Brackets / Single elimination / 31 teams
31-team single elimination bracket
30 games over 5 rounds. Seed 1 gets a bye into round 2.
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The shape of a 31-team bracket
31 is one short of 32, so there is a single bye and it goes to seed 1. The other 30 teams play 15 round-1 games, from 16 v 17 down to 11 v 22, and seed 1 joins the winners in round 2.
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 16 (G16), 8 (G24), 4 (G28), 2 (G30) |
| 2 | 31 (G8), 15 (G20), 7 (G26), 3 (G29), 1 (G30) |
| 3 | 30 (G12), 14 (G22), 6 (G27), 2 (G29) |
| 4 | 29 (G4), 13 (G18), 5 (G25), 1 (G28) |
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 5, and 4 for a champion that had a bye. In the favourites-win run, seed 1 plays 4 and seed 31 plays 1.
How long it takes
30 games at 30 minutes is 15 h of court time. No round has more than 15 games, so extra courts beyond that sit idle.
| Courts | Clock time |
|---|---|
| 1 | 15 h |
| 2 | 8 h |
| 4 | 4 h 30 min |
Every game in order
| Game | Round | Team A | Team B |
|---|---|---|---|
| G1 | Round 1 | Seed 16 | Seed 17 |
| G2 | Round 1 | Seed 8 | Seed 25 |
| G3 | Round 1 | Seed 9 | Seed 24 |
| G4 | Round 1 | Seed 4 | Seed 29 |
| G5 | Round 1 | Seed 13 | Seed 20 |
| G6 | Round 1 | Seed 5 | Seed 28 |
| G7 | Round 1 | Seed 12 | Seed 21 |
| G8 | Round 1 | Seed 2 | Seed 31 |
| G9 | Round 1 | Seed 15 | Seed 18 |
| G10 | Round 1 | Seed 7 | Seed 26 |
| G11 | Round 1 | Seed 10 | Seed 23 |
| G12 | Round 1 | Seed 3 | Seed 30 |
| G13 | Round 1 | Seed 14 | Seed 19 |
| G14 | Round 1 | Seed 6 | Seed 27 |
| G15 | Round 1 | Seed 11 | Seed 22 |
| G16 | Round 2 | Seed 1 | Winner of G1 |
| G17 | Round 2 | Winner of G2 | Winner of G3 |
| G18 | Round 2 | Winner of G4 | Winner of G5 |
| G19 | Round 2 | Winner of G6 | Winner of G7 |
| G20 | Round 2 | Winner of G8 | Winner of G9 |
| G21 | Round 2 | Winner of G10 | Winner of G11 |
| G22 | Round 2 | Winner of G12 | Winner of G13 |
| G23 | Round 2 | Winner of G14 | Winner of G15 |
| G24 | Quarterfinals | Winner of G16 | Winner of G17 |
| G25 | Quarterfinals | Winner of G18 | Winner of G19 |
| G26 | Quarterfinals | Winner of G20 | Winner of G21 |
| G27 | Quarterfinals | Winner of G22 | Winner of G23 |
| G28 | Semifinals | Winner of G24 | Winner of G25 |
| G29 | Semifinals | Winner of G26 | Winner of G27 |
| G30 | Final | Winner of G28 | Winner of G29 |
Questions
How many games are in a 31-team single elimination bracket?
30.
How many rounds does a 31-team single elimination bracket have?
5 rounds.
Who gets the byes with 31 teams?
Seed 1. It starts in round 2.
Can I add a third-place game to a 31-team bracket?
Yes. The two semifinal losers play once more, which makes 31 games.
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