How To Make A Tournament Bracket In Excel (2026)

Choose Hierarchy and then Horizontal Hierarchy . This layout mimics the standard left-to-right tournament flow.

If you just need a clean, non-automated visual representation, Microsoft SmartArt is the fastest path. how to make a tournament bracket in excel

Use the Border tool on the Home ribbon. Select the cells between your teams and apply Right Borders and Top/Bottom Borders to create the "fork" shape. Choose Hierarchy and then Horizontal Hierarchy

Hold down the Alt key while moving shapes. This “snaps” them to Excel’s cell grid, making alignment effortless. non-automated visual representation

Use the Borders tool (under the Home tab) to apply a "Right Border" or "Bottom Border" to specific cells to create the horizontal and vertical connections.