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20-team single elimination bracket generator

20 teams in a single elimination bracket: 19 games over 5 rounds, 12 byes for the top 12 seeds, seeded so 1 and 2 can only meet in the final. Rename the seeds below, print the sheet or run it live.

Teams
20
Games
19 (+1 with 3rd place)
Byes
12
Rounds
5
Bracket size
32 slots
Champion plays
5 games
Fields for the fastest day
6 (5 slots)
Time slots on 1 / 2 / 4 fields
19 / 10 / 6

easychamp.com/tools/bracket-generator/20-team-single-elimination

The draw

20-team single elimination: the seeded first round

Round of 32Home seedAway seed
M1Seed 1Bye (seed advances)
M2Seed 16Seed 17
M3Seed 8Bye (seed advances)
M4Seed 9Bye (seed advances)
M5Seed 4Bye (seed advances)
M6Seed 13Seed 20
M7Seed 5Bye (seed advances)
M8Seed 12Bye (seed advances)
M9Seed 2Bye (seed advances)
M10Seed 15Seed 18
M11Seed 7Bye (seed advances)
M12Seed 10Bye (seed advances)
M13Seed 3Bye (seed advances)
M14Seed 14Seed 19
M15Seed 6Bye (seed advances)
M16Seed 11Bye (seed advances)

Then Round of 16, Quarter-finals, Semi-finals, Final: 19 games in all.

If the seeds hold

Who meets whom in a 20-team bracket, round by round

With 20 teams, seeds 1 to 12 skip the round of 32, so 4 of its 16 ties are played. The 1 seed needs 4 wins to take the title, the 20 seed 5.

  1. Round of 32: 16 v 17 · 13 v 20 · 15 v 18 · 14 v 19 (byes: 1, 8, 9, 4, 5, 12, 2, 7, 10, 3, 6, 11)
  2. Round of 16: 1 v 16 · 8 v 9 · 4 v 13 · 5 v 12 · 2 v 15 · 7 v 10 · 3 v 14 · 6 v 11
  3. Quarter-finals: 1 v 8 · 4 v 5 · 2 v 7 · 3 v 6
  4. Semi-finals: 1 v 4 · 2 v 3
  5. Final: 1 v 2
Projected opponent of each seed, round by round, if the higher seed wins every tie.
SeedRound of 32Round of 16Quarter-finalsSemi-finalsFinalProjected exit
1bye16842Champion
2bye15731Final
3bye1462Semi-finals
4bye1351Semi-finals
5bye124Quarter-finals
6bye113Quarter-finals
7bye102Quarter-finals
8bye91Quarter-finals
9bye8Round of 16
10bye7Round of 16
11bye6Round of 16
12bye5Round of 16
13204Round of 16
14193Round of 16
15182Round of 16
16171Round of 16
1716Round of 32
1815Round of 32
1914Round of 32
2013Round of 32

Fields and time

How many fields a 20-team single elimination bracket needs, and how long it takes

19 games. A game can start once the games that decide its two teams are finished, so the shortest day is 5 time slots and 6 fields are the fewest that reach it; more fields do not make it shorter. One field plays every game back to back: 19 slots.

Time for the whole event by number of fields and game length (with 10 minutes between games).
FieldsTime slots30-min games45-min games60-min games90-min games
11912 h 30 min17 h 15 min22 h31 h 30 min
2106 h 30 min9 h11 h 30 min16 h 30 min
385 h 10 min7 h 10 min9 h 10 min13 h 10 min
463 h 50 min5 h 20 min6 h 50 min9 h 50 min
6 (fastest)53 h 10 min4 h 25 min5 h 40 min8 h 10 min

One time slot is one game on one field. Durations are slots × game length plus 10 minutes between slots. Teams can be asked to play in consecutive slots, so add rest time if your sport needs it.

Make it yours

Rename the teams, then print, share or save it live

Generated tournament bracket

Single elimination · 20 entrants · 19 ties · seeded

Pick a team to advance it; pick the winner again to undo. Your picks travel with the share link.

Rounds 1 / 5
Round of 32· 16
Round of 16· 8
Quarter-finals· 4
Semi-finals· 2
Final· 1
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Save & run this live · free

Free EasyChamp account. Enter scores once; teams follow every result on a public page.

Leave blank to use the list. A size pads the list with "Team 9, Team 10…" or trims it.

Format

How it works

Seeding, byes and rounds for 20 teams

Seeding decides who can meet whom: with fold seeding the 1 seed plays the lowest seed in round one and cannot meet the 2 seed before the final. If you draw at random instead, the strongest two teams can knock each other out in the first round, which is fine for a club fun day and wrong for a competition that wants its best final. The generator seeds by list order and can shuffle on request.

Byes go to the top seeds, never to a random team, so the reward for a good group stage or a high ranking is a free round. With 12 byes in a 32-slot draw, 12 teams start in round two while the rest play a first-round tie.

A 20-team bracket is a proper tournament: 5 rounds of single elimination with the top seeds resting on day one. Most organizers at this size run groups first and let the group table seed the bracket; the same engine chains the two.

Questions

20-team single elimination bracket generator: asked and answered

How many games are in a 20-team single elimination bracket?
19. Every game eliminates one team and 19 teams have to be eliminated to leave a champion. A third-place tie adds one more, 20 in total.
How many byes does a 20-team bracket have?
12. The next power of two above 20 is 32, so the draw has 32 slots and 12 of them are empty. Those free passes go to the top 12 seeds, who start in round two.
How many rounds is a 20-team single elimination bracket?
5: round of 32, round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals, the final. The champion plays 5 games, or 4 if it holds a bye.
How many fields or courts do I need for a 20-team single elimination bracket?
One is enough: it plays the 19 games back to back in 19 time slots. 6 fields give the shortest possible day, 5 slots; more fields do not make it shorter, because a game cannot start until the games that decide its two teams have finished. Two fields take 10 slots.
How long does a 20-team single elimination bracket take?
With 60-minute games and 10 minutes between them: 22 h on one field, 11 h 30 min on two and 6 h 50 min on four. In slots, for any game length: one field 19 slots, two 10, four 6. Teams can be asked to play in consecutive slots, so build in rest if your sport needs it.
How does seeding work in this 20-team bracket?
By list order: the first name is seed 1, the last is seed 20. The draw folds the seeds so 1 plays 20 first and 1 and 2 can only meet in the final. Use the shuffle button for a random draw, or reorder the list to seed by your group stage.
Can I run this 20-team bracket as a live competition?
Yes. Save the bracket to EasyChamp and it becomes a competition with a public page, click-through results and a printable sheet; a group stage can feed it. Free goes live with up to 8 teams per competition, the Club plan lifts that.

Same size, other formats

20 teams, other ways to run it

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20-team single elimination bracket generator | EasyChamp