# Double Elimination

**Double Elimination** is a knockout with a second chance. After a first loss you continue in the loser
bracket. Only a second loss puts you out. Use it when the field is small enough for the extra matches and an
early upset should not end the day for a strong team.

Entry types: **Single**, **Doubles**, **Team Name**.

## How it works

1. Everybody starts in the **Base Round** of the winner bracket. Seeding and byes work as in [Elimination](/kickertool/modes/elimination/): 1 vs last, byes for the best seeds if the field is not a power of two.
2. Winners move on in the **Winner Round**s. Losers drop into the **Loser Round**s. The loser bracket alternates between two kinds of rounds: one where the losers already in the bracket play each other, and one where the survivors meet the participants that have just dropped from the next winner round. Whoever loses in the winner bracket late meets the loser bracket late.
3. A loss in the loser bracket means elimination.
4. The last round of the loser bracket is shown as **Third Place**: its loser takes third place, its winner meets the winner of the winner bracket in the **Final**.
5. The final is a single match. There is no second final if the winner-bracket winner loses.
6. The table shows the **Rank** per participant and the **Preliminary Stage Result**.

## Example with 8 participants

| Round | Matches | Who plays |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Base Round | 4 | all 8 |
| 1. Loser Round | 2 | the 4 losers of the base round |
| 1. Winner Round | 2 | the 4 winners of the base round |
| 2. Loser Round | 2 | loser-round survivors vs losers of the 1. Winner Round |
| 3. Loser Round | 1 | the 2 survivors |
| 2. Winner Round | 1 | the winner-bracket final |
| Third Place | 1 | last loser-bracket survivor vs loser of the winner-bracket final |
| Final | 1 | winner bracket winner vs loser bracket winner |

That is 14 matches instead of 7 for a single elimination with 8 participants, and up to 6 matches for
one participant instead of 3. Plan the time accordingly.

## Options

Double Elimination has no separate match for third place option: third place is decided in the loser
bracket. Match settings such as goals, sets and quick entry are set for the whole stage.

:::note
Different settings for the winner and the loser bracket, for example fewer sets in the loser bracket, are
not possible at the moment.
:::

## Create it after a qualifying stage

Follow the steps under [Elimination](/kickertool/modes/elimination/#create-an-elimination-after-a-qualifying-stage)
and pick **Double Elimination** as the Elimination Mode. Double Elimination is also available as the start
mode of a discipline; the seeding is then the entry order.

## Next steps

For a fast final round where every place is played in one match see
[Direct Playoffs](/kickertool/modes/direct-playoffs/).