Building a tournament shouldn't feel like a second job. Bracket Builder gives you a bracket, a schedule, and a shareable page for your event that is free and ready in minutes.
This guide walks you through everything you can do, from creating your first bracket to sharing live scores with parents on game day.
What is Bracket Builder?
Bracket Builder is an AI Lab Experiment from OTTO SPORT. It helps you create tournament brackets, build a schedule, and share everything with your teams, coaches, and families. No login or password required.
To access from OTTOSPORT.AI, click the Bracket Builder link, fill out a quick form, and you'll land right in your new workspace.
1. Create Your Organization
When you first arrive, you'll be asked to set up an organization. Here's what to do:
Name your organization. This can be your club, league, or event name.
Select your sports. All sports are selected by default. Uncheck any you don't need.
Select Create organization and save your link. This is important, so don't skip it!
Why your link matters
Your organization runs on a unique, private link. There's no username or password to remember. Whoever has the link can make changes, so:
Share it with anyone who needs edit access (co-organizers, staff).
Keep it somewhere safe. Bookmark it, email it to yourself, or jot it down.
Don't share it publicly, since anyone with the link can update your tournaments.
What if I lose my link? No problem. Click "Already have an organization?" and enter your email. We'll send you a recovery link to every organization tied to that email address, so you're never locked out.
2. Build Your Bracket
Once your organization is set up, it's time to build. You've got two ways to get started:
Template setup: Choose from common formats like single elimination, double elimination, or pool play with or without pools. Pick the number of teams, and you're off.
Describe it: Not sure which format fits? Just describe your tournament in plain language, i.e., "16 teams with pool play for our U12 division," and Bracket Builder will generate it for you.
Once your bracket is created, you can:
Turn pool play on or off
Switch layouts
Adjust your tournament dates
3. Add Your Teams
You can add teams a few ways:
Type them in manually: Great for smaller tournaments.
Import a full team list: Upload a CSV file, and Bracket Builder will recognize groupings and divisions automatically, so you can choose to import an entire season or just one division.
Tip: OTTO SPORT customers can import their team list directly into Bracket Builder for faster setup. Just go to Programs > choose your Program & Season > Teams, click the mini menu, and select Export Data.
4. Set Up Venues & Scheduling
Add your venues or locations, then mark them available by clicking and dragging on the calendar. If a location has multiple fields or courts, you can add those too.
Scheduling your games:
Click and drag games onto your open time slots.
Bracket Builder will warn you if you drop a game outside your available windows.
Prefer to build round by round? Schedule round one first, then move on. You can always undo a move if it doesn't feel right.
Let OTTO auto-schedule for you. OTTO can build your entire schedule in seconds, following a clear set of rules:
No overlapping games on the same field
Bracket games wait for their feeder games to finish
All games are scheduled at available times
At least 30 min rest between each team's games
Auto-scheduling uses rules, so your schedule stays predictable and fair, every time.
Location map: Use the map view to lay out exactly where each court or field sits. This is helpful for parents trying to find team one versus team sixteen on a busy tournament day.
5. Customize & Share
Make it yours, then get it in front of your families.
Customize:
Choose from preset color themes, or enter your own hex code to match your club colors.
Share:
Generate a QR code
Save as a PDF
Embed it directly on your website
Share a live link, perfect for posting on social media or sending in a team group chat
Once shared, your bracket is fully mobile-friendly. Families can view the schedule, filter to just their team, and check the location map right from their phone with view-only access, so nothing gets accidentally changed.
Tip: Sharing multiple tournaments? You can also build a full event page, like a hub listing every bracket for every sport, instead of sharing brackets one at a time.
6. Score Games on the Day
Bracket Builder makes it easy to keep everyone updated in real time, whether you're scoring everything yourself or handing it off to your officials and coaches.
To score a game yourself, open it from the bracket and enter each team's score. The moment you enter a score, the game shows as "live" for anyone watching, so families always know what's happening in real time. Select Mark final once the game is done.
To let someone else score, generate a score code from the bracket and send it their way. They'll pop in the code, add their name, and they're ready to enter scores just like you would. It's a simple way to spread the load without handing out full access to your bracket.
Either way, nothing gets lost: Every score update is logged automatically. Click into a team to see the full history, including who made each change, so you always have a clear trail if something needs another look.
Bonus: Pool Play Outlook
If you're running pool play, Bracket Builder does the math, so your teams don't have to. As games are completed, it will describe exactly what needs to happen for a team to advance, for example, "Team 8 needs a win by 2 or more", right on the bracket page. Early in pool play, when there's not enough data yet, you'll just see a friendly "good luck, win as many as you can!"
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need an account or password? No. Your organization is accessed through a private, unique link. Just be sure to save it somewhere safe.
What happens if I lose my link? Click "Already have an organization?" and enter your email to get a recovery link.
Can families or coaches edit the bracket? No. Only people with your organization's edit link can make changes. Families and coaches see a live, view-only version. Officials and coaches can be given temporary scoring access through a score code.
Does the auto-schedule feature use AI? No. Auto-scheduling runs on a clear, consistent rule set, not generative AI, so your results stay fair and predictable.
Can I change my bracket after I've started scoring? Yes, but switching formats (like turning pool play on or off) may reset scores already entered, so make format changes early when you can.