10 Team Double Elimination Tournament Bracket

Ten teams, two opening games and six byes: 18 numbered games, a 19th in reserve, and the next game printed under every loser.

10 Team Double Elimination Tournament Bracket

Names: 0

The first name is Seed 1; empty lines are skipped. No names gives a blank bracket to fill in by hand. One name more than there are teams makes the bracket bigger. Random draw shuffles the names into the seeds.

10 teams, double elimination: 18 or 19 games. Seeds 1 to 6 have a bye.

Seed 1: Bye
Loser to Game 7
Loser to Game 8
Seed 4: Bye
Seed 5: Bye
Loser to Game 12
Loser to Game 13
Seed 3: Bye
Seed 6: Bye
Loser to Game 11
Seed 2: Bye
Loser to Game 8
Loser to Game 7
Loser to Game 14
Loser to Game 17
Loser out: 9th to 10th
Loser out: 7th to 8th
Loser out: 5th to 6th
Loser out: 9th to 10th
Loser out: 7th to 8th
Loser out: 5th to 6th
Loser out: 4th
Loser out: 3rd
If the losers bracket team wins Game 18
Champion

Tap a team to send it through; tap it again to take the result back. The bracket scrolls sideways.

Next step Not enough court time? Single elimination for 10 teamsEleven teams? Game notes for the 11 team sheet

10 Team Double Elimination Tournament Bracket: how it works

A 10 team double elimination tournament bracket runs 18 games, plus a 19th if the unbeaten finalist loses Game 18. Seeds 8 and 9 play first, then Seeds 7 and 10, while Seeds 1 to 6 wait. Add names or print it blank.

Round one: Games 1 and 2

Ten teams or players go on a 16-line sheet, and the six empty lines give Seeds 1 to 6 a bye. Games 3 and 4, Seed 4 against Seed 5 and Seed 3 against Seed 6, are numbered before the other quarterfinals so both first-round winners rest before facing Seed 1 in Game 5 and Seed 2 in Game 6. Seeds 3 to 6 play each other straight off the bye, so two of them drop after one game.

Where the early losers land

The two first-round losers cannot meet before Game 16. The Game 1 loser gets the Game 6 loser in Game 7, and the Game 2 loser gets the Game 5 loser in Game 8. Each crosses to the far half of the sheet, so neither opening game can repeat before Games 13 and 14. The losers of Games 4 and 3 skip that round and enter at Games 11 and 12.

Tips

  • On two courts Games 1 to 16 go in pairs in number order and 17 and 18 follow singly: 10 slots. Three courts need 8.
  • A fourth court saves nothing: Games 1, 5, 8, 12, 14, 16, 17 and 18 must run in that order.
  • A quarterfinal loss sends Seed 1 to Game 8 and Seed 2 to Game 7, so they are the only bye teams that can tie for ninth. Seeds 3 to 6 finish seventh or better.

Questions and answers

How many games is double elimination with ten teams?

Eighteen, or nineteen if the unbeaten team loses Game 18. On this 10 team double elimination bracket, Games 1 to 6, 9, 10 and 15 are the winners bracket, eight are the losers bracket and Game 18 is the championship. An eleventh entry makes it 20 or 21: set the Teams box to 11. Names stay, results clear, and these notes stop applying.

How many games can the champion play?

Four at the fewest, for a bye seed that never loses; Seeds 7 to 10 need five. The longest road is nine: the Game 1 winner loses Game 5, then takes Games 8, 12, 14, 16, 17, 18 and 19.

10 team tournament bracket double elimination: worth the extra games?

It costs twice the games: 18 against nine in single elimination, where at least four teams go home after one. Here everybody plays at least twice. Short on time? Run the single elimination bracket.

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Every game in the 10-team double-elimination bracket

10 teams, double elimination: 18 or 19 games. Seeds 1 to 6 have a bye.

Games of the 10-team double-elimination bracket, in playing order
GameRoundTeamsWinner goes toLoser goes toNotes
1Winners round 1Seed 8 vs Seed 9Game 5Game 7Winners bracket, round 1. One of two opening games; Seeds 1 to 6 sit this round out. The winner meets Seed 1 in Game 5, and the loser drops to Game 7 to wait for whoever loses Game 6.
2Winners round 1Seed 7 vs Seed 10Game 6Game 8Winners bracket, round 1. This is the game the tenth team adds, and the reason Seed 7 has no bye in a field of ten. The winner meets Seed 2 in Game 6; the loser drops to Game 8, where the Game 5 loser joins it.
3Winners quarterfinalSeed 4 vs Seed 5Game 9Game 12Winners bracket quarterfinal between two teams coming off byes. It is numbered ahead of Games 5 and 6 so that the two first-round winners get a rest. The winner plays the top-half semifinal, Game 9. The loser drops to Game 12 and skips the first losers bracket round.
4Winners quarterfinalSeed 3 vs Seed 6Game 10Game 11Winners bracket quarterfinal, again between two rested teams. The winner plays the bottom-half semifinal, Game 10. The loser drops to Game 11, so like the Game 3 loser it enters the losers bracket a round late.
5Winners quarterfinalSeed 1 vs Winner of Game 1Game 9Game 8Winners bracket quarterfinal and Seed 1's first game. The winner faces the Game 3 winner in Game 9. The loser drops to Game 8 in the first losers bracket round, so a top seed that slips here is one more defeat from a share of ninth place.
6Winners quarterfinalSeed 2 vs Winner of Game 2Game 10Game 7Winners bracket quarterfinal and Seed 2's first game. A win sets up Game 10 against the Game 4 winner. The loser crosses the sheet to Game 7, where the Game 1 loser is waiting.
7Losers round 1Loser of Game 1 vs Loser of Game 6Game 11Out (9th to 10th)Losers bracket, round 1, and the first elimination game. It pairs the Game 1 loser with a team from the other half of the sheet, which is why it cannot start until Game 6 is over. The loser is out and ties for ninth with the Game 8 loser. The winner goes to Game 11 against the Game 4 loser.
8Losers round 1Loser of Game 2 vs Loser of Game 5Game 12Out (9th to 10th)Losers bracket, round 1. The Game 2 loser meets the Game 5 loser, who also comes from the opposite half, so neither opening game can be replayed in this round. The loser shares ninth place with the Game 7 loser; the winner moves on to Game 12 and the Game 3 loser.
9Winners semifinalWinner of Game 5 vs Winner of Game 3Game 15Game 13Winners bracket semifinal in the top half of the sheet (Seeds 1, 4, 5, 8 and 9). The winner moves on to Game 15, the last game between unbeaten teams. The loser drops to Game 13 and needs four straight wins from there to force the if game.
10Winners semifinalWinner of Game 4 vs Winner of Game 6Game 15Game 14Winners bracket semifinal in the bottom half of the sheet (Seeds 2, 3, 6, 7 and 10). The winner takes the other place in Game 15. The loser drops to Game 14 to face the Game 12 winner.
11Losers round 2Winner of Game 7 vs Loser of Game 4Game 13Out (7th to 8th)Losers bracket, round 2. The Game 4 loser plays its first game on this side against a team that has already survived one. The loser is out and ties for seventh with the Game 12 loser. The winner goes to Game 13 to meet the Game 9 loser.
12Losers round 2Loser of Game 3 vs Winner of Game 8Game 14Out (7th to 8th)Losers bracket, round 2. The Game 3 loser comes in here against the Game 8 winner, a team it cannot have played before. The loser is out, level in seventh with the Game 11 loser. The winner's next game is Game 14, against the Game 10 loser.
13Losers round 3Winner of Game 11 vs Loser of Game 9Game 16Out (5th to 6th)Losers bracket, round 3, and one of the two earliest possible rematches. If the Game 1 loser has won Games 7 and 11, and the Game 1 winner beat Seed 1 but then lost Game 9, Seeds 8 and 9 meet again. The loser is out and ties for fifth with the Game 14 loser. Whoever wins faces the Game 14 winner in Game 16.
14Losers round 3Winner of Game 12 vs Loser of Game 10Game 16Out (5th to 6th)Losers bracket, round 3, and the mirror of Game 13. It repeats Game 2 if the Game 2 loser has won Games 8 and 12 and the Game 2 winner beat Seed 2 but then lost Game 10. The loser takes the other share of fifth place, and the winner joins the Game 13 winner in Game 16.
15Winners finalWinner of Game 9 vs Winner of Game 10Game 18Game 17Winners bracket final between the two teams still without a loss. The winner goes to Game 18, the championship, and can afford to lose once there. The loser drops to Game 17, the losers bracket final.
16Losers round 4Winner of Game 13 vs Winner of Game 14Game 17Out (4th)Losers bracket, round 4, between the last two teams to come through the losers side. Any of Games 1 to 6 can come round again here. The loser is out and finishes fourth, the first place on this sheet that is not shared. The winner goes to Game 17 against the Game 15 loser.
17Losers finalWinner of Game 16 vs Loser of Game 15Game 18Out (3rd)Losers bracket final. A first-round winner that lost its quarterfinal and is still alive is playing its seventh game; the Game 15 loser is on its fourth or fifth. The loser is out and finishes third. The winner goes to Game 18 and must beat the unbeaten team twice.
18ChampionshipWinner of Game 15 vs Winner of Game 17Champion, or Game 19 if the losers bracket team winsRunner-upChampionship. The Game 15 winner is unbeaten, so a win here ends the tournament after 18 games. If the Game 17 winner takes it, each team has one loss and the title goes to Game 19.
19If necessaryWinner of Game 18 vs Loser of Game 18ChampionRunner-upThe if game, or bracket reset, played only when the losers bracket team wins Game 18. The same two teams, one loss apiece: the winner is champion and the loser finishes second. It can be a ninth game for a team that won in round one and then lost its quarterfinal.

How this list was compiled: Bracket layout worked out by Wheel of Teams. We start from the full 16-slot double elimination bracket with standard seeding (1 v 16, 8 v 9, 5 v 12, 4 v 13, 3 v 14, 6 v 11, 7 v 10, 2 v 15 down the sheet), leave slots 11 to 16 empty, and remove every game that would have an empty slot in it. That gives Seeds 1 to 6 a first-round bye and sends each loser to the place it would have in the full bracket. All 262,144 possible sets of results for the 18 scheduled games were then played through the layout by two separately written scripts to confirm that every team is out after exactly two losses, that the games always number 18 or 19, which finishing places are shared, where a rematch can happen, how many games a champion can play and how few time slots each number of courts needs. The game count (2n - 2, or 2n - 1 when the winner is not undefeated), the two-game final and the names 'if game' and 'bracket reset' were checked on 2026-09-18 against https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double-elimination_tournament. Licence: own work