Round robin vs single elimination
Everyone plays everyone, or one loss and out? It is a decision about time and fairness, and for most events the honest answer depends on how many courts you have.
Editing is designed for desktop. On this screen you can view the bracket; open the tools below if you need to change something.
Everything stays editable: type your own team names, set scores and dates, then export the bracket as an image — a PNG in three sizes, no watermark.
The two formats in one sentence
A round robin has every team play every other team, so the standings are a real ranking rather than a knockout story. A single elimination bracket is a knockout: lose once and you are out, and the winner is whoever survives the day.
A round robin also removes the seeding argument. There is no draw to complain about when everybody plays everybody.
The numbers, for 8 and 16 teams
Eight teams in a single round robin is 28 matches over 7 rounds — each team plays 7 times. Doubling to home and away makes it 56. The same 8 teams in a knockout is 7 matches in total.
Sixteen teams in a round robin is 120 matches over 15 rounds. That is a league season, not an afternoon, which is the point where most organisers switch format.
The middle ground: groups plus knockout
Groups plus knockout gets you most of the round robin’s fairness with far fewer matches: teams play a short group stage, then the top finishers advance into a knockout. Twelve teams as two groups of six, then a knockout of the qualifiers, is a common school and club shape.
In BracketBee the round robin gives you an n×n results matrix, a standings table and a fixture schedule; the groups format gives you per-group tables plus the knockout tree. Both export to PNG, and both keep a CSV of the fixtures.
Frequently asked questions
- How many matches is a round robin?
- N × (N − 1) ÷ 2: 6 matches for 4 teams, 28 for 8, 120 for 16. Double round robin (home and away) doubles that.
- Can a round robin end in a draw?
- A match can be drawn, and in a round robin that is fine — both teams take a draw, and the standings table decides the ranking. Only a knockout needs a winner forced out of a drawn match.
- What if I have more than 16 teams?
- Round robin in BracketBee covers up to 16 teams; beyond that, groups plus knockout (up to 32 teams) or a single elimination bracket (up to 128) is the practical choice.