How to Run a 15 Team Single Elimination Tournament
You can use our Bracket Maker to easily create and manage tournament brackets of any size. Perfectly works on any device, automatically tracks scores, advances winners to the next round, and helps you run tournaments efficiently and quickly.
Get started now!
How Does a 15 Team Single Elimination Tournament Work?
A single elimination (knockout) tournament with 15 teams features 4 rounds and 14 matches in total.
Bracket Size
The bracket size is calculated by rounding up the number of teams to the next power of two. For a tournament with 15 participants, the bracket size becomes 16.
Byes
Byes would be the difference between 16 and 15 — so, there is 1 bye in this tournament.
Rounds & Games
In total, we have 14 real games across 4 rounds in the 15 team single elimination bracket:
- Round of 16: 7 real games and 1 bye
- Quarter-Finals (Round of 8): 4 games, 8 players
- Semi-Finals: 2 games between 4 players
- Final: 1 game and 2 players
Seeding
Choose one of the options:
- Seeded (most common): Top participants play later in the tournament.
- Blind draw (or random): No seeding; players are randomized for round 1.
- Manual seeding: Organize matchups in your preferred custom order.
Compared to other Tournament Formats
A 15 team single elimination format is much faster and involves fewer games than other tournament formats with the same number of participants.
| Format | Total games | Games per team | Rounds | Fairness | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Round Robin | 105 | 14 | 15 | Everyone plays everyone | Best for leagues |
| Single Elimination | 14 | 1–4 | 4 | Harsh cutoff | Best for quick events |
| Double Elimination | 29 | 2–8 | ~8 | More forgiving | Popular in esports |
| Double Elimination with Consolation | ~21 | min 2 | ~7 (4+3) | Fairer, every team plays twice | Youth sports |
| Swiss System | 28 | 4 | 4 | Balanced, flexible | Chess, card games |
Printable 15 Team Single Elimination Bracket
Want a paper copy of your tournament schedule or bracket? We’ve got you covered with easy printing options for both!
