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Free printable bracket · Single elimination

18 team single elimination bracket

A 18-team single elimination bracket has 17 games, with 14 first-round byes for seeds 1–14.

Eighteen teams: 14 byes, 2 first-round games, 17 games, five rounds. Seeds 1 through 14 start in the round of 16.

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Free to build and preview. $29 one-time to publish. The PDF is free, no sign-up.

  • 17games
  • 14first-round byes
  • 5rounds
  • 1–5games per team

The bracket

18 teams, 17 games, every one numbered.

Bracket

Show the bracket as

First RoundGames 1–2

  1. 116Team 16v.17Team 17
  2. 215Team 15v.18Team 18

Byes1 Team 1 · 8 Team 8 · 9 Team 9 · 4 Team 4 · 13 Team 13 · 5 Team 5 · 12 Team 12 · 2 Team 2 · 7 Team 7 · 10 Team 10 · 3 Team 3 · 14 Team 14 · 6 Team 6 · 11 Team 11

Round of 16Games 3–10

  1. 31Team 1v.Winner of Game 1
  2. 48Team 8v.9Team 9
  3. 54Team 4v.13Team 13
  4. 65Team 5v.12Team 12
  5. 72Team 2v.Winner of Game 2
  6. 87Team 7v.10Team 10
  7. 93Team 3v.14Team 14
  8. 106Team 6v.11Team 11

QuarterfinalsGames 11–14

  1. 11Winner of Game 3v.Winner of Game 4
  2. 12Winner of Game 5v.Winner of Game 6
  3. 13Winner of Game 7v.Winner of Game 8
  4. 14Winner of Game 9v.Winner of Game 10

SemifinalsGames 15–16

  1. 15Winner of Game 11v.Winner of Game 12
  2. 16Winner of Game 13v.Winner of Game 14

FinalGame 17

  1. 17Winner of Game 15v.Winner of Game 16

Byes

Where the byes go.

The bracket is drawn on a 32-team frame, which leaves 14 empty slots in round one. They go to the top of the draw: seeds 1–14 skip round one and start in round two (Games 3–10). Round one is 2 games between the lower seeds.

A bye isn't a win on the record. TourneyPage advances the bye teams automatically, so the page never shows a game that doesn't exist.

Game order

All 17 games in play order.

  1. Game 1First RoundTeam 16 vs Team 17Winner plays Team 1 in Game 3.
  2. Game 2First RoundTeam 15 vs Team 18Winner plays Team 2 in Game 7.
  3. Game 3Round of 16Team 1 vs Winner of Game 1Winner plays the Game 4 winner in Game 11.
  4. Game 4Round of 16Team 8 vs Team 9Winner plays the Game 3 winner in Game 11.
  5. Game 5Round of 16Team 4 vs Team 13Winner plays the Game 6 winner in Game 12.
  6. Game 6Round of 16Team 5 vs Team 12Winner plays the Game 5 winner in Game 12.
  7. Game 7Round of 16Team 2 vs Winner of Game 2Winner plays the Game 8 winner in Game 13.
  8. Game 8Round of 16Team 7 vs Team 10Winner plays the Game 7 winner in Game 13.
  9. Game 9Round of 16Team 3 vs Team 14Winner plays the Game 10 winner in Game 14.
  10. Game 10Round of 16Team 6 vs Team 11Winner plays the Game 9 winner in Game 14.
  11. Game 11QuarterfinalsWinner of Game 3 vs Winner of Game 4Winner plays the Game 12 winner in Game 15.
  12. Game 12QuarterfinalsWinner of Game 5 vs Winner of Game 6Winner plays the Game 11 winner in Game 15.
  13. Game 13QuarterfinalsWinner of Game 7 vs Winner of Game 8Winner plays the Game 14 winner in Game 16.
  14. Game 14QuarterfinalsWinner of Game 9 vs Winner of Game 10Winner plays the Game 13 winner in Game 16.
  15. Game 15SemifinalsWinner of Game 11 vs Winner of Game 12Winner plays the Game 16 winner for the title in Game 17.
  16. Game 16SemifinalsWinner of Game 13 vs Winner of Game 14Winner plays the Game 15 winner for the title in Game 17.
  17. Game 17FinalWinner of Game 15 vs Winner of Game 16

How long it takes

Roughly how long a 18-team single elimination day runs.

About 7.5 hours. 17 games in 9 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.

18 team single 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. 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 18-team single elimination bracket.

How many games are in a 18 team single elimination bracket?

17: every game eliminates one team, and 18 teams need 17 eliminations to leave a champion. A third-place game, if you add one, makes it 18.

How do the byes work with 18 teams?

The bracket is drawn on a 32-team frame, so 14 first-round slots stay empty. Seeds 1–14 skip round one and start in round two. A bye isn't a win on the record; the team just plays one game fewer on the way to the title.

How many games does each team play?

At least 1: one loss and you're out. The champion plays 5 (4 with a first-round bye).

How long does a 18 team single elimination tournament take?

About 7.5 hours with 17 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.

Should I add a third-place game?

If you want a full podium, or the two semifinal losers traveled a long way to play once. It adds one game between the semifinal losers, usually played right before the final, making 18 in all. TourneyPage has it as a switch, and the bracket shows it as its own game.

Single or double elimination for 18 teams?

Single elimination is 17 games; double elimination for 18 teams is 34, plus a reset final if it's needed. Go single when the day is short or the fields are few, and double when every team should be sure of two games. Pool play into a playoff is the third option: more games per team in a set number of rounds.

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 single elimination already chosen for your 18 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

Single elimination brackets for 4 to 32 teams.

← 17-team single elimination19-team single elimination →

How single elimination works · Games, rounds, and byes for every format and size

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