Tournament bracket generator
A knockout bracket, seeded, with byes where needed.
Examples temporarily replace the input and settings. You can restore your previous work.
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Your files stay on your device
This tool runs entirely in your browser. Nothing is uploaded, nothing is stored, and you can even turn off your internet connection before you start.
Example
Example: a 12-team cornhole tournament bracket with byes for the top four seeds
A block party runs a cornhole tournament for 12 two-player teams, seeded by last year’s finish. The organiser types the 12 team names, strongest first, adds the title “Maple Street Cornhole 2027”, keeps the score boxes and chooses US Letter.
- 12 is not a power of two, so the bracket is drawn for 16: the top four seeds get byes straight into the quarter-finals.
- The first column, Round of 16, has four real games: 8 v 9, 5 v 12, 7 v 10 and 6 v 11. Seeds 1 to 4 have “bye” opposite them.
- Seeds 1 and 2 sit at opposite ends of the sheet and can only meet in the final; seeds 3 and 4 are in different halves too.
- Columns, left to right: Round of 16, Quarter-finals, Semi-finals, Final, Winner. With 16 teams or fewer the page is portrait.
| Quarter-final, top to bottom | Waits there | Meets the winner of |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Seed 1 | 8 v 9 |
| 2 | Seed 4 | 5 v 12 |
| 3 | Seed 2 | 7 v 10 |
| 4 | Seed 3 | 6 v 11 |
bracket.pdf, one portrait page: 11 games in all to find the winner. If the seeds win, the semi-finals are 1 v 4 and 2 v 3. With 10 teams instead, six seeds get byes and only two first-round games are played: 8 v 9 and 7 v 10.
How it works
- Type the teams in seeding order, the strongest first, or choose how many.
- Download the PDF: the first round down the left, each round to the right, the winner at the end.
- Write the scores in the boxes and the winners on the next line.
Frequently asked questions
- How are the byes placed?
- The bracket is the next power of two (8, 16, 32). If there are fewer teams, the top seeds get byes into the second round, as seeding does.
- Can the two best teams meet early?
- No. Seeds 1 and 2 are placed at opposite ends and can only meet in the final. Seeds 3 and 4 are in different halves too: if the seeds win, the semi-finals are 1 against 4 and 2 against 3.
- Is there a losers’ bracket?
- No, this is single elimination. For everyone to play everyone, use the round-robin schedule.
- How many games does a knockout take?
- One fewer than the number of teams, because every game knocks one team out: 11 games for 12 teams, 15 for 16, 31 for 32. Byes are not games.
- Can I make a random draw instead of seeding?
- The bracket follows the order you type. For a random draw, draw the names from a hat and type them in that order; whoever is typed first still gets any byes.
- Is anything uploaded?
- No. The sheet is made in your browser. On the free plan a small line with our name is printed at the foot of the last page.