THE RULES

Everything you need to know. Current version: v1.3

1. PICKING YOUR TEAMS

—Pick exactly 5 national teams from the 48 World Cup participants. New this year — up from 4.
—Each team has a point cost based on their betting odds. Your 5 teams combined cannot exceed 300 points.
—You may only pick 1 team from Tier A (the elite tier: France, Spain, England, Brazil, Argentina, Portugal, Germany…). The rest can come from any tier.
—No two players can pick the exact same combination of 5 teams. If your combination is already taken, you'll be told to change it.

Teams are grouped into 4 tiers based on their World Cup odds. Cheaper teams earn more points when they win — picking underdogs pays off.

Tier A

Elite

85–100 pts

Tier B

Strong

55–80 pts

Tier C

Mid

30–50 pts

Tier D

Underdog

10–25 pts

—Along with your teams, you must pick 3 goalscorers — players you think will score the most goals in the tournament.
—Your scorers should come from your 5 selected teams — the player list is pre-filtered to your squad, but you can type any name freely.
—The player with the most combined goals from their 3 picks wins the Top Scorer prize.
—You can update your scorers any time before kick-off, and again when you use your Wildcard.

Points are awarded after every match. Tier D teams earn more per win to balance out their lower odds.

Event	Tier A	Tier B	Tier C	Tier D
Win	+70	+85	+100	+120
Draw	+10	+30	+40	+60
Loss	−60	−45	−30	−10
Goal scored	+10	+10	+10	+10
Goal conceded	−5	−5	−5	−5
Round advanced	+120	+150	+200	+250
Champion	+500	+500	+500	+500

🏆 Knockout Round Rules

—Extra time counts as part of the match. If a team wins 2–1 in extra time (after 1–1 at 90 min), they earn a Win and their opponent a Loss.
—Penalty shootouts count as a Draw for match points. Both teams earn Draw points — because regulation + extra time ended level. The team that wins on penalties earns the Round Advanced bonus.
—
Round Advanced bonus is earned each time your team advances:
- • Qualifying from the group stage
- • Winning R32 → advancing to R16
- • Winning R16 → advancing to Quarter Finals
- • Winning QF → advancing to Semi Finals
- • Winning SF → advancing to the Final
A team that reaches the Final earns this bonus 5 times. A team eliminated in R32 earns it once (group stage only). The team losing the semi-final does not earn a bonus for the semi-final and instead plays the 3rd place match (see below).
—3rd place match scores at half value. Win/Draw/Loss points count for half the normal amount — goals scored and conceded are unaffected. Neither team earns a Round Advanced bonus for this match, win or lose.
—Champion bonus (+500) is awarded on top of all other Final bonuses for the winning team.

—Picks open now and close at kick-off on June 11, 2026.
—Before June 11 you can change your 5 teams and scorers as many times as you like — for free.
—Once the tournament starts, all picks are locked in. No further changes unless you use your Wildcard.

—Each player gets one Wildcard for the entire tournament.
—Using it lets you keep 2 of your 5 teams and swap the other 3 for any new teams you want.
—You can also update your 3 scorers when you play your Wildcard. Scorers do not change automatically — you must pick new ones if you want to.
—Old scorers keep goals scored before your wildcard effective date. New scorers count goals from that date onwards.
—Budget and tier rules still apply to your new combination.
—Only once. Once it's gone, it's gone. If you're happy with your picks, you never have to use it.
—When you use it determines when your new teams start scoring. New teams score from the next round or matchday after you submit — old teams keep the points they already earned.

Wildcard deadlines (your local time)

—When you submit your picks, you set a password. Use it to log back in via My Picks to edit or use your Wildcard.
—Forgot your password? Message the group admin — they can reset it.

CHANGELOG

v1.33rd place match19 Jul 2026

·The 3rd place match scores at half value for win/draw/loss — goals scored and conceded still count in full
·No Round Advanced bonus for either team in the 3rd place match — it's a consolation game, not an advancement
·Corrected v1.2: Round Advanced for the semi-final is only earned by the team that wins and reaches the Final, not by the team that drops into the 3rd place match

v1.2Knockout update28 Jun 2026

·Added knockout round scoring rules: ET counts as part of the match result, penalties are treated as a draw for match points
·Clarified that the advancing team in a penalty shootout earns the Round Advanced bonus
·Round Advanced bonus is awarded for group qualification and for each advancement: win R32, win R16, win QF, win SF, and for playing in the Final or 3rd place match

v1.1Wildcard clarification11 Jun 2026

·Wildcard scorers do not change automatically — you must update them when submitting your wildcard
·Old scorers keep goals scored before the wildcard effective date
·Duplicate lineup check now includes wildcarded-away lineups to prevent two players sharing the same active scoring roster

v1.0Initial rules1 Jun 2026