Work out tournament bracket size instantly with clear inputs, formula shown and shareable results.
The bracket is the next power of two at or above the entry count, byes fill the gap, and a single-elimination event always needs entrants minus one matches to find a winner. The entrants-minus-one rule holds because every match eliminates exactly one team, which is why bracket size affects byes but never the match count.
Bracket size
bracket = 2 ^ ceiling(log2(entrants))
Matches
matches = entrants - 1, plus one for a third place playoff
bracket = 2 ^ ceiling(log2(entrants)). The bracket is the next power of two at or above the entry count, byes fill the gap, and a single-elimination event always needs entrants minus one matches to find a winner.
The entrants-minus-one rule holds because every match eliminates exactly one team, which is why bracket size affects byes but never the match count.
Enter number of entrants, include a third place playoff. The defaults shown are a realistic worked example — swap in your own figures to get a result you can use.