The knockout round with 20 teams usually means a single-elimination bracket where each match removes one team until one champion remains. In a clean 20-team setup, the usual approach is to give some teams byes so the field can shrink to 16, then continue like a standard Round of 16, quarterfinals, semifinals, and final.

Common 20-team setup

A practical format looks like this:

  1. Preliminary round: 8 teams play 4 matches.
  2. Byes: The other 12 teams skip this round.
  3. Round of 16: The 4 winners join the 12 byes, making 16 teams.
  4. Quarterfinals: 8 teams remain.
  5. Semifinals: 4 teams remain.
  6. Final: 2 teams remain.

Simple bracket math

With 20 teams, a pure knockout bracket does not fit perfectly because 20 is not a power of 2. So organizers usually do one of these:

  • Give byes to the top seeds.
  • Play a play-in round to reduce 20 to 16.
  • Use groups first, then a knockout stage after the group stage.

Example

If seeds 1–12 get byes, then seeds 13–20 play:

  • 13 vs 20
  • 14 vs 19
  • 15 vs 18
  • 16 vs 17

The 4 winners advance and combine with the 12 byes for a full Round of 16.

In plain terms

The knockout round proceeds by elimination , but with 20 teams you usually need a first step to make the bracket work neatly. The most common fix is a preliminary round or byes for higher-ranked teams.

TL;DR

20 teams usually become 16 through a play-in round or byes, then the knockout continues normally: Round of 16, quarterfinals, semifinals, final.