Round Robin
Most fair
Total matches28
Total rounds7
Earliest finish2h 15m
Realistic finish9h 15m
Recommended courts4
Free planning tool
Tournament Duration Calculator
Work out how many matches and rounds your tournament needs, compare formats side by side, and see a realistic finishing time before you book a venue.
- Free to use
- Instant results
- All formats supported
Set up your tournament
The minimum gap a team gets between the end of one match and the start of their next one. Leave at 0 if this doesn't apply to you.
Group + knockout settings
Only used by the Group + Knockout card below.
Format comparison results
Single Elimination
Fastest
Total matches7
Total rounds3
Earliest finish55m
Realistic finish2h 15m
Recommended courts4
Double Elimination
EstimatedSecond chance
Total matches14
Total rounds5*
Earliest finish1h 35m
Realistic finish4h 35m
Recommended courts6
* Double-elimination duration is an estimate. The losers' bracket path length depends on results that haven't happened yet, so treat this as a planning guide rather than a fixed schedule.
Group + Knockout
Championship style
Total matches15
Total rounds5
Earliest finish1h 35m
Realistic finish4h 55m
Recommended courts4
Tournament match count reference
A quick reference for common tournament sizes across all formats.
| Teams | Round Robin | Single Elimination | Double Elimination | Group + Knockout |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 6 | 3 | 6 | Varies |
| 8 | 28 | 7 | 14 | Varies |
| 16 | 120 | 15 | 30 | Varies |
| 32 | 496 | 31 | 62 | Varies |
Tournament formats compared
Understand the trade-offs before you commit to a format.
Round Robin
Most fair
Every team plays every other team once. Nobody is eliminated early, and the final table reflects the whole event, not one bad afternoon.
- Matches: n × (n − 1) ÷ 2, where n is the number of teams
- Every team gets equal playing time
Best for 4 to 12 teams with enough time for everyone to play in full
Single Elimination
Fastest
Lose once and you're out. This is the quickest way to reach a champion, with fewer matches than any other format.
- Matches: exactly n − 1, the fewest of any format
- Fastest route to a champion
Best for 8 to 64 teams with limited time
Double Elimination
Second chance
Teams must lose twice before being eliminated. Every team gets a second chance, and the losers' bracket often produces the tournament's most dramatic matches.
- Matches: between 2n − 2 and 2n − 1
- One bad result doesn't end your tournament
Best for 8 to 32 competitive teams
Group + Knockout
Championship style
Teams play in round-robin groups, then the top finishers advance to a single-elimination playoff bracket.
- Combines league fairness with knockout excitement
- Guaranteed minimum matches for every team
Best for 8 to 32 teams, the format most top competitions use
How to choose the right tournament format
Consider these factors when deciding which format to use.
Time available
Single elimination needs the least time. Round robin needs the most. Group + knockout and double elimination sit in between.
Number of teams
Round robin works well for 4 to 16 teams. For larger fields, group + knockout or a single elimination bracket keeps things manageable.
Fairness vs excitement
Round robin is the fairest format, since every team plays everyone else. Single elimination is the most dramatic, since every match is knockout from the first round.
Venue and courts
More simultaneous courts or fields dramatically reduce total duration for every format, especially round robin and group stages, where several matches can run in the same round.
Frequently asked questions
A single elimination tournament always has exactly n − 1 matches, where n is the number of teams. For example, 8 teams need 7 matches, 16 teams need 15, and 32 teams need 31. Every match eliminates exactly one team, and every team except the champion is eliminated exactly once.
A double elimination tournament needs between 2n − 2 and 2n − 1 matches. For 8 teams that's 14 or 15 matches; for 16 teams it's 30 or 31. The extra match happens only if the team coming from the losers' bracket wins the first grand final and forces a second, deciding match.
Duration depends on the format, number of teams, match duration, and how many matches run simultaneously. As an example, a 16-team single elimination bracket with 15-minute matches and 5-minute breaks finishes in about 1 hour 35 minutes with 4 courts running at once, or as fast as 1 hour 15 minutes with the recommended 8 courts. Use the calculator above to get an estimate for your own numbers.
For 8 teams, group + knockout (2 groups of 4, top 2 advancing) is a strong balance, giving everyone at least 3 matches while keeping the total to 15 games. If time is limited, single elimination gets you there in 7 matches.
The number of rounds is the ceiling of log base 2 of the number of teams. For 8 teams that's 3 rounds, for 16 teams it's 4 rounds, and for 32 teams it's 5 rounds. If the number of teams isn't a power of two, some teams get a bye in the first round.
In single elimination, one loss means you're out. In double elimination, you need to lose twice, so a team can drop into the losers' bracket after one defeat and still fight their way back to the final. Double elimination takes roughly twice as many matches but produces more reliable results, since a single upset can't eliminate a strong team early.
There's no strict limit, but the number of matches grows quickly. An n-team round robin needs n × (n − 1) ÷ 2 matches, which becomes impractical well before 16 to 20 teams for most one-day events. For larger groups, consider group + knockout, which keeps the round-robin phase small within each group.
Group + knockout is usually better because it guarantees every team plays multiple matches, typically 3 to 4, before anyone is eliminated. Single elimination is faster but can end a strong team's tournament after just one match. Group + knockout combines the fairness of league play with the excitement of knockout rounds.
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