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26 team single elimination bracket
26 team single elimination bracket: 5 rounds, 25 matches, with 6 first-round byes. See the full matchup tree, then customize it free.
Bracket layout
How the 26-team single elimination bracket works
26 is not a power of two, so the draw rounds up to a 32-slot bracket and the 6 empty slots become byes. That gives you 5 rounds of play and 25 matches in total - one fewer than the number of teams, because every match eliminates exactly one team.
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. The 6 byes go to the top 6 seeds, who skip straight to round 2 - the standard reward for seeding high. Seeding explained covers how that draw is built, and byes in a tournament bracket covers what a bye does to your schedule.