bracket play
Single-loss elimination format
Bracket play is the tournament phase where teams compete in a single-elimination format, typically visualized as a branching diagram that narrows from many competitors to one champion.
The term distinguishes this knockout stage from earlier round-robin or pool play: After going 3-1 in pool play, they're seeded second heading into bracket play.
- tournamentMulti-round competitive event
- eliminationAct of removing entirely
- seedingPlanting or ranking
- matchupScheduled competitive pairing
- knockoutIncapacitating final blow
round · upset · Cinderella story · one and done · underdog · March Madness · playoff · regional · finals · championship game · champion · seed · bubble team · advancing · buzzer · game winner · overtime · sweet sixteen
- competitionscontests, tournaments, match, matches, game
- playoff stagesquarterfinal, semifinal, final, round of 16, round of 32
- playoffselimination, playoff game, playoff round, playoff berth, semifinals
- tournament roundsfirst round, second round, third round, final round, opening round
- tournament termssemifinals, quarterfinals, finals, round robin, single elimination
- tournamentstournament, tournaments, final, finals, semifinals
bracket playround-robin
Format ensuring universal matchups
league play · regular season · pool play · group stage · open play
bracket, play, brackets, bracketed, bracketing, plays, played, playing, player