Brackets / Double elimination / 21 teams

21-team double elimination bracket

40 games, or 41 if the team from the losers bracket wins the first grand final. Seed 1, seed 2, seed 3, seed 4, seed 5, seed 6, seed 7, seed 8, seed 9, seed 10 and seed 11 skip the first round.

Winners bracket Losers bracket Winners round 1 Winners round 2 Winners round 3 Winners round 4 Winners final Losers round 1 Losers round 2 Losers round 3 Losers round 4 Losers round 5 Losers round 6 Losers final G1 16 17 G2 13 20 G3 12 21 G4 15 18 G5 14 19 G9 1 bye Winner G1 G6 8 bye 9 bye G10 4 bye Winner G2 G11 5 bye Winner G3 G12 2 bye Winner G4 G7 7 bye 10 bye G13 3 bye Winner G5 G8 6 bye 11 bye G17 Winner G9 Winner G6 G18 Winner G10 Winner G11 G19 Winner G12 Winner G7 G20 Winner G13 Winner G8 G25 Winner G17 Winner G18 G26 Winner G19 Winner G20 G31 Winner G25 Winner G26 G14 Loser G1 Loser G8 G15 Loser G2 Loser G7 G21 Loser G3 Loser G12 G22 Loser G4 Loser G11 G16 Loser G5 Loser G6 G23 Winner G14 Loser G13 G27 Winner G15 Winner G21 G28 Winner G22 Loser G10 G24 Winner G16 Loser G9 G29 Winner G23 Loser G18 G32 Winner G27 Loser G17 G33 Winner G28 Loser G20 G30 Winner G24 Loser G19 G34 Winner G29 Winner G32 G35 Winner G33 Winner G30 G36 Winner G34 Loser G26 G37 Winner G35 Loser G25 G38 Winner G36 Winner G37 G39 Winner G38 Loser G31 G40 Grand final Winner G31 Winner G39 G41 (only if needed) Winners-bracket team Losers-bracket team

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21teams
40games, 41 with a replayed final
5winners-bracket rounds
1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and 5 and 6 and 7 and 8 and 9 and 10 and 11seeds get a bye

The shape of a 21-team bracket

21 teams in a 32-slot bracket leave 11 byes, for seeds 1 to 11. The other 10 teams play 8 round-1 games, from 16 v 17 down to 6 v 11. After round 1, 16 teams are left and the bracket is full from there.

If the favourites win

In a favourites-win run seed 2 comes through the losers bracket (19 games) to meet seed 1 in game 40.

SeedOpponents if favourites win (game)
1bye, then 16 (G9), 8 (G17), 4 (G25), 2 (G31), 2 (G40)
2bye, then 15 (G12), 7 (G19), 3 (G26), 1 (G31), 3 (G39), 1 (G40)
3bye, then 14 (G13), 6 (G20), 2 (G26), 5 (G36), 4 (G38), 2 (G39)
4bye, then 13 (G10), 5 (G18), 1 (G25), 6 (G37), 3 (G38)

How many games each team plays

The fewest games a team can play is 2: two losses and out. The most is 11, for a team that loses once in the winners bracket, then wins every losers-bracket game and both grand finals.

How long it takes

40 games at 30 minutes is 20 h of court time. No round has more than 8 games, so extra courts beyond that sit idle; the replayed final is not counted.

CourtsClock time
120 h
211 h 30 min
48 h

Every game in order

GameRoundTeam ATeam B
G1Winners round 1Seed 16Seed 17
G2Winners round 1Seed 13Seed 20
G3Winners round 1Seed 12Seed 21
G4Winners round 1Seed 15Seed 18
G5Winners round 1Seed 14Seed 19
G6Winners round 2Seed 8Seed 9
G7Winners round 2Seed 7Seed 10
G8Winners round 2Seed 6Seed 11
G9Winners round 2Seed 1Winner of G1
G10Winners round 2Seed 4Winner of G2
G11Winners round 2Seed 5Winner of G3
G12Winners round 2Seed 2Winner of G4
G13Winners round 2Seed 3Winner of G5
G14Losers round 1Loser of G1Loser of G8
G15Losers round 1Loser of G2Loser of G7
G16Losers round 1Loser of G5Loser of G6
G17Winners round 3Winner of G9Winner of G6
G18Winners round 3Winner of G10Winner of G11
G19Winners round 3Winner of G12Winner of G7
G20Winners round 3Winner of G13Winner of G8
G21Losers round 1Loser of G3Loser of G12
G22Losers round 1Loser of G4Loser of G11
G23Losers round 2Winner of G14Loser of G13
G24Losers round 2Winner of G16Loser of G9
G25Winners round 4Winner of G17Winner of G18
G26Winners round 4Winner of G19Winner of G20
G27Losers round 2Winner of G15Winner of G21
G28Losers round 2Winner of G22Loser of G10
G29Losers round 3Winner of G23Loser of G18
G30Losers round 3Winner of G24Loser of G19
G31Winners finalWinner of G25Winner of G26
G32Losers round 3Winner of G27Loser of G17
G33Losers round 3Winner of G28Loser of G20
G34Losers round 4Winner of G29Winner of G32
G35Losers round 4Winner of G33Winner of G30
G36Losers round 5Winner of G34Loser of G26
G37Losers round 5Winner of G35Loser of G25
G38Losers round 6Winner of G36Winner of G37
G39Losers finalWinner of G38Loser of G31
G40Grand finalWinner of G31Winner of G39
G41Grand final reset (if needed)Winners-bracket teamLosers-bracket team

Questions

How many games are in a 21-team double elimination bracket?

40. If the grand final needs a second game, 41.

How many rounds does a 21-team double elimination bracket have?

5 rounds in the winners bracket, plus 7 losers rounds and the grand final.

Who gets the byes with 21 teams?

Seed 1, Seed 2, Seed 3, Seed 4, Seed 5, Seed 6, Seed 7, Seed 8, Seed 9, Seed 10 and Seed 11. They start in round 2.

Can a team lose twice and still win a 21-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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