How to Calculate Fixtures for Any Tournament Size

Know exactly how many matches your tournament needs. Formulas and calculator for every format.

4 min readadvanced

Knockout Formula

In single elimination: Total matches = Teams - 1. With 16 teams, you play 15 matches (one team eliminated per match until one remains).

Round-Robin Formula

When everyone plays everyone: Total matches = n(n-1)/2 where n = teams. With 10 teams: 10×9÷2 = 45 matches.

Groups + Knockout Formula

Add group matches + knockout matches. Group matches = number of groups × matches per group. For 4 groups of 4: 4 × 6 = 24. Plus knockout of 8 teams = 7. Total = 31.

Double Round-Robin (Home/Away)

Multiply round-robin total by 2. With 10 teams: 45 × 2 = 90 matches. Each team plays each opponent twice.

Adding Playoffs

Third-place playoff = +1 match. Fifth-place playoff = +1 more. Consolation bracket for all eliminated teams = Teams - 1 additional matches.

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