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Free printable bracket · Single elimination

21 team single elimination bracket

A 21-team single elimination bracket has 20 games, with 11 first-round byes for seeds 1–11.

Twenty-one teams: 11 byes, 5 first-round games, 20 games. Odd counts are where brackets drawn by hand usually go wrong; this one has the byes in the right places.

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

  • 20games
  • 11first-round byes
  • 5rounds
  • 1–5games per team

The bracket

21 teams, 20 games, every one numbered.

Bracket

Show the bracket as

First RoundGames 1–5

  1. 116Team 16v.17Team 17
  2. 213Team 13v.20Team 20
  3. 312Team 12v.21Team 21
  4. 415Team 15v.18Team 18
  5. 514Team 14v.19Team 19

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

Round of 16Games 6–13

  1. 61Team 1v.Winner of Game 1
  2. 78Team 8v.9Team 9
  3. 84Team 4v.Winner of Game 2
  4. 95Team 5v.Winner of Game 3
  5. 102Team 2v.Winner of Game 4
  6. 117Team 7v.10Team 10
  7. 123Team 3v.Winner of Game 5
  8. 136Team 6v.11Team 11

QuarterfinalsGames 14–17

  1. 14Winner of Game 6v.Winner of Game 7
  2. 15Winner of Game 8v.Winner of Game 9
  3. 16Winner of Game 10v.Winner of Game 11
  4. 17Winner of Game 12v.Winner of Game 13

SemifinalsGames 18–19

  1. 18Winner of Game 14v.Winner of Game 15
  2. 19Winner of Game 16v.Winner of Game 17

FinalGame 20

  1. 20Winner of Game 18v.Winner of Game 19

Byes

Where the byes go.

The bracket is drawn on a 32-team frame, which leaves 11 empty slots in round one. They go to the top of the draw: seeds 1–11 skip round one and start in round two (Games 6–13). Round one is 5 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 20 games in play order.

  1. Game 1First RoundTeam 16 vs Team 17Winner plays Team 1 in Game 6.
  2. Game 2First RoundTeam 13 vs Team 20Winner plays Team 4 in Game 8.
  3. Game 3First RoundTeam 12 vs Team 21Winner plays Team 5 in Game 9.
  4. Game 4First RoundTeam 15 vs Team 18Winner plays Team 2 in Game 10.
  5. Game 5First RoundTeam 14 vs Team 19Winner plays Team 3 in Game 12.
  6. Game 6Round of 16Team 1 vs Winner of Game 1Winner plays the Game 7 winner in Game 14.
  7. Game 7Round of 16Team 8 vs Team 9Winner plays the Game 6 winner in Game 14.
  8. Game 8Round of 16Team 4 vs Winner of Game 2Winner plays the Game 9 winner in Game 15.
  9. Game 9Round of 16Team 5 vs Winner of Game 3Winner plays the Game 8 winner in Game 15.
  10. Game 10Round of 16Team 2 vs Winner of Game 4Winner plays the Game 11 winner in Game 16.
  11. Game 11Round of 16Team 7 vs Team 10Winner plays the Game 10 winner in Game 16.
  12. Game 12Round of 16Team 3 vs Winner of Game 5Winner plays the Game 13 winner in Game 17.
  13. Game 13Round of 16Team 6 vs Team 11Winner plays the Game 12 winner in Game 17.
  14. Game 14QuarterfinalsWinner of Game 6 vs Winner of Game 7Winner plays the Game 15 winner in Game 18.
  15. Game 15QuarterfinalsWinner of Game 8 vs Winner of Game 9Winner plays the Game 14 winner in Game 18.
  16. Game 16QuarterfinalsWinner of Game 10 vs Winner of Game 11Winner plays the Game 17 winner in Game 19.
  17. Game 17QuarterfinalsWinner of Game 12 vs Winner of Game 13Winner plays the Game 16 winner in Game 19.
  18. Game 18SemifinalsWinner of Game 14 vs Winner of Game 15Winner plays the Game 19 winner for the title in Game 20.
  19. Game 19SemifinalsWinner of Game 16 vs Winner of Game 17Winner plays the Game 18 winner for the title in Game 20.
  20. Game 20FinalWinner of Game 18 vs Winner of Game 19

How long it takes

Roughly how long a 21-team single elimination day runs.

About 8 hours 20 minutes. 20 games in 10 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.

21 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 21-team single elimination bracket.

How many games are in a 21 team single elimination bracket?

20: every game eliminates one team, and 21 teams need 20 eliminations to leave a champion. A third-place game, if you add one, makes it 21.

How do the byes work with 21 teams?

The bracket is drawn on a 32-team frame, so 11 first-round slots stay empty. Seeds 1–11 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 21 team single elimination tournament take?

About 8 hours 20 minutes with 20 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 21 in all. TourneyPage has it as a switch, and the bracket shows it as its own game.

Single or double elimination for 21 teams?

Single elimination is 20 games; double elimination for 21 teams is 40, 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 21 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.

← 20-team single elimination22-team single elimination →

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

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