Build a bracket for any players or teams in a couple of minutes: single elimination with byes handled for you, groups that feed a knockout, round robin, or Swiss. Try the layout without an account, then save it as a real event when you are ready to share and print.
A bracket answers one question for everyone in the room: who plays whom next. This page explains what the generator can build, how byes work, and which size fits your field.
Open the bracket playground, pick a format, and set the number of entrants. It fills the draw with numbered placeholder slots so you can see the rounds, the byes, and the path to the final. Nothing is saved and no one else can see it unless you send the link, which keeps your settings.
When the format is agreed, create a tournament with a free account and type in the real entrants. Entrants are just names, so a team name works exactly like a player name. Seeding, groups, and the knockout are generated from that list.
Publish the event and share one public link. Enter results as matches finish and the winner moves on automatically. Organizers can print the knockout draw on A4 from the Knockout tab and print groups or standings from the Groups tab.
Only formats the app actually builds are listed here, with the limits of the free practice generator.
Lose once and you are out; the last one standing wins. It is the fastest way to a champion: a field of N entrants always needs exactly N − 1 matches. In the generator the knockout is fed by groups (2 to 12 groups of 2 to 10). Set Advancing to All and every entrant goes straight into the knockout. A third-place match is always created, and you can add full placement matches (5th–8th and beyond).
Everyone plays a short round robin in a group, then the top one, two, or more from each group advance to the knockout. It guarantees several matches per entrant before anyone goes home, which is why clubs and community leagues like it. Choose how many advance and a seeding method (Standard or Top-Seed) before you generate.
Everyone plays everyone. There is no bracket to explain and no luck of the draw, but the match count grows fast: n × (n − 1) ÷ 2, so 6 entrants is 15 matches and 10 entrants is 45. The practice generator takes 3 to 6 entrants for a single round robin; larger fields usually split into groups.
A fixed number of rounds where entrants with similar records meet each other. Nobody is eliminated, and you finish with a ranking rather than a single final. The practice generator handles 4 to 32 entrants and 3 to 10 rounds. It suits big fields that cannot play a full round robin.
A second knockout for entrants who lose early, so a long trip is not over after one match. Turn it on in the generator and look at how many extra matches it adds before you promise it to anyone.
In double elimination you are out only after a second loss: losers drop into a lower bracket, and its winner meets the upper-bracket winner in a grand final. Table Tennis Tube does not generate double elimination brackets. If the goal is “everyone plays at least twice,” groups into a knockout or a consolation bracket gets you there with a draw that is easier to explain.
A knockout only splits evenly when the field is a power of two: 4, 8, 16, 32, or 64. With any other number, some entrants skip the first round. That free pass is a bye.
The rule is simple: byes = bracket size − entrants, where the bracket size is the next power of two. Byes only happen in the first round, and after it the bracket is full. Who gets them is a seeding decision. With Top-Seed, the highest seeds take the byes first, so the favourites are protected and spread to opposite ends of the draw. With Standard seeding, qualifiers go onto a classic 1-versus-last list. Either way the generator places byes for you; you never have to draw “BYE” on a sheet by hand.
If a field has many byes (say 20 entrants in a 32 bracket), consider groups instead: four groups of five with the top two advancing gives a clean 8-entrant knockout and everyone plays at least four matches. The other fix is to cap or grow the entry so you land on 16 or 32.
| Entrants | Bracket size | Byes | First-round matches | Total matches |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| 6 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| 12 | 16 | 4 | 4 | 11 |
| 20 | 32 | 12 | 4 | 19 |
| 24 | 32 | 8 | 8 | 23 |
| 40 | 64 | 24 | 8 | 39 |
Rounds, matches, and the generator settings that produce each size. Swap “players” for “teams” anywhere on this page; the maths is identical.
The smallest real bracket. Add a third-place match and every entrant plays twice.
Fits one evening on four courts or tables: four matches, then two, then one.
The classic office-pool and club size. Four groups of four into a knockout is a common alternative.
Half the field is out after one match. Consider a consolation bracket so early losers keep playing.
A full-day or multi-session event. Seeding matters most here, because favourites can meet early without it.
Use the next size up and let byes fill the gap (12 entrants → a 16 bracket with 4 byes), or use groups so every entrant plays a few matches before the knockout. For timing by entry size and number of courts or tables, see how to run a tournament.
Paper still wins at the venue. After you create the tournament, organizers get a Print button on the Knockout tab that lays the draw out on A4 portrait, plus Print groups and Print standings on the Groups tab (your browser can save any of them as a PDF).
The practice generator itself is for planning and does not have a print button. Copy its link to show a co-organizer the layout, then print from the saved event once the names are real.
The bracket playground opens straight away: no account, no email, nothing to install. It runs in the browser on a laptop, tablet, or phone.
You only need a free account when you want to keep the event, enter real names, share a public page, and record results. Organizer features are free today; paid extras are not decided yet.
Table Tennis Tube started as tournament software for table tennis clubs, so that is where the extra detail lives. The table tennis bracket generator adds club-style seeding (including a two-group club sheet for up to 16 players), and a saved tournament scores games to 11, best of three, five, or seven, with group standings that apply head-to-head and mini-league tie-breaks.
Running a weeknight event? Read how to run a table tennis tournament for match timings by table count, then create a tournament and share the live page with your players.
Yes. The practice bracket generator (the Bracket Playground) is free and needs no account. Creating a saved tournament with real names, a public page, and printing is also free; it needs a free Table Tennis Tube account.
Single-elimination brackets in the generator are built from groups: 2 to 12 groups of 2 to 10 entrants each, so 4, 8, 16, 32, and 64-entrant knockouts are all possible. Round robin practice draws take 3 to 6 entrants and Swiss practice draws take 4 to 32.
A knockout needs a power of two (4, 8, 16, 32, 64). If you have fewer entrants, the difference becomes byes. With 12 entrants the bracket is 16, so 4 entrants skip round one. Top-Seed seeding gives those byes to the highest seeds first; Standard seeding places qualifiers in a classic 1-versus-last order.
No. Table Tennis Tube does not generate double elimination brackets. If you want everyone to play more than once, use groups into a knockout, or turn on a consolation bracket so first-round losers get a second competition.
The practice generator is for planning and has no print button; copy its link to share the layout instead. Once you create the tournament, organizers can print the knockout draw on A4 from the Knockout tab, and print groups and standings from the Groups tab (or save them as PDF).
No. Entrants are just names, so the same draws work for any game with a winner and a loser: pickleball, badminton, chess, darts, esports, or a five-a-side cup. Scoring screens in a saved tournament are set up for table tennis games and sets, so other sports usually use the bracket and track scores their own way.
Practice the draw in the playground, then save it as a free tournament when the names are final.