Tournament brackets, single elimination
A blank 16 team bracket on one page: seeds on the first lines, every game numbered, and the champion's line.
Tournament Bracket
16 teams · single elimination
Seeded 1 to 16
Write each winner on the next line
Round 1Games 1–8
QuarterfinalsGames 9–12
SemifinalsGames 13–14
FinalGame 15
Tournament
Date
Place
A 16 team single elimination bracket has 15 games over 4 rounds: 8 in round 1, 4 quarterfinals, 2 semifinals and the final. Lose once and you're out; the last team left is the champion.
The first round pairs the seeds that add up to 17: 1 v 16, 2 v 15, 3 v 14, 4 v 13, 5 v 12, 6 v 11, 7 v 10 and 8 v 9. The top two seeds can meet only in the final.
Every game has a number on the sheet, in an order it can be played, so a schedule can say “game 3 at 2:00 on court 1.” Write each winner on the line the game leads to.
One sheet from the first game to the champion.
15. Every game puts one team out, and every team but the champion goes out once.
No one: 16 teams fill the bracket exactly. With 15, seed 1 would get a bye, and with fewer the next seeds too: the other sizes are below.
Best team first, by last season, a ranking or pool play: seed 1 on the top line, then down the list. Seed 1 and seed 2 are placed so they can meet only in the final. No ranking? Shuffle the list for a random draw.
Not on the sheet, but it's easy to add: the two semifinal losers play once more. Write it in on the back, or play a double elimination bracket instead, where every team plays at least twice.
Type the teams beside the sheet and they print on it, shrunk to fit their lines; the tournament's name goes on the sheet too. They stay on this device for next time. “Print blank” prints it without them, and the PDF is always blank.