Printable brackets › Single Elimination
26 Team Single Elimination Bracket
A free printable 26 team single 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.
- 25 games over 5 rounds. Lose once and you are out.
- 6 byes: the top 6 seeds skip the first round, so the bracket evens out to 32.
- Seeds are placed so the top two can only meet in the final.
Round 1 seeding and byes
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 single elimination bracket?
25. Every game knocks out one team and all but the champion get knocked out, so it is always the number of teams minus 1.
How many rounds does a 26 team bracket have?
5. The bracket fills out to 32 spots, so 6 top seeds get byes into round 2.
How do byes work?
When the number of teams is not a power of two, the best seeds skip the first round. A bye counts as a win, so those teams start in round 2.