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Single Elimination

Overview​

A Single Elimination (also known as a knockout) draw is the simplest and most common tournament draw structure. Each participant plays until they lose; a single loss eliminates them from the competition. The draw progresses through rounds, halving the number of participants at each stage until a winner is determined.

In the factory, this draw type is represented by the constant SINGLE_ELIMINATION. The aliases KNOCKOUT and ELIMINATION both resolve to the same value.

Structure​

  • Draw sizes must be powers of 2 (e.g., 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128).
  • Each round contains exactly half the matchUps of the previous round.
  • The draw consists of a single structure in the MAIN stage.
  • Byes are used when the number of participants is less than the draw size.
Draw Size: 8

Round 1 (4 matchUps)  -->  Round 2 (2 matchUps)  -->  Final (1 matchUp)

Use Cases​

  • Standard tournament main draws at all levels.
  • Qualifying structures where a fixed number of qualifiers advance.
  • Any scenario requiring a straightforward bracket format.

Generation​

const { drawDefinition } = engine.generateDrawDefinition({
  drawSize: 16,
  drawType: 'SINGLE_ELIMINATION',
});

When fewer participants than the draw size are available, byes are automatically placed according to seeding and positioning policies.

Seeding​

Seeds are positioned according to the active seeding policy. The default behavior separates top seeds (e.g., seed 1 at the top, seed 2 at the bottom) and clusters remaining seeds.