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16 team single elimination bracket
16 team single elimination bracket: 4 rounds, 15 matches, no byes needed. See the full matchup tree, then customize it free.
Bracket layout
How the 16-team single elimination bracket works
16 is a perfect power of two, so the bracket needs no byes - all 16 teams play in round 1. You get 4 rounds of play and 15 matches in total: every match eliminates exactly one team, so a field of 16 always takes 15 matches to crown a champion.
How byes and seeding work
Seeds are placed with a balanced draw: seed 1 is paired against the lowest seed, seed 2 against the next lowest, and so on, so the top seeds cannot meet before the late rounds. With a full field there are no byes to hand out - seeding only decides who meets whom. Seeding explained covers how that draw is built, and byes in a tournament bracket covers what a bye does to your schedule.