41 team knockout fixture

41 teams: 23 byes, 18 teams play Round I, 40 matches over 6 rounds.

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How the 41 team fixture is drawn

Upper half and lower half

41 is odd, so the upper half gets (41 + 1) ÷ 2 = 21 teams (Teams 1–21) and the lower half gets (41 − 1) ÷ 2 = 20 teams (Teams 22–41).

Byes

Byes = next power of 2 − number of teams = 64 − 41 = 23. 23 is odd, so the upper half gets (23 − 1) ÷ 2 = 11 byes and the lower half gets (23 + 1) ÷ 2 = 12 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 41 teams:

  1. Team 41 — last team of the lower half
  2. Team 1 — first team of the upper half
  3. Team 22 — first team of the lower half
  4. Team 21 — last team of the upper half
  5. Team 40 — 2nd-last team of the lower half
  6. Team 2 — 2nd team of the upper half
  7. Team 23 — 2nd team of the lower half
  8. Team 20 — 2nd-last team of the upper half
  9. Team 39 — 3rd-last team of the lower half
  10. Team 3 — 3rd team of the upper half
  11. Team 24 — 3rd team of the lower half
  12. Team 19 — 3rd-last team of the upper half
  13. Team 38 — 4th-last team of the lower half
  14. Team 4 — 4th team of the upper half
  15. Team 25 — 4th team of the lower half
  16. Team 18 — 4th-last team of the upper half
  17. Team 37 — 5th-last team of the lower half
  18. Team 5 — 5th team of the upper half
  19. Team 26 — 5th team of the lower half
  20. Team 17 — 5th-last team of the upper half
  21. Team 36 — 6th-last team of the lower half
  22. Team 6 — 6th team of the upper half
  23. Team 27 — 6th 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

41 − 23 = 18 teams play Round I in 9 matches:

  • Match 1: Team 7 vs Team 8
  • Match 2: Team 9 vs Team 10
  • Match 3: Team 11 vs Team 12
  • Match 4: Team 13 vs Team 14
  • Match 5: Team 15 vs Team 16
  • Match 6: Team 28 vs Team 29
  • Match 7: Team 30 vs Team 31
  • Match 8: Team 32 vs Team 33
  • Match 9: Team 34 vs Team 35

Total number of matches = number of teams − 1 = 41 − 1 = 40 (not including a third-place match). There are 6 rounds, because 64 = 2 × 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 41 team knockout fixture PDF. The bracket prints on 2 A4 pages (upper half, then lower half) in portrait.

Questions

How many byes are there in a 41 team knockout fixture?

Byes = next power of 2 − number of teams = 64 − 41 = 23. 23 is odd, so the upper half gets (23 − 1) ÷ 2 = 11 byes and the lower half gets (23 + 1) ÷ 2 = 12 byes. The byes go, in order, to teams 41, 1, 22, 21, 40, 2, 23, 20, 39, 3, 24, 19, 38, 4, 25, 18, 37, 5, 26, 17, 36, 6 and 27. These teams do not play Round I and go straight to Round II.

How many matches and rounds are there for 41 teams?

Total number of matches = number of teams − 1 = 41 − 1 = 40, not including a third-place match. There are 6 rounds, because 64 = 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 (worked out from the textbook illustrations, not a textbook formula).

How are 41 teams divided into the upper and lower half?

41 is odd, so the upper half gets (41 + 1) ÷ 2 = 21 teams (Teams 1–21) and the lower half gets (41 − 1) ÷ 2 = 20 teams (Teams 22–41).

Can I print the 41 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 41 team knockout fixture PDF. The bracket prints on 2 A4 pages (upper half, then lower half) in portrait.