8 Team Double Elimination Bracket

14 games if the winners-bracket finalist wins the grand final outright, or 15 games if the losers-bracket finalist wins the first grand final game and forces a bracket reset. Budget for 15 to be safe when scheduling.

A bracket reset happens when the team coming from the losers bracket beats the previously-undefeated team from the winners bracket in the first grand final game. Since the winners-bracket team now also has one loss, both teams have exactly one loss, so a second, decisive game is played to determine the champion.

In single elimination, one loss ends your tournament. In double elimination, your first loss drops you into the losers bracket instead of eliminating you — you're only out after your second loss. It gives every team a second chance and rewards a team having one bad match instead of ending their run on it.

These printables require a full field of 8 or 16 teams. Do not insert byes by hand: they change the losers-bracket paths. Use a supported live format for a different field size.

An 8 team losers bracket has 4 rounds. Teams drop into it after their first loss in the winners bracket, play through those rounds, and the last team standing in the losers bracket meets the winners bracket champion in the grand final.

Yes. A team that loses once in the winners bracket can fight through the losers bracket, reach the grand final, and still win the whole event — either by beating the winners-bracket champion outright (forcing a bracket reset) or by winning that reset game.