Losers bracket · Grand-final reset
Double Elimination Bracket
Everyone gets a second life. Your first loss drops you into the losers bracket, where you can still fight back to the grand final; a second loss ends the run. The undefeated winners-bracket champion meets the losers-bracket survivor last — and if the survivor takes that game, one deciding rematch settles it. Expect 2n−2 games, one more if the final resets.
This tournament
Double elim| Format | Games |
|---|---|
| Knockout | n − 1 |
| Double elim | 2n − 2 |
| Swiss | ≈log₂(n) rds |
| Round robin | n(n−1)/2 |
n is your entrant count. Double elimination adds one more game when the grand final resets.
Add your entrants and create the bracket. A first loss drops an entrant into the losers bracket and a second ends their run; if the losers-bracket champion wins the grand final, one deciding rematch settles it. Tap winners to advance, then print it or share a link that carries every result.
Format
How a double elimination bracket works
Two losses to go out, so one bad game never decides a strong entrant's day.
Winners bracket, losers bracket, grand final
Everyone starts in the winners bracket, seeded so the best can only meet late. A first loss drops an entrant into the losers bracket. Its rounds alternate: the survivors play each other, then meet the entrants who have just lost in the winners bracket, until one entrant is left with a single loss. That entrant meets the unbeaten winners-bracket champion in the grand final. If the losers-bracket champion wins it, both have lost once, so one deciding rematch is played; the bracket adds it only then.
A worked example: eight entrants
The winners bracket plays 4, 2 and 1 games: 7 in all. The four first-round losers pair off in the losers bracket (2 games), the two winners meet the semifinal losers (2), those two winners play each other (1), and the survivor meets the loser of the winners-bracket final (1): 6 more. The grand final makes 14, which is 2n − 2 for eight entrants, or 15 if the grand final resets.
| Entrants | Drawn at | Byes | Games |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 4 | 0 | 6 or 7 |
| 6 | 8 | 2 | 10 or 11 |
| 8 | 8 | 0 | 14 or 15 |
| 12 | 16 | 4 | 22 or 23 |
| 16 | 16 | 0 | 30 or 31 |
| 24 | 32 | 8 | 46 or 47 |
| 32 | 32 | 0 | 62 or 63 |
The second number counts the reset. A field that isn't a power of two is drawn into the next bracket size up, and the top seeds take the byes, in round one only.
Need another format? The free bracket maker also runs single-elimination knockouts and Swiss, and the round robin generator schedules everyone against everyone.
Answers
Frequently asked questions
How many games are in a double elimination bracket?
Two fewer than twice the number of entrants, plus one if the grand final resets. Eight entrants play 14 games (15 with a reset) and sixteen play 30 (31). Every entrant but the champion goes out on a second loss, and each game hands out exactly one loss.
How does the losers bracket work?
A first loss moves an entrant into the losers bracket instead of ending their tournament. Its rounds alternate: survivors play each other, then meet the entrants just beaten in the winners bracket. The drop-ins are placed in reverse order every other round, so two entrants who met early don't meet again straight away.
What happens in the grand final?
The winners-bracket champion, still unbeaten, meets the losers-bracket champion, who has lost once. If the unbeaten side wins, the tournament is over. If the losers-bracket champion wins, both have one loss, so a single deciding rematch is played. The bracket adds that game only when it is needed.
What if my number of entrants isn't a power of two?
The bracket is drawn at the next size up, 8 for six entrants and 16 for twelve, and the top seeds get byes in the first round only. From the second round on every match is played. Double elimination needs at least three entrants, and this maker takes up to 64.
Should I seed the bracket or draw it at random?
Seed it when you know who is strongest: list entrants best first and seeds 1 and 2 land in opposite halves, so they can only meet in the final. Choose a random draw for a friendly event where nobody wants to rank anyone. The draw is fixed once you create the bracket.
Can I print or share the bracket?
Yes. Print gives a clean copy of both brackets and the grand final. The share link carries the entrants, the draw and every result so far, so anyone who opens it sees the same bracket. Nothing is stored on a server: the bracket lives in the link.