Consolation Bracket
Updated
A consolation bracket gives the teams that lose in round 1 a bracket of their own, so they keep playing after one loss. With 8 teams the 4 round 1 losers play 3 more games, and the consolation final decides 5th and 6th place.
Main bracket
One loss and a team is out of the title race, as in any single elimination bracket.
Consolation bracket
The teams that lose in round 1 start a second bracket, so they get another game.
Third-place game
The two semifinal losers play for 3rd and 4th. Every sheet on this page has it.
Printable consolation brackets, 6 to 32 teams
How many teams?
8teams
- Games
- 11
- Consolation games
- 3
- Fewest games a team plays
- 2
- Hours, 2 fields
- 6
Places decided by a game: 1st to 6th
Fill it in onlineGames, places and hours for every size
Each size has a PDF with the main bracket, the third-place game and the consolation bracket on one Letter page. 9 teams has no consolation sheet: round 1 has only one game, so there is nobody for its loser to play.
| Teams | Games | Plain bracket | Consolation games | Fewest per team | Places decided | Hours, 2 fields | Sheet |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1st to 6th | 4 | |
| 7 | 9 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 1st to 7th | 5 | |
| 8 | 11 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 1st to 6th | 6 | |
| 10 | 11 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 1st to 4th, 9th and 10th | 6 | |
| 11 | 13 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 1st to 4th, 9th to 11th | 7 | |
| 12 | 15 | 11 | 3 | 1 | 1st to 4th, 9th and 10th | 8 | |
| 13 | 17 | 12 | 4 | 1 | 1st to 4th, 9th and 10th, 13th | 9 | |
| 14 | 19 | 13 | 5 | 1 | 1st to 4th, 9th and 10th | 10 | |
| 15 | 21 | 14 | 6 | 1 | 1st to 4th, 9th and 10th | 11 | |
| 16 | 23 | 15 | 7 | 2 | 1st to 4th, 9th and 10th | 12 | |
| 20 | 23 | 19 | 3 | 1 | 1st to 4th, 17th and 18th | 12 | |
| 24 | 31 | 23 | 7 | 1 | 1st to 4th, 17th and 18th | 16 | |
| 32 | 47 | 31 | 15 | 2 | 1st to 4th, 17th and 18th | 24 |
Games: the bracket, the third-place game and the consolation bracket, as on the PDF. Plain bracket: the same teams with neither. Places: a team that went further ranks higher, so the consolation final decides the two best of the round 1 losers. Hours: one-hour games on two fields, each starting as soon as a field is free and both teams are known.
Worked example: 8 teams
The 4 teams that lose in round 1 drop into the consolation bracket, and its winner takes the consolation title. These are the game numbers on the 8-team sheet:
- Round 1: G1, seed 1 vs seed 8; G2, seed 4 vs seed 5; G3, seed 3 vs seed 6; G4, seed 2 vs seed 7.
- Semifinals: G5, the winner of G1 vs the winner of G2; G6, the winner of G3 vs the winner of G4.
- Consolation: G7, the loser of G1 vs the loser of G2; G8, the loser of G3 vs the loser of G4.
- Consolation: G9, the winner of G7 vs the winner of G8.
- Third-place game: G10, the loser of G5 vs the loser of G6.
- Final: G11, the winner of G5 vs the winner of G6.
Every team plays at least 2 games. On two fields with one-hour games the whole sheet takes 6 hours, against 4 hours for the plain bracket.
Third-place game or consolation bracket?
A third-place game is one more game, for the two semifinal losers. A consolation bracket adds a game for each round 1 loser but one: 3 with 8 teams, 7 with 16. Pick the third-place game when only the top places matter, and the consolation bracket when nobody should go home after a single game.
South Dakota's high school basketball state tournaments play both. The state association's handbook has eight teams in a single elimination tournament with a full championship and consolation bracket, ranks all eight from first to eighth, and gives every team three games. Trophies go to the champion, the runner-up, the third-place team and the consolation champion. That takes 12 games. The 8-team sheet here has 11: the two teams that lose in the consolation semifinals share 7th place, and a game between them would rank them too.
Source: South Dakota High School Activities Association, Basketball handbook 2026-27 (PDF), "Regulations Governing State Tournaments": Format of the Tournaments and Awards, checked October 20, 2026.
Consolation bracket questions
How many games is an 8-team bracket with consolation?
11: the 7 games of the bracket, the third-place game and 3 consolation games. Leave out the third-place game and it is 10.
Who plays in the consolation bracket?
Only the teams that lose a round 1 game. A seed with a bye that loses its first game in round 2 is out, which is why with byes the fewest games a team plays can be one (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 20, 24 teams).
What place does the consolation winner get?
The best place left after the teams that won in round 1: 5th with 8 teams and 9th with 16. The loser of the consolation final is 6th and 10th.