Brackets / Double elimination / 15 teams

15-team double elimination bracket

28 games, or 29 if the team from the losers bracket wins the first grand final. Seed 1 skips the first round.

Winners bracket Losers bracket Winners round 1 Winners round 2 Winners round 3 Winners final Losers round 1 Losers round 2 Losers round 3 Losers round 4 Losers round 5 Losers final G1 8 9 G2 4 13 G3 5 12 G4 2 15 G5 7 10 G6 3 14 G7 6 11 G8 1 bye Winner G1 G9 Winner G2 Winner G3 G10 Winner G4 Winner G5 G11 Winner G6 Winner G7 G15 Winner G8 Winner G9 G16 Winner G10 Winner G11 G21 Winner G15 Winner G16 G12 Loser G2 Loser G3 G13 Loser G4 Loser G5 G14 Loser G6 Loser G7 G17 Loser G1 Loser G11 G18 Winner G12 Loser G10 G19 Winner G13 Loser G9 G20 Winner G14 Loser G8 G22 Winner G17 Winner G18 G23 Winner G19 Winner G20 G24 Winner G22 Loser G15 G25 Winner G23 Loser G16 G26 Winner G24 Winner G25 G27 Winner G26 Loser G21 G28 Grand final Winner G21 Winner G27 G29 (only if needed) Winners-bracket team Losers-bracket team

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15teams
28games, 29 with a replayed final
4winners-bracket rounds
1seed gets a bye

The shape of a 15-team bracket

15 is one short of 16, so there is a single bye and it goes to seed 1. The other 14 teams play 7 round-1 games, from 8 v 9 down to 6 v 11, and seed 1 joins the winners in round 2.

If the favourites win

In a favourites-win run seed 2 comes through the losers bracket (13 games) to meet seed 1 in game 28.

SeedOpponents if favourites win (game)
1bye, then 8 (G8), 4 (G15), 2 (G21), 2 (G28)
215 (G4), 7 (G10), 3 (G16), 1 (G21), 3 (G27), 1 (G28)
314 (G6), 6 (G11), 2 (G16), 5 (G25), 4 (G26), 2 (G27)
413 (G2), 5 (G9), 1 (G15), 6 (G24), 3 (G26)

How many games each team plays

The fewest games a team can play is 2: two losses and out. The most is 9, for a team that loses once in the winners bracket, then wins every losers-bracket game and both grand finals.

How long it takes

28 games at 30 minutes is 14 h of court time. No round has more than 7 games, so extra courts beyond that sit idle; the replayed final is not counted.

CourtsClock time
114 h
28 h 30 min
46 h

Every game in order

GameRoundTeam ATeam B
G1Winners round 1Seed 8Seed 9
G2Winners round 1Seed 4Seed 13
G3Winners round 1Seed 5Seed 12
G4Winners round 1Seed 2Seed 15
G5Winners round 1Seed 7Seed 10
G6Winners round 1Seed 3Seed 14
G7Winners round 1Seed 6Seed 11
G8Winners round 2Seed 1Winner of G1
G9Winners round 2Winner of G2Winner of G3
G10Winners round 2Winner of G4Winner of G5
G11Winners round 2Winner of G6Winner of G7
G12Losers round 1Loser of G2Loser of G3
G13Losers round 1Loser of G4Loser of G5
G14Losers round 1Loser of G6Loser of G7
G15Winners round 3Winner of G8Winner of G9
G16Winners round 3Winner of G10Winner of G11
G17Losers round 2Loser of G1Loser of G11
G18Losers round 2Winner of G12Loser of G10
G19Losers round 2Winner of G13Loser of G9
G20Losers round 2Winner of G14Loser of G8
G21Winners finalWinner of G15Winner of G16
G22Losers round 3Winner of G17Winner of G18
G23Losers round 3Winner of G19Winner of G20
G24Losers round 4Winner of G22Loser of G15
G25Losers round 4Winner of G23Loser of G16
G26Losers round 5Winner of G24Winner of G25
G27Losers finalWinner of G26Loser of G21
G28Grand finalWinner of G21Winner of G27
G29Grand final reset (if needed)Winners-bracket teamLosers-bracket team

Questions

How many games are in a 15-team double elimination bracket?

28. If the grand final needs a second game, 29.

How many rounds does a 15-team double elimination bracket have?

4 rounds in the winners bracket, plus 6 losers rounds and the grand final.

Who gets the byes with 15 teams?

Seed 1. It starts in round 2.

Can a team lose twice and still win a 15-team double elimination?

No. A second loss ends a team's run. The only champion who has lost once is the team that came up through the losers bracket.

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