11 Team Single Elimination Bracket

What is an 11 Team Single Elimination Bracket?

In a single elimination tournament, a team is eliminated after losing just one game. For a tournament with 11 teams:

• Total Games: 10 (Number of teams - 1)
• Total Rounds: 4
• Byes: 5 (To fill the 16-team slot)

11 Team Bracket Preview

To ensure fairness, the top 5 seeds typically receive a Bye in the first round, advancing directly to the second round.

How to Seed an 11 Team Tournament?

For the most competitive and fair tournament, we recommend the following seeding arrangement. This ensures higher-seeded teams are rewarded for their rank.

Seed Rank	Matchup	Notes
#1 Seed	Bye	Advances directly to Round 2
#2 Seed	Bye	Advances directly to Round 2
#3 Seed	Bye	Advances directly to Round 2
#4 Seed	Bye	Advances directly to Round 2
#5 Seed	Bye	Advances directly to Round 2
#6 vs #11	Game 1	Winner plays #3 Seed in Round 2
#7 vs #10	Game 2	Winner plays #2 Seed in Round 2
#8 vs #9	Game 3	Winner plays #1 Seed in Round 2

Step-by-Step Tournament Flow

Round 1: Opening Round

In this round, the lower seeds compete to advance, while the top 5 seeds wait.

• Game 1: Seed #8 vs Seed #9
• Game 2: Seed #7 vs Seed #10
• Game 3: Seed #6 vs Seed #11

Round 2: Quarterfinals

The top 5 seeds join the action. Note that #4 and #5 play each other immediately as they both had byes.

• Game 4: Seed #1 vs Winner of Game 1 (8/9)
• Game 5: Seed #4 vs Seed #5
• Game 6: Seed #2 vs Winner of Game 2 (7/10)
• Game 7: Seed #3 vs Winner of Game 3 (6/11)

Round 3: Semifinals

The final four distinct teams battle for a spot in the championship.

• Game 8: Winner of Game 4 vs Winner of Game 5
• Game 9: Winner of Game 6 vs Winner of Game 7

Round 4: Championship

The winners of the semifinals meet to decide the champion.

• Game 10: Winner of Game 8 vs Winner of Game 9

FAQ

1. Why are there 5 Byes in an 11-team bracket?

Tournaments work best with numbers that are powers of 2 (2, 4, 8, 16...). Since 11 is not a power of 2, the bracket is built for the next power of 2, which is 16. The 5 "empty" spots (16 - 11 = 5) become Byes, awarded to the top-ranked teams.

2. Can I run a double elimination tournament with 11 teams?

Yes! An 11-team double elimination bracket gives teams a second chance after their first loss. It requires more games (typically 20-21) and takes longer to complete.

3. How do I determine the seeds?

Seeding is crucial for fairness. Common methods include:

1. Regular Season Record: Best win/loss ratio.
2. Skill Assessment: If no record exists, organizers rank teams by estimated skill.
3. Random Draw: If teams are unknown or equal level, draw numbers from a hat.