Tournament Bracket Generator
Paste your player or team list, ranked strongest first, and get a properly seeded single-elimination bracket with byes handled automatically.
Round 1 bracket
| Match | Seed A | Seed B |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | #1 Alice | BYE (advances free) |
| 2 | #4 Dave | #5 Eve |
| 3 | #2 Bob | BYE (advances free) |
| 4 | #3 Carol | BYE (advances free) |
How the seeding actually works
A naive bracket just pairs players in list order, which can accidentally match your two strongest competitors in the very first round. Standard tournament seeding avoids this by pairing seed 1 against the lowest seed, seed 2 against the second-lowest, and so on recursively, so the highest seeds are always on opposite sides of the bracket and can only meet as the rounds narrow down.
Byes are placed the same way: since the lowest seeds are the ones padding out the bracket to a full power of two, they're also the ones most likely to draw an empty slot, while the strongest seeds still have to eventually play a real match to reach the final.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens when I don't have a power-of-two number of players?
The bracket rounds up to the next power of two (5 players becomes an 8-slot bracket, for example) and fills the extra slots with byes. A bye means that seed advances to round 2 automatically without playing a round 1 match.
Why does seeding order matter?
The generator uses the standard seeding method used by real single-elimination tournaments: it's built so the top two seeds can only meet in the final, the top four can only meet from the semifinals on, and so on. Listing your strongest player or team first (seed 1) keeps the bracket fair instead of accidentally pitting your two best players against each other in round 1.
Who gets the byes?
Byes always go to the top seeds first, since they're the ones the bracket format is protecting. In a 5-team field padded to 8 slots, seeds 1, 2, and 3 get byes while seeds 4 and 5 play each other in the only real round 1 match.
Can I use this for any lawn game?
Yes — the bracket logic doesn't depend on the game. It works the same for a cornhole doubles tournament, a bocce league playoff, a horseshoes ladder, or a family croquet cup.
Round 1 only — after each round, take the winners (including bye advances) and run them through the generator again for the next round.