Running a cornhole tournament doesn't have to be chaos. Plan the format, get players registered, and let BagTrax handle brackets, scoring, and standings. Here's the step-by-step.
1. Pick Your Format
Choose based on time and team count. See the full breakdown in our tournament formats guide.
Single elimination: Fastest. Lose once, you're out. Best for 8–32 teams when time is tight.
Double elimination: Lose twice to get knocked out. Adds a losers bracket. Takes roughly 50% longer than single elim.
Rounders: Configurable round-robin style play. Best for small groups where standings matter more than a knockout bracket.
Swaps: Solo signup, random doubles partners each round, individual standings.
2. Set Up in BagTrax
Go to Tournaments → New. Name it, set the start time and location, pick the format, and choose public or private. BagTrax tournament creation is currently organizer-managed doubles only. You need BagTrax Pro to create tournaments — your players join free.
3. Register Players
Three options: share the tournament link for self-registration, send invites, or add players manually from the manage page. BagTrax tracks who's registered, who's paid if payments are enabled, and who's checked in.
4. Seed and Pair
Seed teams manually by drag-and-drop, or auto-seed by ELO rating. For doubles, use auto-pair to create teams from the player pool, or let players form their own teams.
5. Set Up Courts
Create named courts (Court 1, Court 2, etc.). Assign matches to courts manually or hit auto-assign. Each court gets its own live scoreboard — great for spectators and players waiting for their match.
6. Start the Tournament
Hit start. BagTrax generates the bracket and assigns first-round matches. Players score their own games from their phones. Results flow into the bracket automatically.
7. Manage as You Go
Use the organizer dashboard to track progress, see which matches are in progress, assign courts, and handle disputes. After a completed tournament, the "What's Next" form on the manage page can create a follow-up event from the results.
8. Share Results
Every tournament has a public page with the full bracket, standings, and game results. Share the link after the event. Players can see their stats and games on their profiles.
Ready? Create a tournament.