Softonic

Competition Bracket Maker

Step 1 / 3

Use 2–32 participants, with up to 40 characters per name and 800 characters total. Input order is the seed order unless you choose a shuffled draw.

Next

Turn a list of 2–32 teams, players or choices into a clear single-elimination bracket. Keep the input order as the seed ranking or create a reproducible shuffled draw. The maker expands the field to the next power of two, assigns any necessary first-round byes, separates the leading seeds, and lets you click winners through to the champion. Copy the bracket or open your browser print dialog without creating an account.

How to make a competition bracket

  1. 1

    Enter the participants

    Add one team, player or option per line. Lists are limited to 32 entries, 40 characters per name and 800 characters total.

  2. 2

    Choose the draw order

    Use seed order to rank the list from strongest to weakest, or choose a shuffled draw and a reusable draw number.

  3. 3

    Review seeds and byes

    The bracket places high seeds apart and automatically advances a seed through any empty first-round slot.

  4. 4

    Pick winners and keep a copy

    Select each winner to fill the following round, then copy the bracket text or use your browser print dialog.

How a single-elimination bracket is sized

In single elimination, a participant leaves the competition after one loss and each winner advances. A completed competition with N participants therefore requires exactly N − 1 played matches: every match eliminates one participant, and all but the champion must be eliminated.

Balanced bracket sizes are powers of two: 2, 4, 8, 16 and 32. If the participant count falls between those sizes, the maker uses the next power of two and creates first-round byes:

Byes = next power of two − participants

For 11 entrants, the next bracket size is 16, so there are 5 byes, 4 rounds and 10 played matches. A bye is not an extra match; it moves its recipient directly into the next round.

Seed order and shuffled order

Seed order treats the first line as seed 1, the second as seed 2, and so on. The mirrored placement keeps the strongest seeds in different parts of the draw. In an eight-slot bracket, the opening positions are 1–8, 4–5, 2–7 and 3–6. When byes are needed, they fall beside the highest seeds first.

A shuffled draw rearranges the entrants before applying that same bracket structure. The draw number makes the shuffle repeatable: identical names in identical order with the same number produce the same draw. Change the number for a different arrangement.

Entrants Bracket slots First-round byes Rounds Played matches
3 4 1 2 2
6 8 2 3 5
11 16 5 4 10
32 32 0 5 31

Running the bracket cleanly

  • Confirm the ranking first. Seeded placement assumes line 1 is the strongest entrant. Use a shuffled draw when no ranking should apply.
  • Click only confirmed winners. The selected participant appears in the following round. Changing an earlier winner clears affected later picks so the path stays consistent.
  • Keep duplicate names identifiable. Duplicate names are supported, but adding a club, class or number makes the printed bracket easier to follow.
  • Know the scope. This maker builds one single-elimination draw. It does not calculate scores, schedules, round-robin standings, consolation matches or double-elimination losers brackets.
  • Keep a record. Copy produces a text transcript of the current bracket. Print opens the browser print dialog for the styled page, where the available paper and save options depend on your browser and device.

Frequently Asked Questions

The bracket expands to the next power-of-two size and leaves the excess first-round positions empty. In seed order, those empty positions are paired with the highest seeds, so the top-ranked entrants receive the byes. In shuffled mode, the names are shuffled first, so the bye recipients follow the resulting draw order.

Yes. Click an available participant to advance them. If you replace a winner in an earlier round, picks downstream from that match are cleared so an eliminated participant cannot remain as champion.

Yes. Each input line keeps its own internal identity, even when the displayed names match. For spectators and printed copies, add a qualifier such as a city, division or number so people can distinguish them.

The names and bracket choices are sent to the site server as part of the interactive tool and funnel URLs, so do not enter confidential personal information. The tool does not require an account or upload a separate roster file.

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