8 team double elimination bracket
How does an 8 team double elimination bracket work?
In an 8 team double elimination bracket, each team plays at least two games, with the winners advancing and the losers dropping to a "losers" bracket.
In the first round, the eight teams are randomly paired and play a single game. The winners advance to the next round and the losers drop to the losers bracket.
In the second round, the winners of the first round play each other, while the losers play in the losers bracket. The winners advance and the losers drop to the losers bracket.
This process continues until the winners bracket produces a champion and the losers bracket produces a runner-up. These two teams then play a single game to determine the overall champion.
A team is eliminated from the tournament after they have lost two games. In a double elimination tournament, a team must lose twice before being eliminated.
The picture below shows a standard 8 team double elimination bracket. Feel free to print or use however you'd like.
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8 team double elimination bracket
download 8 team double elimination bracket (16.5 KB)
Instructions
- Write your 8 team names into games 1-4
- Winners advance to games 5 and 6
- Losers drop down to where it says L1, L2, L3, L4
- Winners of games 5 and 6 advance to game 7
- Losers drop down to where it says L5 and L6
- Continue this pattern until you get to the final
If the finalist from the winners' bracket (winner of game 7) loses the final, there should be a rematch (otherwise they would have been eliminated after just one loss). Some choose not to play this second final. You may just want to make this clear before the tournament so there are no disappointments at the end.
Header photo by Joshua Kantarges on Unsplash