Running a cup
A cup can be a quick knockout for one night or a full tournament over several weeks. For the quick kind, see Start a cup tonight; this guide covers everything else. Open the cup and press Cup admin to reach its admin panel.
Formats
- Straight knockout: lose once and you're out.
- Double elimination ("two lives"): a first defeat drops you into a second bracket, and only a second defeat knocks you out. The winners of the two brackets meet in the Grand Final. Turn on the second grand final and, if the side from the second bracket wins, both finalists have one defeat each, so one more final decides it.
- Swiss: everyone plays a set number of rounds and nobody is knocked out. Each round pairs people on similar records, never the same pair twice, and the final table decides the winner. Good for a big field with little time.
- Group then knockout: round-robin groups, then the top finishers go into a knockout.
- League then knockout: one league stage for everyone, then the top finishers go into a knockout.
- Everyone plays everyone: one table, and whoever tops it wins.
On the Free plan a cup is a straight knockout for up to 8 entrants; the other formats are on paid plans.
The admin panel
- Overview: what needs doing next, and Start the cup.
- Settings: the format, the draw, scheduling, age limits, who can find it, and how it's run (results scored live or entered by an admin; stats recorded live, as totals, or not at all).
- Admins: who helps run it.
- Roster: who's in (below). Withdrawals: see Withdrawals and folding a team.
- Venues, Formats, Stat types, Fixtures, Schedule, News, Meetings and Leaderboards.
Who's in
On Roster, add entrants three ways:
- Add participant: find a person or team with an account. They get an invitation to accept.
- Or import from a league: bring in the people or teams from a league you run.
- Or add a guest player: type a name for someone without an account.
Entrants can also ask to join with the cup's link or code; their requests wait on the Roster page for you to accept or decline. Seeding lets you give seed numbers to keep the strongest apart; leave it blank to draw at random.
Starting the cup
Press Start the cup on the overview. It locks the roster and makes the draw in one go. (On the roster page, Finalise roster locks it without drawing.) Once it's started, nobody new can join, except to take the place of someone who withdraws.
A cup from a league
On a league's admin overview, Generate cup makes a cup from the league: everyone in it, chosen divisions, the top finishers in each division, or people you pick. Choosing the top finishers can also make a second cup, often called a plate, for everyone else. Both cups count on your plan.
Handing it over
On Admins, add people to help run the cup, or use Transfer ownership to give it to someone else. They have to accept; the cup then moves onto their plan, and you stay on as an admin unless they remove you.
Show it on a big screen
Arena Showcase (on paid plans) turns the cup into a display for a TV or projector at the venue: the bracket, live matches and notable moments as they happen. Open it from the Cup admin panel; it opens in its own tab, ready to go full screen.
Ending early
The cup's owner can press End the cup early on the overview if it can't be finished. It ends with no winner.