19 team knockout fixture

19 teams: 13 byes, 6 teams play Round I, 18 matches over 5 rounds.

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How the 19 team fixture is drawn

Upper half and lower half

19 is odd, so the upper half gets (19 + 1) ÷ 2 = 10 teams (Teams 1–10) and the lower half gets (19 − 1) ÷ 2 = 9 teams (Teams 11–19).

Byes

Byes = next power of 2 − number of teams = 32 − 19 = 13. 13 is odd, so the upper half gets (13 − 1) ÷ 2 = 6 byes and the lower half gets (13 + 1) ÷ 2 = 7 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 19 teams:

  1. Team 19 — last team of the lower half
  2. Team 1 — first team of the upper half
  3. Team 11 — first team of the lower half
  4. Team 10 — last team of the upper half
  5. Team 18 — 2nd-last team of the lower half
  6. Team 2 — 2nd team of the upper half
  7. Team 12 — 2nd team of the lower half
  8. Team 9 — 2nd-last team of the upper half
  9. Team 17 — 3rd-last team of the lower half
  10. Team 3 — 3rd team of the upper half
  11. Team 13 — 3rd team of the lower half
  12. Team 8 — 3rd-last team of the upper half
  13. Team 16 — 4th-last 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

19 − 13 = 6 teams play Round I in 3 matches:

  • Match 1: Team 4 vs Team 5
  • Match 2: Team 6 vs Team 7
  • Match 3: Team 14 vs Team 15

Total number of matches = number of teams − 1 = 19 − 1 = 18 (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 19 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 19 team knockout fixture?

Byes = next power of 2 − number of teams = 32 − 19 = 13. 13 is odd, so the upper half gets (13 − 1) ÷ 2 = 6 byes and the lower half gets (13 + 1) ÷ 2 = 7 byes. The byes go, in order, to teams 19, 1, 11, 10, 18, 2, 12, 9, 17, 3, 13, 8 and 16. These teams do not play Round I and go straight to Round II.

How many matches and rounds are there for 19 teams?

Total number of matches = number of teams − 1 = 19 − 1 = 18, 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 19 teams divided into the upper and lower half?

19 is odd, so the upper half gets (19 + 1) ÷ 2 = 10 teams (Teams 1–10) and the lower half gets (19 − 1) ÷ 2 = 9 teams (Teams 11–19).

Can I print the 19 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 19 team knockout fixture PDF. The bracket prints on 2 A4 pages (upper half, then lower half) in landscape; if your browser asks, choose Landscape.