WBCS.LIVE practice question

In a knock-out tournament— i.e., a tournament in which the winner in any match moves to the next round and the loser gets eliminated—there are 22 participants. Then the total number of matches to be played is

Solve this multiple-choice question and check the correct answer with its explanation below.

Answer options

  1. 20
  2. 21
  3. 22
  4. Depends on the way the fixture is prepared

Correct answer and explanation

Correct answer: 21

Explanation: ✅ Correct Answer: B) 21 📚 Explanation: In a knock-out tournament, every match eliminates exactly one participant. Since there is only one winner who is not eliminated, the number of matches needed to eliminate all other players is n-1. For 22 participants, the number of matches is 22 minus 1, which equals 21. This simple logic applies to any number of players regardless of how the matches are scheduled.