Brackets / Single elimination / 13 teams
13-team single elimination bracket
12 games over 4 rounds. Seed 1, seed 2 and seed 3 get a bye into round 2.
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The shape of a 13-team bracket
13 teams in a 16-slot bracket leave 3 byes, for seeds 1, 2 and 3. The other 10 teams play 5 round-1 games: 8 v 9, 4 v 13, 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 (G6), 4 (G10), 2 (G12) |
| 2 | bye, then 7 (G8), 3 (G11), 1 (G12) |
| 3 | bye, then 6 (G9), 2 (G11) |
| 4 | 13 (G2), 5 (G7), 1 (G10) |
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 13 plays 1.
How long it takes
12 games at 30 minutes is 6 h of court time. No round has more than 5 games, so extra courts beyond that sit idle.
| Courts | Clock time |
|---|---|
| 1 | 6 h |
| 2 | 3 h 30 min |
| 4 | 2 h 30 min |
Every game in order
| Game | Round | Team A | Team B |
|---|---|---|---|
| G1 | Round 1 | Seed 8 | Seed 9 |
| G2 | Round 1 | Seed 4 | Seed 13 |
| G3 | Round 1 | Seed 5 | Seed 12 |
| G4 | Round 1 | Seed 7 | Seed 10 |
| G5 | Round 1 | Seed 6 | Seed 11 |
| G6 | Quarterfinals | Seed 1 | Winner of G1 |
| G7 | Quarterfinals | Winner of G2 | Winner of G3 |
| G8 | Quarterfinals | Seed 2 | Winner of G4 |
| G9 | Quarterfinals | Seed 3 | Winner of G5 |
| G10 | Semifinals | Winner of G6 | Winner of G7 |
| G11 | Semifinals | Winner of G8 | Winner of G9 |
| G12 | Final | Winner of G10 | Winner of G11 |
Questions
How many games are in a 13-team single elimination bracket?
12.
How many rounds does a 13-team single elimination bracket have?
4 rounds.
Who gets the byes with 13 teams?
Seed 1, Seed 2 and Seed 3. They start in round 2.
Can I add a third-place game to a 13-team bracket?
Yes. The two semifinal losers play once more, which makes 13 games.
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