A 15-team single elimination bracket is a printable knockout grid where 14 teams play in the first round, one team gets a bye, and a single loss eliminates a team until one champion is left. Our free version prints on one landscape page with blank lines you fill in by hand, plus a title at the top you can delete in any PDF editor if you want a clean sheet.
How Does a 15-Team Single Elimination Bracket Work?
In a 15-team single elimination tournament, every game is a knockout. The winner advances to the next round and the loser is out. The bracket keeps cutting the field until one team is left standing as the champion.
Bracket Structure
A 15-team bracket runs over four rounds. Because 15 is not a power of two (2, 4, 8, 16, 32…), the bracket needs one bye. That bye is awarded in the first round only, so one team sits out the opening round and joins the eight teams that reach the second round.
First Round
There are seven first-round games (14 teams). The eighth spot goes to the team on the bye. Winners of the seven games plus the bye team make up the eight teams in Round 2 (the quarterfinals).
Later Rounds
From the second round on there are no more byes: eight teams become four in the semifinals, four become two in the final, and the final produces the champion. Every later round has a clean power-of-two field.
Number of Games
A single elimination tournament always plays one fewer game than it has teams, so a 15-team bracket has exactly 14 games.
Tiebreakers
Because only one team can advance from each match, you need a tiebreaker for any game that ends level. Tiebreaker rules vary by sport (extra time, extra innings, a shootout, or a coin toss for casual pools), so post your rules before the tournament starts.
Blind Draw vs Seeded
This bracket is a blind draw, meaning teams are placed in the order they are drawn at random. A seeded bracket instead ranks teams by regular-season results so the strongest and weakest are kept apart early. For more background, see the overview of the single-elimination tournament on Wikipedia.
How to Use This Printable Bracket
Download the PDF, print it in landscape, and write each team on a blank line. The title at the top is a separate text element, so if you want a blank sheet you can delete it in a PDF editor before printing. Want a different field size? Browse every option on our printable brackets hub.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many byes are in a 15-team bracket?
One. Because 15 is not a power of two, a single bye is given in the first round, and the team with the bye advances straight to the second round.
How many games are in a 15-team single elimination tournament?
Fourteen games. A single elimination bracket always has one fewer game than the number of teams.
How many rounds does a 15-team bracket have?
Four rounds: a first round of seven games, then the quarterfinals, semifinals, and final.
Is this bracket blind draw or seeded?
It is a blind draw, so teams are filled in randomly. You can also use it as a seeded bracket by placing your top team on the top line and alternating from there.
Can I remove the title from the printable?
Yes. The title at the top is a separate text object, so you can delete it in any PDF editor if you prefer a clean, unbranded sheet.
More Printable Brackets
- Printable Brackets Hub (all sizes and formats)
- 16-Team Double Elimination Bracket (PDF)
- Blank 10, 12 and 16-Team Templates
- How Do Sports Brackets Work?
