27 Team Single Elimination Bracket

A blank 27 team single elimination bracket with 26 numbered games over 5 rounds and byes for seeds 1 to 5. Every open slot says which game its team comes from. Print it, or fill it in online.

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Blank 27 team single elimination bracket with 26 numbered games and byes for seeds 1 to 5

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How a 27 team single elimination bracket works

A single elimination bracket only pairs up evenly at a power of two (4, 8, 16, 32, 64), so 27 teams go into a 32-slot bracket. The 5 empty slots become byes for seeds 1 to 5, who start in round 2. Round 1 has 11 games, played by seeds 6 to 27.

There are 26 games in total. Each game knocks out one team and every team except the champion is knocked out once, so a single elimination bracket always has one game fewer than it has teams. The games are played over 5 rounds, and the champion plays 5 games, or 4 if it is one of the seeds with a bye.

Seeds are placed so the strongest teams meet as late as possible: 1 and 2 are in opposite halves and can only meet in the final, and seeds 1 to 4 are in separate quarters, so they can only meet from the semifinals on.

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

Order of play

Every game in the bracket, numbered as on the printable sheet. Games in the same round can run at the same time.

RoundGameMatchup
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
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
QuarterfinalsG20Winner 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
SemifinalsG24Winner of G20 v Winner of G21
G25Winner of G22 v Winner of G23
FinalG26Winner of G24 v Winner of G25

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. 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.

Open the 27 team bracket →

Other sizes

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

Questions

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

26. Each game knocks out one team, and every team except the champion is knocked out once.

Who gets a bye in a 27 team 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 long does a 27 team single elimination tournament take?

With one court and 30-minute games, the 26 games take 13 hours back to back. With enough courts to play every ready game at once, it takes 5 rounds, about 2.5 hours, because each game waits for the games that feed it.

Is there a third-place game?

Not in the bracket itself. If you want one, the two semifinal losers (the losers of G24 and G25) play one extra game after the semifinals.