Brackets / Single elimination / 12 teams
12-team single elimination bracket
11 games over 4 rounds. Seed 1, seed 2, seed 3 and seed 4 get a bye into round 2.
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The shape of a 12-team bracket
12 teams in a 16-slot bracket leave 4 byes, for seeds 1 to 4. The other 8 teams play 4 round-1 games: 8 v 9, 5 v 12, 7 v 10 and 6 v 11. After round 1, 8 teams are left and the bracket is full from there.
If the favourites win
That puts seed 1 against seed 4 and seed 2 against seed 3 in the semifinals.
| Seed | Opponents if favourites win (game) |
|---|---|
| 1 | bye, then 8 (G5), 4 (G9), 2 (G11) |
| 2 | bye, then 7 (G7), 3 (G10), 1 (G11) |
| 3 | bye, then 6 (G8), 2 (G10) |
| 4 | bye, then 5 (G6), 1 (G9) |
How many games each team plays
The fewest is 1, for a team that loses its first game, which for a bye team is its round-2 game. The most is 4, and 3 for a champion that had a bye. In the favourites-win run, seed 1 plays 3 and seed 12 plays 1.
How long it takes
11 games at 30 minutes is 5 h 30 min of court time. No round has more than 4 games, so extra courts beyond that sit idle.
| Courts | Clock time |
|---|---|
| 1 | 5 h 30 min |
| 2 | 3 h |
| 4 | 2 h |
Every game in order
| Game | Round | Team A | Team B |
|---|---|---|---|
| G1 | Round 1 | Seed 8 | Seed 9 |
| G2 | Round 1 | Seed 5 | Seed 12 |
| G3 | Round 1 | Seed 7 | Seed 10 |
| G4 | Round 1 | Seed 6 | Seed 11 |
| G5 | Quarterfinals | Seed 1 | Winner of G1 |
| G6 | Quarterfinals | Seed 4 | Winner of G2 |
| G7 | Quarterfinals | Seed 2 | Winner of G3 |
| G8 | Quarterfinals | Seed 3 | Winner of G4 |
| G9 | Semifinals | Winner of G5 | Winner of G6 |
| G10 | Semifinals | Winner of G7 | Winner of G8 |
| G11 | Final | Winner of G9 | Winner of G10 |
Questions
How many games are in a 12-team single elimination bracket?
11.
How many rounds does a 12-team single elimination bracket have?
4 rounds.
Who gets the byes with 12 teams?
Seed 1, Seed 2, Seed 3 and Seed 4. They start in round 2.
Can I add a third-place game to a 12-team bracket?
Yes. The two semifinal losers play once more, which makes 12 games.
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