Brackets / Single elimination / 32 teams

32-team single elimination bracket

31 games over 5 rounds. No byes: every team plays round 1.

Round 1 Round 2 Quarterfinals Semifinals Final G1 1 32 G2 16 17 G3 8 25 G4 9 24 G5 4 29 G6 13 20 G7 5 28 G8 12 21 G9 2 31 G10 15 18 G11 7 26 G12 10 23 G13 3 30 G14 14 19 G15 6 27 G16 11 22 G17 Winner G1 Winner G2 G18 Winner G3 Winner G4 G19 Winner G5 Winner G6 G20 Winner G7 Winner G8 G21 Winner G9 Winner G10 G22 Winner G11 Winner G12 G23 Winner G13 Winner G14 G24 Winner G15 Winner G16 G25 Winner G17 Winner G18 G26 Winner G19 Winner G20 G27 Winner G21 Winner G22 G28 Winner G23 Winner G24 G29 Winner G25 Winner G26 G30 Winner G27 Winner G28 G31 Winner G29 Winner G30

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32teams
31games to a champion
5rounds
Nonebyes, every team plays round 1

The shape of a 32-team bracket

32 fills a 32-slot bracket exactly, so round 1 is a full set of 16 games, from 1 v 32 down to 11 v 22. Nobody gets a free pass, and every later round halves the field: 16, 8, 4, 2, 1 games.

If the favourites win

That puts seed 1 against seed 4 and seed 2 against seed 3 in the semifinals.

SeedOpponents if favourites win (game)
132 (G1), 16 (G17), 8 (G25), 4 (G29), 2 (G31)
231 (G9), 15 (G21), 7 (G27), 3 (G30), 1 (G31)
330 (G13), 14 (G23), 6 (G28), 2 (G30)
429 (G5), 13 (G19), 5 (G26), 1 (G29)

How many games each team plays

The fewest is 1, for a team that loses its first game. The most is 5. In the favourites-win run, seed 1 plays 5 and seed 32 plays 1.

How long it takes

31 games at 30 minutes is 15 h 30 min of court time. No round has more than 16 games, so extra courts beyond that sit idle.

CourtsClock time
115 h 30 min
28 h
44 h 30 min

Every game in order

GameRoundTeam ATeam B
G1Round 1Seed 1Seed 32
G2Round 1Seed 16Seed 17
G3Round 1Seed 8Seed 25
G4Round 1Seed 9Seed 24
G5Round 1Seed 4Seed 29
G6Round 1Seed 13Seed 20
G7Round 1Seed 5Seed 28
G8Round 1Seed 12Seed 21
G9Round 1Seed 2Seed 31
G10Round 1Seed 15Seed 18
G11Round 1Seed 7Seed 26
G12Round 1Seed 10Seed 23
G13Round 1Seed 3Seed 30
G14Round 1Seed 14Seed 19
G15Round 1Seed 6Seed 27
G16Round 1Seed 11Seed 22
G17Round 2Winner of G1Winner of G2
G18Round 2Winner of G3Winner of G4
G19Round 2Winner of G5Winner of G6
G20Round 2Winner of G7Winner of G8
G21Round 2Winner of G9Winner of G10
G22Round 2Winner of G11Winner of G12
G23Round 2Winner of G13Winner of G14
G24Round 2Winner of G15Winner of G16
G25QuarterfinalsWinner of G17Winner of G18
G26QuarterfinalsWinner of G19Winner of G20
G27QuarterfinalsWinner of G21Winner of G22
G28QuarterfinalsWinner of G23Winner of G24
G29SemifinalsWinner of G25Winner of G26
G30SemifinalsWinner of G27Winner of G28
G31FinalWinner of G29Winner of G30

Questions

How many games are in a 32-team single elimination bracket?

31.

How many rounds does a 32-team single elimination bracket have?

5 rounds.

Are there byes with 32 teams?

No. 32 fills a bracket of 32 exactly.

Can I add a third-place game to a 32-team bracket?

Yes. The two semifinal losers play once more, which makes 32 games.

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