Here is a free printable 8-team bracket, seeded and ready to fill in. A single elimination tournament for 8 teams has 7 games in 3 rounds and no byes. Need a second chance for every team? Switch the generator to double elimination: 14 games, or 15 if the final needs a reset.
Type your team names below to fill in the bracket, tap the winners as games finish, then print it, save it as a PDF or save it online to get a live link for players.
8-team bracket: first round matchups
8 is a power of two, so the bracket is full: no byes, and every team plays in round 1. The 4 first-round games are:
| Game | Matchup |
|---|---|
| 1 | Seed 1 vs Seed 8 |
| 2 | Seed 4 vs Seed 5 |
| 3 | Seed 2 vs Seed 7 |
| 4 | Seed 3 vs Seed 6 |
The 8-team bracket
Eight is the perfect bracket size: no byes, quarterfinals, semifinals and a final, seven games in total. It is also the most common printable bracket, used for league playoffs, March-Madness-style office pools on a small scale, youth tournaments and game nights.
- Seeding: 1 vs 8, 4 vs 5, 3 vs 6, 2 vs 7, so seeds 1 and 2 can only meet in the final.
- Time: with four courts, the quarterfinals run at once; the whole bracket takes three time slots.
- Double elimination: 14 or 15 games, the standard for 8-team softball, cornhole and esports events.
- From pools: two pools of four feeding an 8-team bracket gives every team at least four games.
For an all-play-all season instead, see the 8-team round robin (28 games).
Full 8-team single elimination bracket
Every game in order, numbered the same way as the bracket above, so you can call “Game 1 on court 1” and everyone knows who plays.
Quarterfinals
- Game 1: Seed 1 vs Seed 8
- Game 2: Seed 4 vs Seed 5
- Game 3: Seed 2 vs Seed 7
- Game 4: Seed 3 vs Seed 6
Semifinals
- Game 5: Winner of Game 1 vs Winner of Game 2
- Game 6: Winner of Game 3 vs Winner of Game 4
Final
- Game 7: Winner of Game 5 vs Winner of Game 6
The winner of Game 7 is the champion.
How to make a bracket with 8 teams
- Rank the teams 1 to 8 (by record, rating or a random draw).
- Pair the rest so the strongest meets the weakest: 1 vs 8, 4 vs 5, 2 vs 7, 3 vs 6.
- Advance each winner along the bracket until one team is left: 7 games in total.
Double elimination: 14 games, or 15 if the final needs a reset.
How long does a 8-team tournament take?
With 30-minute games, a single elimination tournament takes about 3 h 30 min on one court, 2 h 00 min on two courts and 1 h 30 min on four courts. Double elimination roughly doubles those times.
Other bracket sizes: 5 teams · 6 teams · 7 teams · 10 teams · 12 teams · 16 teams · or any size with the tournament bracket generator. Everyone plays everyone? See the 8-team round robin.
FAQ
How many games are in a 8-team bracket?
7 in single elimination (every game knocks out one team) and 14 or 15 in double elimination.
How many byes are in a 8-team bracket?
None. 8 is a power of two, so the bracket is full.