27 Team Double Elimination Bracket

A blank 27 team double elimination bracket: upper bracket, lower bracket, grand final and reset, 53 numbered games in all. Every lower bracket slot says which game its team drops from. Print it, or fill it in online.

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Blank 27 team double elimination bracket: upper and lower brackets, grand final and reset game, 53 numbered games

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How a 27 team double elimination bracket works

The upper bracket (winners bracket) is a normal 27 team single elimination bracket, so seeds 1 to 5 get a bye into round 2. It has 5 rounds and 26 games, and its winner reaches the grand final without a loss.

A team that loses in the upper bracket drops into the lower bracket (losers bracket). The lower bracket has 8 rounds and 25 games. Teams that lose later in the upper bracket join later in the lower bracket, and the drop order is reversed to make early rematches less likely. A loss in the lower bracket knocks a team out. The bracket image labels every drop, for example "Loser of G1".

The lower bracket winner has one loss and the upper bracket winner has none. They meet in the grand final (G52). If the lower bracket team wins, both teams have one loss, so a reset game (G53) decides the title. That is why a 27 team double elimination bracket has 52 games, or 53 with the reset.

Every team plays at least 2 games, because a team is only out after its second loss. The most any team can play is 11: a team that loses once in the upper bracket, wins the lower bracket, then wins the grand final and plays the reset.

For the rules that apply at every size, see how a double elimination bracket works.

Order of play

Every game in the bracket, numbered as on the printable sheet. Upper and lower bracket games can run side by side once the games that feed them are finished.

RoundGameMatchup
Upper round 1G1Seed 16 v Seed 17
G2Seed 8 v Seed 25
G3Seed 9 v Seed 24
G4Seed 13 v Seed 20
G5Seed 12 v Seed 21
G6Seed 15 v Seed 18
G7Seed 7 v Seed 26
G8Seed 10 v Seed 23
G9Seed 14 v Seed 19
G10Seed 6 v Seed 27
G11Seed 11 v Seed 22
Upper round 2G12Seed 1 v Winner of G1
G13Winner of G2 v Winner of G3
G14Seed 4 v Winner of G4
G15Seed 5 v Winner of G5
G16Seed 2 v Winner of G6
G17Winner of G7 v Winner of G8
G18Seed 3 v Winner of G9
G19Winner of G10 v Winner of G11
Upper round 3G20Winner of G12 v Winner of G13
G21Winner of G14 v Winner of G15
G22Winner of G16 v Winner of G17
G23Winner of G18 v Winner of G19
Upper round 4G24Winner of G20 v Winner of G21
G25Winner of G22 v Winner of G23
Upper finalG26Winner of G24 v Winner of G25
Lower round 1G27Loser of G2 v Loser of G3
G28Loser of G7 v Loser of G8
G29Loser of G10 v Loser of G11
Lower round 2G30Loser of G1 v Loser of G19
G31Winner of G27 v Loser of G18
G32Loser of G4 v Loser of G17
G33Loser of G5 v Loser of G16
G34Loser of G6 v Loser of G15
G35Winner of G28 v Loser of G14
G36Loser of G9 v Loser of G13
G37Winner of G29 v Loser of G12
Lower round 3G38Winner of G30 v Winner of G31
G39Winner of G32 v Winner of G33
G40Winner of G34 v Winner of G35
G41Winner of G36 v Winner of G37
Lower round 4G42Winner of G38 v Loser of G23
G43Winner of G39 v Loser of G22
G44Winner of G40 v Loser of G21
G45Winner of G41 v Loser of G20
Lower round 5G46Winner of G42 v Winner of G43
G47Winner of G44 v Winner of G45
Lower round 6G48Winner of G46 v Loser of G25
G49Winner of G47 v Loser of G24
Lower round 7G50Winner of G48 v Winner of G49
Lower finalG51Winner of G50 v Loser of G26
Grand finalG52Winner of G26 v Winner of G51
Reset (if needed)G53Rematch of G52, played only if the lower bracket team wins it

27 teams in other formats

27 teams in each format. Time slots: rounds that must be played one after another, with enough courts for every ready game.
FormatGamesGames per teamTime slots
27 team single elimination bracket261 to 55
27 team double elimination bracket52 or 532 to 1110 or 11
Round robin3512627
Swiss system654 or 55

Fill it in online

Open this bracket in Easy Bracket Maker to type in real team names, keep this seeding or shuffle it, and enter scores as games finish. Winners move on automatically and losers drop to the right lower bracket game. Export it as SVG, PNG, CSV or a printable sheet, or send players a link. It runs in your browser and saves on your device; there is no account.

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Other sizes

For a different number of teams, see the 26 team double elimination bracket or the 28 team double elimination bracket, or pick any size below.

Questions

How many games are in a 27 team double elimination bracket?

52, or 53 if the grand final goes to a reset. Every team except the champion loses exactly twice, which makes 52 games; the reset is the one extra game, played when the champion has also lost once.

Who gets a bye in a 27 team double elimination bracket?

Seeds 1 To 5. 27 teams go into a 32-slot bracket, which leaves 5 empty slots. The byes go to the top seeds, who start in round 2, so a higher seed earns an easier path.

How many games does each team play?

At least 2 and at most 11.

How long does a 27 team double elimination tournament take?

With one court and 30-minute games, the 52 games take 26 hours back to back (26.5 hours with a reset). With enough courts to play every ready game at once, it takes 10 rounds (11 with a reset), because each game waits for the games that feed it.

What is a grand final reset?

The upper bracket winner reaches the grand final unbeaten. If the lower bracket team wins it, both teams have one loss, so one more game decides the champion.