A free printable 26 team double elimination bracket with score boxes and "winner of" hints, so anyone can run it.
Run this one live
Skip the pencil: type the names, tap who won, and the bracket updates live on every TV, laptop and phone in the room with a link or a 5-letter code. Free, no sign-up, no ads.
26 is not a power of two, so the bracket is drawn for 32 and 6 spots are BYEs. A bye is an automatic win: the team skips round 1 and waits in round 2.
Team A
Team B
Result
Game 1
Seed 1
BYE
Advances to round 2
Game 2
Seed 16
Seed 17
Played
Game 3
Seed 8
Seed 25
Played
Game 4
Seed 9
Seed 24
Played
Game 5
Seed 4
BYE
Advances to round 2
Game 6
Seed 13
Seed 20
Played
Game 7
Seed 5
BYE
Advances to round 2
Game 8
Seed 12
Seed 21
Played
Game 9
Seed 2
BYE
Advances to round 2
Game 10
Seed 15
Seed 18
Played
Game 11
Seed 7
Seed 26
Played
Game 12
Seed 10
Seed 23
Played
Game 13
Seed 3
BYE
Advances to round 2
Game 14
Seed 14
Seed 19
Played
Game 15
Seed 6
BYE
Advances to round 2
Game 16
Seed 11
Seed 22
Played
Questions
How many games are in a 26 team double elimination bracket?
50, or 51 if the team from the second-chance side wins the grand final and a deciding game is played. In general it is twice the number of teams minus 2, plus one possible deciding game.
How does double elimination work?
Everyone starts in the main bracket. Your first loss drops you into the second-chance bracket; a second loss knocks you out. The main bracket winner meets the second-chance winner in the grand final.
What is the deciding game?
If the second-chance team wins the grand final, both teams have lost once, so many events play one more game to decide it. You can skip it and let the grand final decide.