Tournament Structure

Type the number of entrants and the sheet works out the games and rounds of four tournament formats.

Tournament Format Plan

Formats

Type names and scores in the boxes. Totals add up as you type.

Formats: a column for each event. Totals fill in as scores are typed.
Entrants2 to 128
Playing areasGames at one time
Minutes a gameWith the changeover
Single elimination gamesEntrants less one
Single elimination roundsHalvings down to one
Single elimination byesEmpty bracket places
Single elimination hoursRound by round
Double elimination gamesTwice entrants, less two
Double elimination hours, at leastNo timetable is shorter
Round robin gamesEvery pair once
Round robin roundsEveryone meets everyone
Round robin hoursRound by round
Group stage gamesTwo groups and a playoff
Group stage roundsGroup rounds and two more
Group stage hoursRound by round

Type a score and the totals fill in.

Scoring key

Single elimination 1 loss
An entrant is out after one loss, so each is sure of one game only. No format here needs fewer games.
How a bye arises empty places
A knockout bracket has 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64 or 128 places. Entrants short of the next such number leave places empty, and each empty place gives one entrant no game in round 1.
Double elimination 2 losses
An entrant is out after a second loss, so each is sure of two games. The final is played again only if the entrant who had not lost yet loses it.
Double elimination rounds no row
Its winners side and losers side are played side by side, and how their rounds fall together depends on how the bracket is drawn.
Double elimination hours a floor
Your minutes times the larger of two counts: the games shared across the playing areas, or twice the single elimination rounds less one. This site's bracket has at least that many games in a row.
Round robin all play all
Every entrant plays every other once, so each is sure of one game fewer than there are entrants. With an odd number, one entrant sits out in each round.
Group stage with a playoff 2 groups
Two groups, as even as they go, each play a round robin, so an entrant is sure of its group games. The top two of each go on to two semifinals and a final. Under 6 entrants these rows stay at 0.
How the hours are counted by round
A round is finished before the next begins. A round with more games than playing areas takes more than one sitting, and every sitting lasts the minutes you typed.
What no row counts extras
No game for third place, no tiebreaker and no pause between rounds is in any row. Add your own.

How each row scores

Entrants
2 to 128
Playing areas
Games at one time
Minutes a game
With the changeover
Single elimination games
Entrants less one
Single elimination rounds
Halvings down to one
Single elimination byes
Empty bracket places
Single elimination hours and 2 more
Round by round
Double elimination games
Twice entrants, less two
Double elimination hours, at least
No timetable is shorter
Round robin games
Every pair once
Round robin rounds
Everyone meets everyone
Group stage games
Two groups and a playoff
Group stage rounds
Group rounds and two more

The numbers stay in this browser until you press Clear the numbers.

Next step Draw a single or double elimination bracketMake the round robin schedule

How it works

This tournament structure planner sets four formats side by side: single elimination, double elimination, round robin and a group stage with a playoff. Type the entrants, playing areas and minutes a game, and each format's games, rounds and hours appear.

Read the full guide

Type three numbers

Type the Entrants, from 2 to 128, then the Playing areas and the Minutes a game. The games and rounds fill in at once. The hours stay at 0 until all three boxes are filled.

Read the four formats

8 entrants on 2 playing areas at 30 minutes need 7 games and 2 hours as a single elimination, and 28 games and 7 hours as a round robin. The other two formats fall between.

Then draw the one you pick

The tournament bracket generator draws a single or double elimination with your names, and the round robin generator makes the schedule where everyone plays everyone.

Tips
  • A double elimination has no rounds row, and its hours are a floor: no timetable is shorter.
  • Under 6 entrants the three group stage rows stay at 0.
  • No row counts a game for third place, a tiebreaker or a break. Add those to the hours yourself.

Questions and answers

What are the types of tournament brackets?

This sheet counts four formats. In a single elimination one loss puts an entrant out, and in a double elimination it takes two. In a round robin everyone plays everyone. In a group stage, two groups each play a round robin before a playoff.

What is the best tournament structure?

The sheet does not pick one. It shows what each costs. An entrant is sure of one game in a single elimination, two in a double elimination, its group games in a group stage and a game against everyone in a round robin.

How many games are in a single elimination tournament?

One fewer than the entrants, because every game sends one entrant home: 8 entrants play 7 games and 16 play 15. A double elimination has twice as many, and one more if the final is played again.

How are the hours worked out?

Round by round. A round with more games than playing areas takes more than one sitting, and each sitting lasts the minutes you typed. For a double elimination the sheet gives a floor instead, because its rounds depend on how the bracket is drawn.

Why does a bracket have byes?

A knockout bracket has 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64 or 128 places. When fewer entrants come, the empty places become byes, and an entrant with a bye has no game in round 1. 11 entrants in a bracket of 16 leave 5 byes.

More tools

Browse Brackets & Schedules

All 24 lines

Numbers you type 3

  • Entrants How many teams or players enter, from 2 to 128. Every row under the three boxes starts from this number.
  • Minutes a game The length of one sitting as you plan it, a game with the changeover after it. The hours rows stay at 0 until this box and the playing areas are filled.
  • Playing areas How many games can go on at the same moment: fields, courts, tables, boards or lanes, from 1 to 64.

Single elimination rows 4

  • Single elimination byes The empty places of the bracket, each of which lets an entrant skip round 1. 8 entrants fill a bracket of 8, so 0. 11 entrants in a bracket of 16 leave 5.
  • Single elimination games Entrants less one, because every game sends one entrant home and one is left. 8 entrants play 7 games.
  • Single elimination hours Counted round by round. 8 entrants on 2 playing areas need two sittings for the 4 quarterfinals, one for the semifinals and one for the final: 4 sittings of 30 minutes, 2 hours.
  • Single elimination rounds How many times the field is halved to reach one: 2 rounds for 3 or 4 entrants, 3 for 5 to 8, 4 for 9 to 16, up to 7 for 65 to 128.
Show all 24 lines (17 more)

Double elimination rows 2

  • Double elimination games Twice the single elimination games, because every entrant but the champion loses twice. 8 entrants play 14, or 15 when the final is replayed.
  • Double elimination hours, at least A floor, not a timetable. 14 games on 2 playing areas cannot take fewer than 7 sittings, which at 30 minutes is 3.5 hours.

Round robin rows 3

  • Round robin games One game for every pair of entrants: entrants times one fewer, halved. 8 entrants make 28 pairs.
  • Round robin hours Counted round by round. Each of the 7 rounds for 8 entrants has 4 games, which is two sittings on 2 playing areas: 14 sittings of 30 minutes, 7 hours.
  • Round robin rounds One fewer than the entrants when their number is even, and as many as the entrants when it is odd. 8 entrants play 7 rounds, and so do 7.

Group stage rows 3

  • Group stage games A round robin in each of two groups, two semifinals and a final. 8 entrants in two groups of 4 play 6 and 6, then 3 more: 15.
  • Group stage hours Counted round by round, both groups at once. For 8 entrants on 2 playing areas: 3 group rounds of two sittings each, one sitting for the semifinals and one for the final. 8 sittings of 30 minutes, 4 hours.
  • Group stage rounds The rounds of the larger group, then a semifinal round and the final. Groups of 4 take 3 rounds, so 8 entrants play 5.

What each format is and how it is counted 9

  • Double elimination An entrant is out after a second loss, so each is sure of two games. The final is played again only if the entrant who had not lost yet loses it.
  • Double elimination hours Your minutes times the larger of two counts: the games shared across the playing areas, or twice the single elimination rounds less one. This site's bracket has at least that many games in a row.
  • Double elimination rounds Its winners side and losers side are played side by side, and how their rounds fall together depends on how the bracket is drawn.
  • Group stage with a playoff Two groups, as even as they go, each play a round robin, so an entrant is sure of its group games. The top two of each go on to two semifinals and a final. Under 6 entrants these rows stay at 0.
  • How a bye arises A knockout bracket has 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64 or 128 places. Entrants short of the next such number leave places empty, and each empty place gives one entrant no game in round 1.
  • How the hours are counted A round is finished before the next begins. A round with more games than playing areas takes more than one sitting, and every sitting lasts the minutes you typed.
  • Round robin Every entrant plays every other once, so each is sure of one game fewer than there are entrants. With an odd number, one entrant sits out in each round.
  • Single elimination An entrant is out after one loss, so each is sure of one game only. No format here needs fewer games.
  • What no row counts No game for third place, no tiebreaker and no pause between rounds is in any row. Add your own.

How this list was compiled: Arithmetic worked out by the editors; no outside table is used and no sport is named. A single elimination has one game fewer than entrants, a double elimination twice that (one more if the final is replayed), a round robin one game for every pair, and the group stage two round robins with two semifinals and a final. On 2026-10-05 every row was checked by script for every size from 2 to 128 entrants: the single and double elimination rows against the brackets this site's own bracket tool builds (3 to 128 entrants), the round robin rows against the schedules and timetables this site's round robin tool builds (2 to 24 entrants), the single elimination, round robin and group stage hours against a round by round count of sittings on 1 to 64 playing areas, and the double elimination floor against a timetable of this site's bracket, which it never exceeds. Licence: own work