8-Team Single Elimination Bracket

How an 8-Team Bracket Works

Eight teams, three rounds:

• Quarterfinals: 4 matches. All 8 teams play.
• Semifinals: 2 matches. Four teams remain.
• Final: 1 match. The champion is crowned.

Total: 7 matches. A 30-minute match length means ~4 hours of actual play; a 20-minute format fits in a 2.5-hour event.

Seeding 8 Teams

Standard single-elim seeding for 8 teams:

• Top half: 1 vs 8, 4 vs 5
• Bottom half: 2 vs 7, 3 vs 6

This keeps the top seed away from the second seed until the final, and pairs stronger-versus-weaker in Round 1. For random or unseeded brackets, order doesn't matter — enter teams however you like.

When to Use 8 Teams

• Office tournaments that fit in a single afternoon.
• Small league playoffs: NFL divisional round, NBA conference semifinals, etc.
• Charity events where you want a clean, fast format.
• Invitationals: 8 is the classic "top teams only" field size.
• Qualifying brackets that feed into a larger event.

For 6 or 7 teams, use 8 and fill empty slots with byes — the bracket auto-advances BYE matches. For 9–12 teams, go to 16-team and accept more byes or run play-ins.

Print Format

An 8-team bracket prints cleanly on letter or A4 in landscape orientation. Three columns (QF, SF, F), seven match slots total, plus the champion label. The print CSS strips the header and buttons for a clean one-page output suitable for taping to a wall.