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Run a playoff bracket

By the end you’ll have a seeded playoff bracket, with its games created and the bracket on your website’s Schedule.

  • Who: League admin or Editor
  • Time: 4 min
  • Steps: 12
Video · 1:39 · Voiceover · every step is also written on screen Prefer to read? Steps below

Before you start

  • You need the season and its teams: here Winter 2027. See Create your first season and teams.
  • Know your playoff teams and their seeds. Here, four teams make the playoffs: Harbor Kings, Foundry, Eastside Elite and Northgate Owls.

Steps

  1. Step 1: In the left menu, click Seasons & playoffs.

    Your seasons are listed, each with its status.

    Fig. 1

    Scroll sideways to see the whole screen.

    The Seasons & playoffs list with Winter 2027 and Fall 2026.
    Fig. 1Seasons & playoffs lists your seasons.

  2. Step 2: Click the season, like Winter 2027.

    Its record opens. The buttons under the season name act on this season.

    Fig. 2

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    The Winter 2027 row in the Seasons & playoffs list.
    Fig. 2Open the season the playoffs belong to.

  3. Step 3: Click Add competition under the season name.

    The New competition form opens, with Season already set to Winter 2027.

    Fig. 3

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    The Add competition button under the Winter 2027 season name.
    Fig. 3Add competition, on the season’s record.

  4. Step 4: Type a Name, like Winter Playoffs, and click Bracket.

    Bracket is single elimination: winners move on. Leave Winners move on automatically on. The format can’t change after you create it.

    Fig. 4

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    The New competition form with Winter Playoffs typed in Name, Bracket selected and Winners move on automatically on.
    Fig. 4Name it and pick Bracket.

  5. Step 5: Click Create competition.

    Winter Playoffs opens on its Teams tab. It starts Active, with no teams yet.

    Fig. 5

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    The Winter Playoffs record on its Teams tab, with Bracket, Winter 2027, 0 teams · 0 games and Active.
    Fig. 5The new bracket competition, with no teams yet.

  6. Step 6: Click Add teams and tick your playoff teams, like Harbor Kings, Foundry, Eastside Elite and Northgate Owls.

    The list shows the season’s teams that aren’t in the competition yet.

    Fig. 6

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    The Add teams list with Harbor Kings, Foundry, Eastside Elite and Northgate Owls ticked.
    Fig. 6Tick the teams that made the playoffs.

  7. Step 7: Click Add 4 teams.

    The four teams are listed with an empty Seed.

    Fig. 7

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    The Winter Playoffs Teams tab listing four teams, each with an empty Seed.
    Fig. 7Four teams in, no seeds yet.

  8. Step 8: Click each team’s Seed, type it, and press Enter: 1 for Harbor Kings, 2 Foundry, 3 Eastside Elite, 4 Northgate Owls.

    Each seed saves on its own, with Undo, and the list re-sorts by seed. The bracket pairs them by seed: 1 plays the lowest seed, 2 the next lowest.

    Fig. 8

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    The Teams tab with seeds 1 Harbor Kings, 2 Foundry, 3 Eastside Elite and 4 Northgate Owls.
    Fig. 8Seeds 1 to 4.

  9. Step 9: Click Fill bracket at the top.

    The Create bracket form shows the shape, here 4 teams · a 4-team bracket · 2 rounds, with By seed chosen.

    Fig. 9

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    The Create bracket form: 4 teams · a 4-team bracket · 2 rounds, with By seed selected.
    Fig. 9The bracket’s shape, before anything is created.

  10. Step 10: Keep By seed and click Create bracket.

    The bracket’s games are created: two semifinals and a final. Teams and seeds are now fixed.

    Fig. 10

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    The Winter Playoffs record with 4 teams · 3 games in its header.
    Fig. 10Two semifinals and a final, created.

  11. Step 11: Click the Bracket tab.

    The semifinals are 1 v 4 and 2 v 3. The final shows TBD until the semifinal winners move on.

    Fig. 11

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    The Bracket tab: Semifinals Harbor Kings v Northgate Owls and Foundry v Eastside Elite, and a Final of TBD v TBD.
    Fig. 11The bracket, by seed.

  12. Step 12: Click ↗ (View public site) at the bottom of the sidebar; your website opens in a new tab. Then click Schedule.

    Winter Playoffs shows as a bracket, from the semifinals to the final.

    Fig. 12

    Scroll sideways to see the whole screen.

    The public Schedule page with the Winter Playoffs bracket: Semifinals and Final.
    Fig. 12The bracket on your website’s Schedule.

What you’ll see

Winter Playoffs has its bracket. When you save a semifinal’s final score, the winner moves into the final on its own, in the admin and on your website.

Fig. 13

Scroll sideways to see the whole screen.

The Winter Playoffs Games tab: two round 1 games and a round 2 game of TBD v TBD.
Fig. 13Winter Playoffs’ three games.

Common questions

How do I set the game times?
The games start with no date. Click a game on the Bracket or Games tab and set its Date, Time and Venue on its record.
My playoffs don’t have 4, 8 or 16 teams. What then?
By seed needs 4, 8, 16 or another power of two. With 6 teams, for example, Fill bracket offers a play-in round into the last 4, or an Empty bracket where you place teams and byes by hand.
What does Winners move on automatically do?
When a game’s final score is saved, its winner goes into their next game. Turn it off on the Settings tab (Winners move on) to show the bracket as flat rounds and place winners by hand. A playoff game can’t end in a tie.
Can I change the seeds or teams after creating the bracket?
Not while games exist: teams and seeds are fixed. Click Delete all games on the Games tab, change them, then click Fill bracket again. Deleting also removes any scores already entered.
Can I keep it off my website until the playoffs start?
Yes. On its Settings tab, set Status to Upcoming. Upcoming competitions stay off your site until you set them to Active.