Picks open

The bears have arrived.

A bracket pool for Fat Bear Week. Pick a winner for all 15 matchups before Tuesday, 12:00 PM ET, and see how you do against everyone else.

No invite link needed — make an account and you’re in the main pool with everybody. If a friend sent you a link, use that instead and you’ll join theirs as well.

Bracket reveal — watch it back
Friday, September 18 · 3:00 PM ET
Watch the webcast ↗
Picks close
Tuesday, September 22 · 12:00 PM ET
Voting opens
Tuesday, September 22 · 12:00 PM ET
then daily, noon to 9:00 PM ET, at explore.org ↗
Create a bracket Sign in
An enormous bear splashing in the river among leaping salmon

How it works

One week, twelve colossal bears, one crown. Here’s how it goes.

  1. Step 1

    The bears are announced

    The National Park Service reveals the Fat Bear Week bracket: Katmai’s biggest brown bears, seeded head to head for the title of fattest bear in America.

  2. Step 2

    You fill out a bracket

    Pick a winner for every matchup before picks close. Your picks save as you go, and you’re automatically in the main pool with everyone else.

  3. Step 3

    The world votes

    It’s single elimination, one round at a time. The public votes on each day’s matchup at explore.org, and the fattest bear moves on. See the schedule ↗

  4. Step 4

    Your bracket gets scored

    As results come in, every bracket and every pool’s standings update. Each round is worth the same total points, so picks in later rounds are worth more each.

  5. Step 5

    A champion is crowned

    At the end of the week, one magnificently round bear takes the crown, and the bracket with the most points leads the pack.

What you can do here

  • Make an account and a bracket

    You get one bracket per Fat Bear Week, and it’s yours all tournament long.

  • Make or join pools

    Start a pool for your friends, family or office, or join one from an invite link. Your one bracket counts in every pool you’re in, so you never pick twice.

  • See how you stack up

    Check the standings in each pool and see how everyone else picked once brackets lock.

A comically enormous bear failing to hide behind a thin spruce tree at the edge of a forest

Made by fans

Fat Bear Bracket is a fan-made site, built and run by people who adore the bears and Fat Bear Week.

We’re not affiliated with or endorsed by the National Park Service, Katmai National Park & Preserve, or explore.org. Fat Bear Week and its official vote are theirs — this is just a companion to help you and your friends enjoy the fun.