Tournament Bracket Generator
Built by Johnny Alto · free, no sign-up · updated July 26, 2026
Create a single-elimination tournament bracket in seconds. Enter your players or teams, choose whether to seed them in order or shuffle randomly, and the generator builds a printable bracket, adding byes automatically when your count is not a power of two.
Byes are added automatically to reach the next power of two, and a player drawn against a bye advances to the second round for free. Later rounds show empty slots to fill in as the tournament plays out. Print it to post on the wall.
How a single-elimination bracket works
In a single-elimination tournament, every match sends the loser home and the winner onward, so the field halves each round until one champion remains. A bracket only lines up cleanly when the number of players is a power of two, four, eight, sixteen, and so on. When you have some other number, the fix is byes: a few players skip the first round and advance automatically. This generator handles that for you, padding the field up to the next power of two and marking the byes.
Seeding is the other choice. Entering players in order lets you seed deliberately, keeping the top two apart until the final. Shuffling gives a fair, random draw where anyone can meet anyone.
Running your tournament
Print the bracket and post it where everyone can see it, then fill in each winner as matches finish; they carry into the empty slots of the next round. Byes are best given to the top seeds so the strongest players are not eliminated by a quirk of the numbers. For a larger event, the same structure scales to any size, and you can regenerate with a fresh shuffle if you want a different draw before play begins.
Frequently asked questions
How do I make a tournament bracket?
Enter your players one per line, choose seeded or random order, and generate. The tool builds a single-elimination bracket and adds byes if your count is not a power of two.
What is a bye in a tournament?
A free pass through the first round, given when the number of players is not a power of two. A player with a bye advances automatically to the second round.
How many byes do I need?
Enough to reach the next power of two. With 6 players you pad to 8, so 2 players get byes; with 10 you pad to 16, so 6 get byes.
Should I seed or shuffle?
Seed in order to keep the strongest players apart until later rounds, or shuffle for a fair random draw where any matchup is possible.
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