Brackets / Single elimination / 3 teams
3-team single elimination bracket
2 games over 2 rounds. Seed 1 gets a bye into round 2.
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The shape of a 3-team bracket
3 is one short of 4, so there is a single bye and it goes to seed 1. The other 2 teams play 1 round-1 game (2 v 3), and seed 1 joins the winners in round 2.
If the favourites win
| Seed | Opponents if favourites win (game) |
|---|---|
| 1 | bye, then 2 (G2) |
| 2 | 3 (G1), 1 (G2) |
| 3 | 2 (G1) |
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 2, and 1 for a champion that had a bye. In the favourites-win run, seed 1 plays 1 and seed 3 plays 1.
How long it takes
2 games at 30 minutes is 1 h of court time. No round has more than 1 game, so extra courts beyond that sit idle.
| Courts | Clock time |
|---|---|
| 1 | 1 h |
| 2 | 1 h |
| 4 | 1 h |
Every game in order
| Game | Round | Team A | Team B |
|---|---|---|---|
| G1 | Semifinals | Seed 2 | Seed 3 |
| G2 | Final | Seed 1 | Winner of G1 |
Questions
How many games are in a 3-team single elimination bracket?
2.
How many rounds does a 3-team single elimination bracket have?
2 rounds.
Who gets the byes with 3 teams?
Seed 1. It starts in round 2.
Can I add a third-place game to a 3-team bracket?
Not with 3 teams: there are no semifinal losers.
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