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8-team double elimination bracket generator

8 teams in a double elimination bracket: 14 games, no byes; a first-round loser drops to the losers bracket and can still win the grand final. Rename the seeds below, print the sheet or run it live.

Teams
8
Games
14
Byes
0
Rounds played (W + L + final)
3 + 4 + 1
Bracket size
8 slots
Champion plays
4 games
Fields for the fastest day
4 (6 slots)
Time slots on 1 / 2 / 4 fields
14 / 8 / 6

easychamp.com/tools/bracket-generator/8-team-double-elimination

The draw

8-team double elimination: the seeded first round

Winners round 1Home seedAway seed
M1Seed 1Seed 8
M2Seed 4Seed 5
M3Seed 2Seed 7
M4Seed 3Seed 6

Then winners rounds 2 to 3, the losers bracket (4 rounds) and the grand final: 14 games in all.

If the seeds hold

Who meets whom in an 8-team bracket, round by round

With 8 teams every seed plays the quarter-finals: 4 ties. Every team needs 3 wins to win the winners bracket. In double elimination a loss in that bracket drops a team into the losers bracket (4 rounds with games) instead of ending its event, and the winners-bracket champion still has the grand final to play.

  1. Winners bracket, quarter-finals: 1 v 8 · 4 v 5 · 2 v 7 · 3 v 6
  2. Winners bracket, semi-finals: 1 v 4 · 2 v 3
  3. Winners bracket, final: 1 v 2
Projected opponent of each seed in the winners bracket, round by round, if the higher seed wins every tie.
SeedQuarter-finalsSemi-finalsFinalProjected exit
1842Winners bracket champion
2731Final
362Semi-finals
451Semi-finals
54Quarter-finals
63Quarter-finals
72Quarter-finals
81Quarter-finals

Fields and time

How many fields an 8-team double elimination bracket needs, and how long it takes

14 games. A game can start once the games that decide its two teams are finished, so the shortest day is 6 time slots and 4 fields are the fewest that reach it; more fields do not make it shorter. One field plays every game back to back: 14 slots. A bracket reset in the grand final adds one slot.

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
1149 h 10 min12 h 40 min16 h 10 min23 h 10 min
285 h 10 min7 h 10 min9 h 10 min13 h 10 min
374 h 30 min6 h 15 min8 h11 h 30 min
4 (fastest)63 h 50 min5 h 20 min6 h 50 min9 h 50 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

Double elimination · 8 entrants · 14 ties · seeded

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

Winners bracket
Winners round 1· 4
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Winners round 2· 2
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Winners final· 1
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Losers bracket
Losers round 1· 2
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Losers round 2· 2
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Losers round 3· 1
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Losers final· 1
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Grand final
Grand 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 8 teams

Double elimination is fairer to a team that has one bad day: a first-round loser drops to the losers bracket and can still win the whole thing, but it has to play more games to get there. Losers-bracket rounds alternate between "losers play each other" and "losers-bracket winners meet the next team dropping from the winners bracket", and the drop order is reversed each time so early rematches are rare.

Plan for time. 14 games is 7 more than the single-elimination version of the same field, and the losers bracket finishes 4 played rounds deep. On a one-day event that means either two courts or a shorter game length; the generator prints the round labels so the schedule can be built next to it.

At 8 teams the bracket is a full weekend or an evening with two courts. Publish the seeded draw in advance: teams accept a hard first-round tie when they can see the seeding rule, and argue when they cannot.

Questions

8-team double elimination bracket generator: asked and answered

How many games are in an 8-team double elimination bracket?
14. In double elimination every eliminated team has lost twice, so 7 teams times two losses is 14 games whoever wins the grand final. A bracket reset (the losers-bracket champion beating the winners-bracket champion once, forcing a decider) would add one.
How many byes does an 8-team bracket have?
None. 8 is a power of two, so the first round has exactly 4 ties and every team plays.
How many rounds is an 8-team double elimination bracket?
8 in all: 3 in the winners bracket, 4 in the losers bracket and one grand final. A team that loses its first game plays up to 5 more to win it.
How many fields or courts do I need for an 8-team double elimination bracket?
One is enough: it plays the 14 games back to back in 14 time slots. 4 fields give the shortest possible day, 6 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 8 slots.
How long does an 8-team double elimination bracket take?
With 60-minute games and 10 minutes between them: 16 h 10 min on one field, 9 h 10 min on two and 6 h 50 min on four. In slots, for any game length: one field 14 slots, two 8, four 6. A bracket reset in the grand final adds one more slot. Teams can be asked to play in consecutive slots, so build in rest if your sport needs it.
How does seeding work in this 8-team bracket?
By list order: the first name is seed 1, the last is seed 8. The draw folds the seeds so 1 plays 8 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 8-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.

Run it live on EasyChamp: fixtures, scores and standings update themselves

Free plan, no card: round robin, group stages, single and double elimination, a public site for your league at your own easychamp.com address, and team registration with entry fees paid straight into your own Stripe account.

8-team double elimination bracket generator | EasyChamp