8 vs Team 9Winner plays the Game 1 winner in Game 9. Loser drops to Game 16.
  3. Game 3Winners Round of 16Team 4 vs Team 13Winner plays the Game 4 winner in Game 10. Loser drops to Game 17.
  4. Game 4Winners Round of 16Team 5 vs Team 12Winner plays the Game 3 winner in Game 10. Loser drops to Game 17.
  5. Game 5Winners Round of 16Team 2 vs Team 15Winner plays the Game 6 winner in Game 11. Loser drops to Game 18.
  6. Game 6Winners Round of 16Team 7 vs Team 10Winner plays the Game 5 winner in Game 11. Loser drops to Game 18.
  7. Game 7Winners Round of 16Team 3 vs Team 14Winner plays the Game 8 winner in Game 12. Loser drops to Game 19.
  8. Game 8Winners Round of 16Team 6 vs Team 11Winner plays the Game 7 winner in Game 12. Loser drops to Game 19.
  9. Game 9Winners QuarterfinalsWinner of Game 1 vs Winner of Game 2Winner plays the Game 10 winner in Game 13. Loser drops to Game 23.
  10. Game 10Winners QuarterfinalsWinner of Game 3 vs Winner of Game 4Winner plays the Game 9 winner in Game 13. Loser drops to Game 22.
  11. Game 11Winners QuarterfinalsWinner of Game 5 vs Winner of Game 6Winner plays the Game 12 winner in Game 14. Loser drops to Game 21.
  12. Game 12Winners QuarterfinalsWinner of Game 7 vs Winner of Game 8Winner plays the Game 11 winner in Game 14. Loser drops to Game 20.
  13. Game 13Winners SemifinalsWinner of Game 9 vs Winner of Game 10Winner plays the Game 14 winner in Game 15. Loser drops to Game 26.
  14. Game 14Winners SemifinalsWinner of Game 11 vs Winner of Game 12Winner plays the Game 13 winner in Game 15. Loser drops to Game 27.
  15. Game 15Winners FinalWinner of Game 13 vs Winner of Game 14Winner plays the Game 29 winner for the title in Game 30. Loser drops to Game 29.
  16. Game 16Losers Round 1Loser of Game 1 vs Loser of Game 2Winner plays the Game 12 loser in Game 20.
  17. Game 17Losers Round 1Loser of Game 3 vs Loser of Game 4Winner plays the Game 11 loser in Game 21.
  18. Game 18Losers Round 1Loser of Game 5 vs Loser of Game 6Winner plays the Game 10 loser in Game 22.
  19. Game 19Losers Round 1Loser of Game 7 vs Loser of Game 8Winner plays the Game 9 loser in Game 23.
  20. Game 20Losers Round 2Winner of Game 16 vs Loser of Game 12Winner plays the Game 21 winner in Game 24.
  21. Game 21Losers Round 2Winner of Game 17 vs Loser of Game 11Winner plays the Game 20 winner in Game 24.
  22. Game 22Losers Round 2Winner of Game 18 vs Loser of Game 10Winner plays the Game 23 winner in Game 25.
  23. Game 23Losers Round 2Winner of Game 19 vs Loser of Game 9Winner plays the Game 22 winner in Game 25.
  24. Game 24Losers Round 3Winner of Game 20 vs Winner of Game 21Winner plays the Game 13 loser in Game 26.
  25. Game 25Losers Round 3Winner of Game 22 vs Winner of Game 23Winner plays the Game 14 loser in Game 27.
  26. Game 26Losers Round 4Winner of Game 24 vs Loser of Game 13Winner plays the Game 27 winner in Game 28.
  27. Game 27Losers Round 4Winner of Game 25 vs Loser of Game 14Winner plays the Game 26 winner in Game 28.
  28. Game 28Losers Round 5Winner of Game 26 vs Winner of Game 27Winner plays the Game 15 loser in Game 29.
  29. Game 29Losers FinalWinner of Game 28 vs Loser of Game 15Winner plays the Game 15 winner for the title in Game 30.
  30. Game 30Grand FinalWinner of Game 15 vs Winner of Game 29
  31. Game 31Reset FinalWinners bracket champion vs Losers bracket championPlayed only if the losers-bracket champion wins Game 30.

How long it takes

Roughly how long a 16-team double elimination day runs.

About 12.5 hours. 30 games in 15 rounds of play across 2 fields.

Arithmetic, not a schedule: it ignores breaks and assumes every field stays busy. In TourneyPage you type the actual times and courts, and they show on the page.

Printable

Print it, or make it live.

16 team double elimination bracket drawn as lines, with every game numbered

The PDF is US Letter, landscape, with seed numbers on blank lines so you can write the teams in, one page each for the winners bracket, the losers bracket, and the final. Free, no sign-up, nothing on it but the bracket and this page's address.

Or skip the clipboard. The live version has the same bracket with the team names in, scores entered from a phone, standings that update, and the next games on top. Free to build and preview; $29 one-time to publish, for up to 32 teams per division.

Download the PDFMake this bracket live

Questions

Questions about a 16-team double elimination bracket.

How many games are in a 16 team double elimination bracket?

30, or 31 with the reset final. Every team except the champion loses twice, so 16 teams produce 30 games. The reset final happens only if the team from the losers bracket beats the winners-bracket champion in the grand final, which puts them at one loss each. TourneyPage lets you turn the reset off.

Does a 16 team bracket have byes?

No. 16 is a power of two, so round one has 8 games and every team plays in it.

How many games does each team play?

At least 2: two losses and you're out, so even the first team eliminated plays twice. The longest road is 9 games, for a team that loses early in the winners bracket, wins every losers-bracket game, takes the grand final, and then the reset.

How long does a 16 team double elimination tournament take?

About 12.5 hours with 30 games at 50 minutes each on 2 fields. Change the game length and the number of fields above to match your event. TourneyPage doesn't schedule the games for you; you type the times and courts you decide on, and they show on the page.

What happens when a team loses in the winners bracket?

It drops into the losers bracket at a set spot. The loser of Game 1 plays next in Game 16; later losers enter further along, so the losers bracket keeps filling until one team is left to face the winners-bracket champion in the grand final. A second loss anywhere is elimination.

Can I print this bracket or run it live?

Both. The PDF is free, with no sign-up. "Make this bracket live" opens the TourneyPage builder with double elimination already chosen for your 16 teams; you add their names, preview the page free, and pay $29 once to publish a link everyone can open on their phone.

Other sizes

Double elimination brackets for 4 to 32 teams.

← 15-team double elimination17-team double elimination →

How double elimination works · Games, rounds, and byes for every format and size · Sports that usually run it: Cornhole, 3v3 basketball

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