Build a single elimination bracket, double elimination bracket, round robin schedule, or pool play event in a few minutes — then open registration, collect entry fees, and run the whole thing live from your phone.
Free to start · No credit card · No account needed to try it
Live tournament hub
Fall Classic 2026
8 teams
Semifinals
1
Riverside Rockets
21
4
Harbor Hawks
14
3
Northside Nine
18
2
Eastview Eagles
19
Final
Riverside Rockets
Eastview Eagles
In progress
Registration open · $25 entry
12 / 16 spots
Live from your phone
A tournament maker takes a list of teams or players and turns it into a schedule you can run: a single or double elimination bracket, a round robin where everyone plays everyone, or pool play that funnels into a seeded bracket. The best ones do three things beyond the schedule itself — let players sign themselves up instead of you typing every name into a spreadsheet, handle entry fees if you're charging one, and keep score live so anyone with the link can follow along without texting you for updates.
The format you pick decides how many games get played and how long the day runs. Single elimination is fastest — lose once and you're out — which makes it the right call when you have a hard end time or a big field. Double elimination takes longer because every team gets a loss before they're eliminated, but it's fairer: one bad game doesn't end your tournament. Round robin, where every team plays every other team, works best with 4-8 teams and plenty of time, since games scale fast as the field grows. Pool play splits a bigger field into small round robin groups first, then seeds the top finishers into a single or double elimination bracket — it's the standard format once you're past about 12 teams and want everyone to get more than one game.
| Teams | Best Format | Total Games | Guaranteed Games per Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Round robin | 6 | 3 |
| 8 | Single elimination | 7 | 1 |
| 8 | Double elimination | 14–15 | 2 |
| 16 | Pool play → single elim | ~28 (4 pools of 4, then 8-team bracket) | 3-4 |
| 32 | Single elimination | 31 | 1 |
Round robin's biggest surprise is how fast the game count climbs — 8 teams playing everyone once is 28 games, not 8, which is why round robin rarely makes sense past 6-8 teams on a single-day schedule. Pool play manages that by breaking a large field into small groups (4 teams of 4 is a common split), running a short round robin inside each pool, then seeding the pool winners and runners-up into a bracket. It's more games per team than straight elimination and more predictable timing than a pure round robin at scale, which is why most club and rec tournaments past 12-16 teams use it.
Once you've picked a format, the tournament maker on ScoreKeeperCo lets you open a sign-up link so teams add their own name — no account required on their end, and every request lands in a pending list for you to approve. If you're charging to play, set an entry fee and teams pay by card at sign-up through Stripe; you get the full posted fee in your own Stripe account while the participant covers a small service fee. Registration also collects each team's email, up to 5 custom questions, and an optional waiver, and you can export the full roster as a CSV. From there the bracket or schedule runs live: update scores from your phone at courtside, and anyone with the public link — including a TV on-site or an OBS overlay if you're streaming — sees the update immediately. For deeper detail on any one piece, see our guides to full tournament registration, our dedicated tournament bracket maker, and the round robin generator.
