Double Elimination Format

Applies to: Event organisers · Bracket managers

---

Double Elimination gives every athlete a second chance: a single loss sends them to the losers bracket instead of out of the tournament, and only a second loss eliminates them. It produces fairer final placements than single elimination, at the cost of more matches and a longer schedule.

How the bracket works

Athletes start in the winners bracket. A loss there drops the athlete into the losers bracket instead of eliminating them. A loss in the losers bracket eliminates the athlete. The winner of the winners bracket ultimately meets the winner of the losers bracket in the grand final.

Cross-Bracketing

When enabled, losers bracket pairings are arranged to avoid rematching athletes who have already faced each other in the winners bracket, wherever possible. This reduces the chance of seeing the same pairing twice in the same event.

How the grand final works

The winners bracket finalist arrives with zero losses, while the losers bracket finalist arrives with one. On paper, that makes the grand final an uneven fight.

Grand Final Reset

When enabled, if the losers bracket finalist beats the winners bracket finalist, a second "reset" match is played immediately, since both athletes now have one loss each. When disabled, a single win from the losers bracket finalist is enough to take the title.

Grand Final Best-Of Series

By default the grand final is a single match (plus a reset match if enabled and needed). Enabling a best-of series instead requires a majority of a fixed number of matches (3, 5, or 7) to decide the title.

Configuration reference

Setting	What it controls	Default
Cross-Bracketing	Avoids rematching athletes who already met in the winners bracket	Disabled
Grand Final Reset	Replays the grand final if the losers bracket finalist wins	Disabled
Grand Final Best-Of Series	Decides the grand final over multiple matches instead of one	Disabled
Series Length	Number of matches in the best-of series (3, 5, or 7)	3

Quick setup walkthrough

1. Open your event and go to Specialities.
2. Click Add Speciality and fill in the name, weight, and gender category.
3. Set Competition Type to Double Elimination.
4. Under Format Configuration, enable Cross-Bracketing if you want to minimise repeat pairings.
5. Enable Grand Final Reset if your federation requires the losers bracket finalist to beat the winners bracket finalist twice to take the title.
6. Optionally enable Grand Final Best-Of Series and choose a Series Length if the title should be decided over multiple matches.
7. Save the speciality and proceed to register athletes.
8. Once all athletes are registered, open the bracket and click Generate: Hajime will seed and schedule both brackets automatically.