A 3-player double elimination bracket has 4 matches, or 5 if the grand final goes to a bracket reset. A player is out after two losses. The same bracket works for 3 teams.
Players
3
Places in the bracket
4
Byes
1
Matches
4, or 5 with a reset
Winners’ bracket rounds
2
Losers’ bracket rounds
1
Most matches one player can play
5
The sheet prints on its own, without the rest of this page.
Winners’ bracket
Winners’ round 1
M1
Seed 2
Seed 3
Winner to M2 · Loser to M3
Winners’ final
M2
Seed 1
Winner of M1
Winner to M4 · Loser to M3
Losers’ bracket
Losers’ final
M3
Loser of M1
Loser of M2
Winner to M4 · Loser is out
Finals
Grand final
M4Grand final
Winner of M2
Winner of M3
Winner takes the title, unless M5 is needed
Bracket reset
M5Bracket reset
Winner of M4
Loser of M4
Winner takes the title
Played only if the player from the losers’ side wins M4.
How to read the sheet
Matches are numbered in a playing order. Each slot says who plays there: a seed, or the winner or loser of an earlier match. Under each match, the sheet says where its winner and its loser go next. Write the names beside the seeds and the scores in the boxes.
Byes
3 players fill a bracket of 4 places, so 1 place is a bye. Byes go to the top seeds: seed 1 starts in round 2 of the winners’ bracket. A bye is not a match and not a loss, so nobody drops into the losers’ bracket from one.
How many matches
Every player except the champion loses twice, so 3 players means 2 × 2 = 4 losses, one in each match. If the player from the losers’ side wins the grand final, the other finalist has a first loss too, and one more match decides the title: 5 matches.
Run this bracket live
The Bida Nào organizer console draws this same bracket, and any field from 2 to 128 players, with byes to the top seeds. Players score their matches from the table in the app, and the bracket updates itself. Running a tournament is free at any size. You can also choose a single deciding final instead of a reset.
