Tournament Brackets
This case study covers the design of a tournament bracket system, including information architecture, real-time state, and responsive layout.
Managing tournament brackets was confusing and error-prone
After reviewing existing workflows, three core issues stood out
Information architecture
Bracket structures were difficult to parse at a glance, especially as tournaments scaled beyond 16 teams.
Real-time state
Users had no way to see live updates — they had to refresh the page to check if scores or matchups had changed.
Responsive layout
Bracket views were built for desktop and became unusable on mobile, where most users checked results.