How double elimination works
In a double elimination tournament a team is out only after losing twice. First losses drop into a losers bracket; its champion meets the unbeaten winners-bracket champion in the grand final, and if the losers-bracket team wins, a second final (the bracket reset) decides the title.
The two brackets
Winners bracket. Every team starts here. It runs like a normal knockout bracket, except losing doesn't send you home.
Losers bracket. Each winners-bracket loser drops here. Its rounds alternate: in one, survivors of the losers bracket play each other; in the next, they meet the teams who just lost in the winners bracket. To avoid instant rematches, dropping teams are fed in reverse order every other round.
The grand final and the reset
The winners-bracket champion (no losses) plays the losers-bracket champion (one loss). If the winners-bracket champion wins, it's over. If the losers-bracket champion wins, both now have one loss, so they play once more. That deciding game is the bracket reset, and many brackets draw it unclearly. In ours it shows as "If needed" until the first final is decided.
A 4-team example
Hawks beat Wolves and Bears beat Lions in round one. Hawks then beat Bears in the winners final. In the losers bracket, Lions knock out Wolves, then beat Bears. In the grand final Lions beat Hawks, which forces the reset, and Hawks win the second final to take the title. That is 7 games for 4 teams, the most possible (2 × 4 − 1).
Winners bracket
Losers bracket
Grand final
How many games?
Every team except the champion loses exactly twice, and every game produces one loss, so a double elimination event has 2n − 2 games, plus one if the reset is played. The champion plays between 2 and 5 games in a 4-team bracket and up to 2 × log₂(bracket size) + 1 in larger ones.
Make a double elimination bracket →
Frequently asked questions
Do you have to lose twice to be out in double elimination?
Yes. Your first loss sends you to the losers bracket; your second loss eliminates you. The only exception is the grand final when the losers-bracket team wins: then both teams have one loss and play again.
Is the grand final reset fair?
It keeps the promise that nobody is out until they lose twice. The winners-bracket champion has not lost, so beating them once only makes the series level.
Why does the losers bracket have more rounds?
Because it takes in new teams from almost every winners round. It alternates a round where its own survivors play and a round where teams drop in, so it needs about twice as many rounds.
How many games does double elimination add over single elimination?
Roughly double: 2n − 2 or 2n − 1 games instead of n − 1. For 16 teams that is 30 or 31 instead of 15.