Single-elimination knockouts are quick, but half the field goes home after one match. Double elimination fixes that: you need to lose twice to be knocked out.
How it works
- Winners’ bracket. Everyone starts here. Win and you stay.
- Losers’ bracket. Lose once and you drop here. Lose again and you’re out.
- The final. The winners’ bracket champion plays the losers’ bracket champion. Some events give the unbeaten player an advantage, or require the losers’ bracket player to win twice.
Byes
If the number of entrants isn’t a power of two (8, 16, 32…), some players get a bye in round one. Two things matter to players: no one should get more than one bye, and byes shouldn’t decide who meets whom later.
Rematches
Because players drop from one bracket into the other, they can meet the same opponent twice. A well-drawn bracket places dropping players to avoid early rematches where possible.
Walk-ins on the night
Pub knockouts often have players turning up late. League Manager can reserve open slots in round one for walk-ins, and add late entrants by reclaiming a bye or a reserved slot rather than redrawing the whole bracket.
Ally Knockout
League Manager also includes Ally Knockout, a double-elimination variant designed to keep byes to a minimum and avoid rematches before the final wherever the draw allows.
Run one
See the formats in League Manager, or get in touch to set up your next knockout.