Pickleball Tournament Formats for 16 Teams
Here's how different formats work with 16 teams:
Single Elimination
Rounds
4
Total Matches
15
Byes
0
Est. Time (2 courts)
~4 hours
Double Elimination
Total Matches
30-31
Est. Time (2 courts)
~7 hours
Min Games per team
2
Pool Play + Knockout
Groups
4 groups of 4
Pool Matches
24
Bracket Matches
7
Total Matches
31
Assuming games to 11 (rally scoring), ~20-25 minutes per match.
How Many Byes for 16 Teams?
With exactly 16 teams, no byes are needed — every position in the bracket is filled. This is a perfect bracket size (16-slot draw), so every team plays in the first round.
Recommended Format for 16 Teams
Pool play with 4 groups of 4 is the gold standard. Top 2 from each group advance to an 8-team knockout bracket.
Other Pickleball Bracket Sizes
16-Teams Brackets in Other Sports
Prefer a Round Robin?
If you want everyone to play multiple matches instead of elimination, try a round robin format:
Pickleball Round Robin for 16 Players →Manage Tournaments Automatically
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