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Format breakdown

Double Elimination

Winners and losers paths. An entrant is eliminated only after a second loss.

Run this format
Double Elimination key art
Two lives, one crown
Entrant range
4–32
Battles at 8
14
If tiebreak needed
+1
Total rounds
9

Counts recalculate live for the entrant count selected below — 8 entrants play 14 battles, plus 1 only if the reset is triggered.

The rules

  1. 1First loss drops an entrant to the losers bracket.
  2. 2Second loss eliminates them.
  3. 3The grand final resets only if the losers champion wins game one.

Stages

  • Winners bracket

    Stay undefeated.

  • Losers bracket

    One life left.

  • Grand final

    Two losses to take the crown.

Live diagram

How the bracket runs

Change the entrant count to see exactly how BracketLive wires every battle for this format.

Winners bracket

Stay undefeated. 7 battles

Round 1

4 matches

Round 1 · Match 1

Entrant 1

vs

Entrant 2

Round 1 · Match 2

Entrant 3

vs

Entrant 4

Round 1 · Match 3

Entrant 5

vs

Entrant 6

Round 1 · Match 4

Entrant 7

vs

Entrant 8

Round 2

2 matches

Round 2 · Match 1

Winner W1-1

vs

Winner W1-2

Round 2 · Match 2

Winner W1-3

vs

Winner W1-4

Round 3

1 match · decider

Winners final

Winner W2-1

vs

Winner W2-2

Bracket champion

Advances to the final

Losers bracket

One life left. 6 battles

Round 1

2 matches

Losers R1 · Match 1

Loser W1-1

vs

Loser W1-2

Losers R1 · Match 2

Loser W1-3

vs

Loser W1-4

Round 2

2 matches

Losers R2 · Match 1

Winner L1-1

vs

Loser W2-1

Losers R2 · Match 2

Winner L1-2

vs

Loser W2-2

Round 3

1 match

Losers R3 · Match 1

Winner L2-1

vs

Winner L2-2

Round 4

1 match · decider

Losers bracket final

Winner L3-1

vs

Loser W3-1

Losers bracket champion

Earns a shot at the top

Grand final

Two losses to take the crown. 2 battles

Grand final

Winner W3-1

vs

Winner L4-1

Winner = champion

If the challenger wins

Grand final · Reset

Winner F1

vs

Loser F1

Sudden death · both sides hold one loss

How it works, step by step

  1. 1

    Winners bracket

    7 battles decide who stays undefeated. A first loss does not end your run — it drops you into the losers bracket.

  2. 2

    Losers bracket

    6 battles. Survivors are paired down so the number of survivors always matches the number of teams dropping in from the next winners round — no entrant ever plays twice in a round.

  3. 3

    Losers bracket champion

    The losers bracket runs until one entrant remains. That survivor earns the shot at the undefeated champion.

  4. 4

    Final — and a reset if needed

    If the undefeated side wins the first final, it is over. If the challenger wins, both sides hold one loss and a sudden-death reset decides the crown.

Key rules

  • Win = advance to the next round.
  • Lose = drop to the losers bracket (first loss only).
  • Lose again = eliminated on the second loss.
  • One entrant stands tall as champion after 14 battles (15 if the reset is triggered).
  • Every entrant plays at least 1 battle — no phantom or bye-only entrants.