20-team pool play and bracket

Ways to split 20 teams

6 pools (A: seeds 1, 12, 13; B: seeds 2, 11, 14; C: seeds 3, 10, 15; D: seeds 4, 9, 16; E: seeds 5, 8, 17, 20; F: seeds 6, 7, 18, 19). 24 pool games, then 8 teams in the bracket: the top 1 from each pool plus 2 wildcards. 31 games in all.

5 pools (A: seeds 1, 10, 11, 20; B: seeds 2, 9, 12, 19; C: seeds 3, 8, 13, 18; D: seeds 4, 7, 14, 17; E: seeds 5, 6, 15, 16). 30 pool games, then 8 teams in the bracket: the top 1 from each pool plus 3 wildcards. 37 games in all.

6 pools (A: seeds 1, 12, 13; B: seeds 2, 11, 14; C: seeds 3, 10, 15; D: seeds 4, 9, 16; E: seeds 5, 8, 17, 20; F: seeds 6, 7, 18, 19). 24 pool games, then 16 teams in the bracket: the top 2 from each pool plus 4 wildcards. 39 games in all.

4 pools (A: seeds 1, 8, 9, 16, 17; B: seeds 2, 7, 10, 15, 18; C: seeds 3, 6, 11, 14, 19; D: seeds 4, 5, 12, 13, 20). 40 pool games, then 4 teams in the bracket: the top 1 from each pool. 43 games in all.

5 pools (A: seeds 1, 10, 11, 20; B: seeds 2, 9, 12, 19; C: seeds 3, 8, 13, 18; D: seeds 4, 7, 14, 17; E: seeds 5, 6, 15, 16). 30 pool games, then 16 teams in the bracket: the top 3 from each pool plus 1 wildcard. 45 games in all.

4 pools (A: seeds 1, 8, 9, 16, 17; B: seeds 2, 7, 10, 15, 18; C: seeds 3, 6, 11, 14, 19; D: seeds 4, 5, 12, 13, 20). 40 pool games, then 8 teams in the bracket: the top 2 from each pool. 47 games in all.

The one drawn above

The drawing shows 6 pools with the top 1 and 2 wildcards advancing, the split with the fewest games (31). Pools are snake-seeded, so pool A gets seed 1 and the bracket seeds pool-mates apart in round 1.

Pool games in the 6-pool split

Pool A (seeds 1, 12, 13) plays 1 v 12, 1 v 13, 12 v 13.

Pool B (seeds 2, 11, 14) plays 2 v 11, 2 v 14, 11 v 14.

The other 4 pools follow the same pattern with their own seeds.

Games per team before the bracket

A pool of 3 gives each of its teams 2 games; A pool of 4 gives each of its teams 3 games. The pools are not all the same size, so some teams get a game more than others; the wildcards and the bracket seeding even that out.

The bracket after pools

8 teams advance, so the bracket has 8 places and no byes. The 2 wildcards are the best of the teams that finished just outside the automatic places, ranked on points, then point difference.

Time for the pool stage

The largest pool is 4 teams, so pools need 3 rounds to finish. All 6 pools play each round together.

If your field changes

Dropping to 16 teams gives 5 fewer games. Going up to 24 teams gives 20 more games. Page sizes differ by the formats the numbers allow, so check the nearest size before you commit.

Questions