What is a bracket generator?
A bracket generator automatically builds a tournament structure — pairing up participants into matches and laying out every round — from a simple list of names. Instead of manually drawing a bracket or juggling a spreadsheet, you enter your participants once and the tool handles seeding, match pairings, and advancement logic for you.
Which bracket format should you use?
- Single elimination — classic knockout format. Lose once, you're out. Fastest format for large fields with limited time.
- Double elimination — players get a second chance in a losers bracket before being eliminated. Fairer, but takes longer to complete.
- Round robin — everyone plays everyone. Best for smaller groups where you want a true ranking rather than a single elimination shock.
How to generate a free bracket with Tournanaut
- Pick a format — single elimination, double elimination, or round robin.
- Add your participants (or let players self-register with a shareable link).
- Choose a scoring style — win/loss, best-of series, or points.
- Generate the bracket. Matches, seeding, and advancement are handled automatically.
- Share the public link so players can follow live results without logging in.
Why organizers use Tournanaut over a spreadsheet
Spreadsheets work until round two, when someone asks "who do I play next?" and you're manually updating cells mid-event. Tournanaut auto-advances winners, keeps a live public results page, and gives every participant their own schedule link that refreshes automatically — all on the free plan, with no ads.