Single elimination

Single elimination is the fastest format to run and the easiest for spectators to follow: every match is do-or-die, and the bracket halves each round. It fits 2 to 128 teams.

Structure

• Seeding — team 1 plays the lowest seed in round one, team 2 the second-lowest, and so on. This keeps the strongest teams apart until late rounds.
• Byes — when the team count is not a power of two, the top seeds get byes automatically and enter in the next round. You never hand-manage byes.
• Rounds — the bracket runs until one team has won every match. The champion is crowned automatically when the final is recorded.

Third-place match

For fields of 4 or more you can enable a third-place match between the two semifinal losers. It is optional, appears as an extra node under the final, and can be toggled on or off at any time — including mid-event, as long as the semifinals are not both recorded yet.

When to choose it

• Limited venue time — n−1 matches total, half the field is done after round one.
• Big fields where most teams accept playing once (festivals, drop-in events).
• Playoff brackets that follow a group stage or Swiss phase.

Watch-outs

• Half of your participants play exactly one match. If players expect more game time, consider round robin, Swiss, or a group stage + knockout.
• First-round pairings are seed-driven: add teams to the roster before recording results, since inserting a team after matches begin forces a cascade re-draw.

How it interacts with other features

• Registration — approved entries import with randomized seeds; see Registration.
• Score entry — winner-click or full score entry; the setting applies to elimination matches. See Score entry.
• Exports — bracket images include byes and the third-place node; see Exports.