How to Run a Tournament Bracket

Using a bracket to run a tournament is perhaps the easiest way of keeping track of wins, losses, what teams need to play against each other, and the location of the games or matches. Knowing how to run a tournament bracket will help you figure out the logistics of running a tournament and make it easier to assign scorekeepers and referees to officiate the games.

Instructions

    • 1

      Decide on the timing and the structure of the tournament while taking into consideration the number of competitors. For example, if you want to host a double-elimination baseball tournament for 20 teams at a location with only five fields, you will need to schedule the timing of the games from morning to evening and make sure one team won't have to play three or four games back-to-back. Take into consideration the time it takes to complete one game and allow time for extra innings in case of a tie. If you don't have enough time to complete the tournament, consider cutting it down to a single-elimination event or extending it to two weekends instead of one.

    • 2

      Build the bracket and assign the teams to their opening game slots. If the tournament is seeded, fill in the brackets so the top-ranked team plays the team in last place, the second-place team plays the next-to-last team, and so on until the teams in the middle of the field play each other. If it is a blind draw tournament, place the names of the teams into a hat and fill in the bracket from the top to the bottom as you draw the names out.

    • 3

      Use the bracket to keep track of who wins, and at the end of each game communicate with the coaches or team leaders where they will play next, at what time and against whom. Keep a large, updated copy of the tournament bracket on display for everyone to see so they can track the progress of the tournament.