Bracket Maker
Make a printable tournament bracket in a minute. Type or paste the names, from 2 to 64, and the bracket maker builds a single elimination bracket with the byes already placed, so every bye meets a real entrant and nobody waits for nothing. Keep your list order, treat the list as the seed order (1 plays 16, 8 plays 9), or let the browser draw at random. Click a name to send it into the next round, all the way to the champion, or print a blank bracket to fill in by hand. You get a landscape PDF on US Letter, A4, Tabloid (11 × 17 in) or A3, with the names as real text, and a PNG, including a 1920 × 1080 image for sharing a bracket of favourites. Free, with no sign-up and no credit line on the bracket.
100% private — everything runs in your browser. Names stay in your browser; the PDF and PNG are made on your device.
Pick the winners
Click a name in the preview, or a name below, to send it to the next round. Click it again to undo. Changing a pick clears the later picks that followed from it.
Bracket
Runs in your browser with our own code: the names never leave your device, and nothing is saved. The random draw uses your browser’s cryptographic random number generator. The PDF is one landscape page: print at 100% (Actual size).
How to make a bracket
- Type or paste the names, one per line. Or choose Blank bracket and pick how many lines you need.
- Choose the seeding: your list order, the list as seed order, or a random draw.
- Pick Left to right or Two halves meeting in the middle, and the paper.
- Click names in the preview, or in the list under it, to move the winners on. Click again to undo.
- Download the PDF and print it at 100% (Actual size), or download the PNG to share.
What you can use it for
- A table tennis, chess or video game tournament at a club or office
- A classroom or family game night with a champion at the end
- A bracket of favourites to vote on: snacks, films, books, songs
- A blank bracket to fill in by hand on the day
- A big wall bracket on Tabloid or A3 paper
Byes and games for each size
| Entrants | Bracket lines | Byes | First-round games | Games in all | Rounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 3 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| 4 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| 5 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 3 |
| 6 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 3 |
| 8 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 3 |
| 10 | 16 | 6 | 2 | 9 | 4 |
| 12 | 16 | 4 | 4 | 11 | 4 |
| 16 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 15 | 4 |
| 20 | 32 | 12 | 4 | 19 | 5 |
| 24 | 32 | 8 | 8 | 23 | 5 |
| 32 | 32 | 0 | 16 | 31 | 5 |
| 48 | 64 | 16 | 16 | 47 | 6 |
| 64 | 64 | 0 | 32 | 63 | 6 |
Worked out by the tool. Every count from 2 to 64 works, not only these; the tests behind the page check each one, in all three seedings, for the byes, the games and a bracket that never puts a bye against a bye.
Standard seeding order
| Bracket | First-round games, top to bottom |
|---|---|
| 8 lines | 1 v 8, 4 v 5, 2 v 7, 3 v 6 |
| 16 lines | 1 v 16, 8 v 9, 4 v 13, 5 v 12, 2 v 15, 7 v 10, 3 v 14, 6 v 11 |
This is the order the tool uses for List is the seed order. If the better seed always wins, the quarterfinals in a 16-line bracket are 1 v 8, 4 v 5, 2 v 7 and 3 v 6, and the final is 1 v 2. With fewer entrants than lines, the missing lowest seeds are the byes.
Three ways to seed
| Seeding | What happens |
|---|---|
| In list order | The first two names play each other, then the next two, top to bottom. Use it when you have already decided the games. |
| List is the seed order | The first name is seed 1, the second seed 2, and so on, placed in the standard order above. Top seeds get the byes. |
| Random draw | The names are shuffled by your browser, then placed top to bottom. Press Draw again to shuffle again. |
In every seeding the byes are in the same places, spread across the bracket, so each half has a fair share of them.
Paper and name size
| Entrants | Left to right, US Letter | Left to right, Tabloid | Two halves, US Letter | Two halves, Tabloid |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | 11 pt | 11 pt | 11 pt | 11 pt |
| 32 | 7.9 pt | 10.8 pt | 11 pt | 11 pt |
| 64 | 4 pt | 5.4 pt | 7.9 pt | 10.8 pt |
Name size worked out by the tool for each page (4 pt is the smallest it prints). A 64-entrant bracket in two halves prints its names at 7.6 pt on A4 and 11 pt on A3. Pages are landscape: US Letter 279.4 × 215.9 mm, A4 297 × 210 mm, Tabloid 431.8 × 279.4 mm and A3 420 × 297 mm. Long names are shortened with an ellipsis to fit their line.
The PNG is the same page at 300 DPI. Choose Social image 16:9 for a 1920 × 1080 PNG to post or send in a group chat. Colours: Classic black, Navy, Green, Red, Purple.
More for game night
- Pick names or numbers at random: Random Number Generator.
- A certificate for the champion: Certificate Maker.
- Another game for the room: Bingo Card Generator.
- A poster for the event: Poster Maker.
The page and the tool use no team names or logos: type your own entrants.
More free printables for game night
Running a tournament or a fun vote?
Printable games, certificates and posters that run in your browser: free, private, no sign-up.
See all free tools →Frequently asked questions
How many byes does my bracket need?
The bracket grows to the next power of two: 2, 4, 8, 16, 32 or 64 lines. The difference is the number of byes. With 12 entrants the bracket has 16 lines, so 4 entrants get a bye and go straight into the second round.
Who gets the byes?
With List is the seed order, the top seeds get them: with 12 entrants, seeds 1 to 4. With the other seedings the byes sit in the same places in the bracket and go to whoever lands there. Byes are spread out, so a bye never meets another bye.
How many games are there?
Always one fewer than the number of entrants, because each game knocks out one entrant and everyone but the champion is knocked out once. 16 entrants play 15 games; 12 entrants play 11. A third-place game adds one.
What is standard seeding?
The list is ranked best first. Seed 1 plays the lowest seed, seed 2 the next lowest, and so on, placed so that if the better seed always wins, every round pairs the best left with the worst left. Seeds 1 and 2 are in opposite halves and can only meet in the final.
How does the random draw work?
Your browser shuffles the names with its cryptographic random number generator, so every order is equally likely. Press Draw again for a new draw. The draw is made on your device; nothing is sent anywhere.
Can I make a blank bracket?
Yes. Choose Blank bracket to fill in by hand, then the number of entrants. You get empty lines with the byes already left out, ready to print.
Can I advance the winners on screen?
Yes. Click a name in the preview, or use the list of games under it. The winner moves into the next round. If you change an earlier pick, any later picks that depended on it are cleared, so the bracket never shows a winner who was knocked out.
Does it make double elimination brackets?
Not yet. This bracket maker makes single elimination brackets, with an optional third-place game.
Which paper should I use for 32 or 64 entrants?
Use Two halves meeting in the middle, which halves the number of lines down the page, and Tabloid or A3 for a big bracket. The tool shows the size of the names before you print.
Can I use the bracket for my league, club or business?
Yes. You may use what you make here, including commercially, with no credit needed.
Are the names uploaded?
No. Everything runs in your browser, the names never leave your device, and nothing is saved when you close the page.