17 team knockout fixture

17 teams: 15 byes, 2 teams play Round I, 16 matches over 5 rounds.

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How the 17 team fixture is drawn

Upper half and lower half

17 is odd, so the upper half gets (17 + 1) ÷ 2 = 9 teams (Teams 1–9) and the lower half gets (17 − 1) ÷ 2 = 8 teams (Teams 10–17).

Byes

Byes = next power of 2 − number of teams = 32 − 17 = 15. 15 is odd, so the upper half gets (15 − 1) ÷ 2 = 7 byes and the lower half gets (15 + 1) ÷ 2 = 8 byes.

Which teams get the byes, and why

The textbook places byes in this order: the 1st bye to the last team of the lower half, the 2nd to the first team of the upper half, the 3rd to the first team of the lower half and the 4th to the last team of the upper half. The remaining byes follow the same pattern, moving inward. For 17 teams:

  1. Team 17 — last team of the lower half
  2. Team 1 — first team of the upper half
  3. Team 10 — first team of the lower half
  4. Team 9 — last team of the upper half
  5. Team 16 — 2nd-last team of the lower half
  6. Team 2 — 2nd team of the upper half
  7. Team 11 — 2nd team of the lower half
  8. Team 8 — 2nd-last team of the upper half
  9. Team 15 — 3rd-last team of the lower half
  10. Team 3 — 3rd team of the upper half
  11. Team 12 — 3rd team of the lower half
  12. Team 7 — 3rd-last team of the upper half
  13. Team 14 — 4th-last team of the lower half
  14. Team 4 — 4th team of the upper half
  15. Team 13 — 4th team of the lower half

Teams with a bye do not play Round I. They go straight to Round II.

Round I and total matches

17 − 15 = 2 teams play Round I in 1 match:

  • Match 1: Team 5 vs Team 6

Total number of matches = number of teams − 1 = 17 − 1 = 16 (not including a third-place match). There are 5 rounds, because 32 = 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 — worked out from the textbook illustrations, not a textbook formula.

Print or save as PDF

Tap “Print fixture (A4)” and choose “Save as PDF” as the printer to get a 17 team knockout fixture PDF. The bracket prints on 2 A4 pages (upper half, then lower half) in landscape; if your browser asks, choose Landscape.

Questions

How many byes are there in a 17 team knockout fixture?

Byes = next power of 2 − number of teams = 32 − 17 = 15. 15 is odd, so the upper half gets (15 − 1) ÷ 2 = 7 byes and the lower half gets (15 + 1) ÷ 2 = 8 byes. The byes go, in order, to teams 17, 1, 10, 9, 16, 2, 11, 8, 15, 3, 12, 7, 14, 4 and 13. These teams do not play Round I and go straight to Round II.

How many matches and rounds are there for 17 teams?

Total number of matches = number of teams − 1 = 17 − 1 = 16, not including a third-place match. There are 5 rounds, because 32 = 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 (worked out from the textbook illustrations, not a textbook formula).

How are 17 teams divided into the upper and lower half?

17 is odd, so the upper half gets (17 + 1) ÷ 2 = 9 teams (Teams 1–9) and the lower half gets (17 − 1) ÷ 2 = 8 teams (Teams 10–17).

Can I print the 17 team knockout fixture or save it as a PDF?

Yes. Tap “Print fixture (A4)” and choose “Save as PDF” as the printer to get a 17 team knockout fixture PDF. The bracket prints on 2 A4 pages (upper half, then lower half) in landscape; if your browser asks, choose Landscape.