14 Team Tournament Bracket
Fourteen teams, thirteen games, and byes for Seeds 1 and 2 at opposite ends of the sheet.
14 Team Tournament Bracket: how it works
Fourteen teams leave two gaps on a 16-line sheet, and in a 14 team tournament bracket those gaps go to Seeds 1 and 2, who start in the quarterfinals. The other twelve play six opening games, 8 v 9 down to 7 v 10. Thirteen single elimination games decide it.
Two byes at opposite ends of the sheet
Seed 1 waits at the top for the 8 v 9 winner in Game 7, Seed 2 at the bottom for the 7 v 10 winner in Game 10. Between them, Games 8 and 9 pair opening-round winners: 4 v 5 and 3 v 6 if the higher seeds get through. Seeds 1 and 2 need three wins for the title; Seeds 3 to 14 need four. Seed 14 does not draw the top seed: it opens against Seed 3, the best team without a bye.
Thirteen games, and which two to play first
One court needs 13 slots. Two courts need seven, three six and four five. On two courts, start with Games 1 and 6 side by side. Their winners meet a rested top seed, and going first gives both the longest break before the quarterfinals. It still fits in seven slots.
Tips
- For a 14 person tournament bracket, type the players in and press Random draw with the room watching: the two byes are handed out on screen. Prefer pen and paper? A blank print keeps all fourteen seed numbers.
- Give every winner a slot off between games and two courts need nine slots; three or four need eight.
- At least six teams go home after one game, and eight if Seeds 1 and 2 both lose their quarterfinals. A 14 team round robin gives everyone 13 games, 91 in all.
Questions and answers
Who gets the byes in a 14 team bracket?
Seeds 1 and 2. Fourteen teams on sixteen lines leave two gaps, and the gaps fall opposite the top two seeds. Seed 3 misses out by one place, so settle any tie for second before you print.
How long does a 14 team tournament bracket take?
Thirteen games in four rounds: six in the opening round, then four quarterfinals, two semifinals and the final. At 30 minutes a game that is six and a half hours on one court, or seven slots and three and a half hours on two, before breaks.
What if 13 or 15 teams turn up?
Set the Teams box to the real number. With 13, Seed 3 gets a bye too, its game against Seed 14 drops off the sheet and 12 games remain. With 15, Seed 2 gives up its bye to play Seed 15 in a seventh opening game, 14 in all.
Every game in the 14-team bracket
14 teams, single elimination: 13 games in 4 rounds. Seeds 1 and 2 have a bye.
Games of the 14-team bracket, in playing order
| Game | Round | Teams | Winner goes to | Notes |
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| 1 | Round 1 | Seed 8 vs Seed 9 | Game 7 | Seeds 8 and 9 play for a quarterfinal against Seed 1, who holds the bye on the line above them. On two courts, put this game in the first slot so its winner gets the longest break. |
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| 2 | Round 1 | Seed 5 vs Seed 12 | Game 8 | |
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| 3 | Round 1 | Seed 4 vs Seed 13 | Game 8 | Seed 4 is the top seed of its quarter, and a win here lines it up against Seed 5 next, not a rested bye seed. |
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| 4 | Round 1 | Seed 3 vs Seed 14 | Game 9 | Seed 3 is the best team without a bye and opens against Seed 14, the last seed. |
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| 5 | Round 1 | Seed 6 vs Seed 11 | Game 9 | The winner goes to Game 9 to meet the winner of Game 4, which is Seed 3 if the favorite gets through. |
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| 6 | Round 1 | Seed 7 vs Seed 10 | Game 10 | The mirror image of Game 1: Seeds 7 and 10 play for a quarterfinal against Seed 2, who holds the bye on the line below them. |
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| 7 | Quarterfinal | Seed 1 vs Winner of Game 1 | Game 11 | Seed 1's first game. Its opponent has already played once. If seeds hold: Seed 1 v Seed 8. |
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| 8 | Quarterfinal | Winner of Game 2 vs Winner of Game 3 | Game 11 | Between two opening-round winners. If seeds hold: Seed 5 v Seed 4, the closest quarterfinal on paper. |
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| 9 | Quarterfinal | Winner of Game 4 vs Winner of Game 5 | Game 12 | Between two opening-round winners. If seeds hold: Seed 3 v Seed 6. |
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| 10 | Quarterfinal | Seed 2 vs Winner of Game 6 | Game 12 | Seed 2's first game. If seeds hold: Seed 2 v Seed 7. |
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| 11 | Semifinal | Winner of Game 7 vs Winner of Game 8 | Game 13 | If seeds hold: Seed 1 v Seed 4, with Seed 1 on its second game and Seed 4 on its third. |
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| 12 | Semifinal | Winner of Game 9 vs Winner of Game 10 | Game 13 | If seeds hold: Seed 3 v Seed 2. On two courts it shares the sixth slot with Game 11, so both finalists get the same rest. |
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| 13 | Final | Winner of Game 11 vs Winner of Game 12 | Champion | If seeds hold: Seed 1 v Seed 2, the third game of the day for both. |
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Each seed's path to the title 14
- Seed 1: Game 7, Game 11 and Game 13 Bye in round 1. Its quarterfinal opponent will already have played once.
- Seed 2: Game 10, Game 12 and Game 13 Bye in round 1. The second and last bye: Seed 3 misses out by one place.
- Seed 3: Game 4, Game 9, Game 12 and Game 13 The best seed without a bye, and the one drawn against the last seed.
- Seed 4: Game 3, Game 8, Game 11 and Game 13
- Seed 5: Game 2, Game 8, Game 11 and Game 13
- Seed 6: Game 5, Game 9, Game 12 and Game 13
- Seed 7: Game 6, Game 10, Game 12 and Game 13 Beat Seed 10 and the next opponent is a Seed 2 that has not played yet.
- Seed 8: Game 1, Game 7, Game 11 and Game 13
- Seed 9: Game 1, Game 7, Game 11 and Game 13
- Seed 10: Game 6, Game 10, Game 12 and Game 13 Upsetting Seed 7 changes nothing about the next game: Seed 2 is waiting either way.
- Seed 11: Game 5, Game 9, Game 12 and Game 13
- Seed 12: Game 2, Game 8, Game 11 and Game 13
- Seed 13: Game 3, Game 8, Game 11 and Game 13
- Seed 14: Game 4, Game 9, Game 12 and Game 13 The last seed opens against Seed 3, because Seeds 1 and 2 do not play in round one.
How this list was compiled: Layout worked out by Wheel of Teams. Fourteen teams go on a 16-line sheet; Seeds 15 and 16 do not exist, so Seeds 1 and 2 get the two byes and start in the quarterfinals. A script confirmed that the top two seeds can meet only in the final and the top four only from the semifinals, and counted the court slots on the rule that a game starts only when both games feeding it are over. Checked on 2026-09-18: the seeding rule and the round names against https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single-elimination_tournament, and byes for the highest ranked teams against https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bye_%28sports%29. Licence: own work