Bracket Maker
Make a tournament bracket in under a minute. Paste the names, pick a format, click winners as games finish, then print it or send a link. Free, with no account.
- Free, no account
- Click to advance
- Double elimination
- Print-ready PDF
0 of 7 games played. Click a name to move it to the next round.
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Final
What is a bracket maker?
A bracket maker builds the chart that shows how a knockout tournament plays out, from the first round to the champion. Paper templates only come in fixed sizes and need redrawing after every change. An online bracket maker fills in the names for you, handles odd numbers with byes, moves winners forward as you click, and keeps a clean copy to print or share. This one also makes double elimination and round robin brackets, and works without signing up because everything happens in your browser.
How to make a bracket
- Enter the players or teams, one per line, or paste a list from a spreadsheet or group chat. Numbering like "1." is removed for you.
- Pick the format: single elimination, double elimination or round robin. Give the tournament a name if you want it on the printout.
- Keep the order as your seeding or press Shuffle for a random draw.
- Tap winners as you play. When you are done, download the bracket or copy a link to send to everyone.
Why use this bracket maker
- No account, nothing sent anywhereThere is no sign-up, email or limit. Names and results stay in your browser and are saved on this device automatically.
- Every format, freeSingle elimination, double elimination with a losers bracket and grand final, and round robin with a live standings table. Many free bracket sites keep double elimination or standings for paying users.
- Click winners to advancePick winners right on the bracket. Changing an earlier result clears only the games it affects, and Undo puts things back.
- Any number of teamsNot just 4, 8, 16 and 32. Enter 6, 10 or 23 teams and the right number of byes is added for you.
- Print, save or shareDownload a vector PDF for the wall, a PNG for the group chat, or copy a link that carries the whole bracket and its results.
- Works on a phoneThe bracket scrolls sideways inside its own box, so you can run game night or a club tournament from your phone.
What people make brackets for
- Game night and parties. Mario Kart, beer pong, Jenga, trivia or board games. Paste the names, shuffle, and tap winners as you play.
- Office tournaments. Ping pong, FIFA, cornhole or chess at lunch. Share one link in Slack or Teams and print a copy for the break room.
- Leagues and youth sports. Seed teams by record for playoffs, or run a round robin pool before the knockout games.
- Esports and gaming. Double elimination with a grand final reset is the standard for fighting games, Rocket League and most community events.
- Classrooms and clubs. Debate, spelling bees, chess clubs and sports days. Project the bracket on the board and click winners live.
- Fun "best of" brackets. Best movie, best snack, best song. Enter 16 options, shuffle them and vote your way to a winner.
Single elimination vs double elimination vs round robin
| Format | How it works | Games for n teams | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single elimination | Lose once and you are out. Winners move on until one is left. | n - 1 (7 for 8 teams) | Short events, big fields, one-day tournaments |
| Double elimination | A first loss drops you to the losers bracket; a second loss knocks you out. Grand final between the two bracket winners. | 2n - 2 or 2n - 1 (14 or 15 for 8 teams) | Esports, softball, pool and darts, events where one bad game should not end your day |
| Round robin | Everyone plays everyone. The best record wins, with no knockouts. | n × (n - 1) / 2 (28 for 8 teams) | Leagues, pool play, small groups with time to play every pairing |
How many games, rounds and byes: quick reference
Games needed for common tournament sizes. Double elimination shows the total without and with a grand final reset. Round robin counts each pair playing once.
| Teams | Bracket size | Byes | Single elimination games | Rounds | Double elimination games | Round robin games |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 6 or 7 | 6 |
| 5 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 8 or 9 | 10 |
| 6 | 8 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 10 or 11 | 15 |
| 7 | 8 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 12 or 13 | 21 |
| 8 | 8 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 14 or 15 | 28 |
| 10 | 16 | 6 | 9 | 4 | 18 or 19 | 45 |
| 12 | 16 | 4 | 11 | 4 | 22 or 23 | 66 |
| 16 | 16 | 0 | 15 | 4 | 30 or 31 | 120 |
| 24 | 32 | 8 | 23 | 5 | 46 or 47 | 276 |
| 32 | 32 | 0 | 31 | 5 | 62 or 63 | 496 |
| 64 | 64 | 0 | 63 | 6 | 126 or 127 | 2016 |
How seeding, byes and results work
- Seeding: the first name in the list is seed 1, the second is seed 2 and so on. Seeds are placed so that 1 and 2 can only meet in the final, 1 to 4 only in the semifinals, and so on. Press Shuffle for a random draw.
- Byes: when the number of teams is not 4, 8, 16, 32, 64 or 128, the bracket grows to the next of those sizes. The empty places are byes and go to the top seeds, who start in round two. Bye games are hidden, so you only see games that are really played.
- Game numbers: every real game has a number, and empty places say where their team comes from, such as "Winner of 3" or "Loser of 5". This makes printed brackets easy to follow.
- Changing results: click a winner again to take the pick back, or pick the other team. Later games that depended on that result are cleared, and Undo brings them back.
- Double elimination: losers drop into the losers bracket in an order that avoids an immediate rematch. With the reset on, the grand final is played a second time only if the losers bracket team wins the first one.
- Round robin standings: 3 points for a win and 1 for a draw by default. Teams level on points are split by their head-to-head result (when exactly two are tied), then score difference, then scores for, then wins.
How this bracket generator compares
A summary of what each option offers as of October 2026, based on their public pages. Hosted services like Challonge and BracketsNinja add sign-ups, live spectator pages and embeds; this tool is for when you want a bracket now, without an account. Check each service for its current plans.
| Feature | This generator | Challonge | BracketsNinja | Printable template sites |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Account needed | No | Yes | Free account | No |
| Double elimination | Yes, with grand final reset | Yes | Yes | Fixed templates only |
| Round robin with standings | Yes, with tiebreakers | Yes | Yes | Schedule templates |
| Any number of teams with byes | Yes, 2 to 128 | Yes | Yes | One template per size |
| Pick winners on the bracket | Yes, with undo | Yes | Yes | Type in or fill in by hand |
| Where names are kept | Your browser only | Their servers | Their servers | Nothing to store |
More tools for game night and tournaments
Need teams first? Split players with the random team generator, then paste the teams here. Decide who goes first with a coin flip or the dice roller, pick a random player with the wheel of names, or draw names for a gift swap with the Secret Santa generator.
Example: a 12-player Mario Kart night
Paste 12 names and press Shuffle. The bracket uses 16 places, so four players get a bye and round one has four races. Single elimination takes 11 races to find a champion. Switch to double elimination and everyone gets a second chance: 22 races, or 23 if the losers bracket winner forces a grand final reset.
What to expect from the result
Single and double elimination take 2 to 128 players and round robin takes 2 to 32. There are no sign-ups, check-ins, Swiss rounds or live updates for spectators. A share link is a snapshot of the bracket when you copied it. The PDF uses standard fonts, so names in scripts such as Chinese, Arabic or Cyrillic may not print correctly; the PNG shows them fine.
Bracket Maker questions
Do I need an account to make a bracket?
No. There is no sign-up, email or payment. The bracket is made and saved in your browser, and you share it with a link or a printout.
Can I make a bracket with an odd number of teams?
Yes. Any number from 2 to 128 works. The bracket adds byes to reach the next full size, and the top seeds get them, so 7 teams means seed 1 skips the first round.
Can I add scores?
Yes. Tick Enter scores and a score box appears next to each name. A higher score marks the winner automatically, or you can click the winner yourself.
Can I make a double elimination bracket?
Yes. Choose Double elimination to get a winners bracket, a losers bracket and a grand final. You can choose whether the grand final is reset when the losers bracket winner wins the first game.
Is my bracket saved?
Yes, in this browser. It is still there when you come back on the same device. To move it to another device or show it to others, copy the share link. Nothing is sent to a server.