Tournaments

FoxLeague tournaments are multi-match formal events with locked lineups and FOXSY prize pools. A single tournament can span an hour or two (fast Bronze knockouts) to several days (large Swiss or round-robin events) depending on format, team count and round interval.

How to join

Open the Tournaments tab
Pick one from Browse (status registration_open, slots still free)
Click JOIN
If there’s an entry fee (Silver / Gold tier), approve the FOXSY transaction in your wallet
Your currently-synced XI is locked as the team snapshot. Every match in this tournament uses those stats

You can also create your own tournament via Tournaments → Create.

The four formats

Knockout

Single-elimination bracket.

Team counts: 4, 8, 16 or 32
Matches per team: 1-3 (depending on how far you go)
Rounds: log₂(N) (4 teams = 2 rounds, 32 teams = 5 rounds)
Seeding: classic seeded bracket (#1 vs #N, #2 vs #N-1, etc.) based on ELO at join time
Draws are resolved through extra time and if needed, a penalty shootout (see below)
Optional 3rd-place match between the two semifinal losers

Best for: quick, high-stakes tournaments with exciting upsets.

Groups + Knockout

Group stage followed by single-elimination.

Team counts: 8, 16 or 32 (must be divisible by 4)
Group stage: groups of 4, round-robin (each team plays 3 matches). Points: 3 win / 1 draw / 0 loss. Tie-breakers: goal difference, then goals scored
Top 2 from each group advance to the knockout bracket
Cross-group KO pairing: A1 vs B2, B1 vs A2, etc.

Best for: balanced competition (everyone plays multiple matches), but stakes rise in the knockout.

Round Robin

Everyone plays everyone.

Team counts: 4, 6 or 8
Matches per team: N−1 (4 teams → 3 matches, 8 teams → 7)
Standings by points (3 win / 1 draw / 0 loss), then goal difference, then goals scored
No elimination (every team plays every match)

Best for: fair ranking as the best team usually wins. Great for small groups and mini-leagues.

Swiss

Teams are paired by standing each round (no rematches).

Team counts: 8, 16 or 32
Rounds: log₂(N) + 1 (8 teams → 4 rounds, 16 teams → 5)
Pairing: each round, teams with similar win/loss records face each other
Byes: odd participant count → lowest-ranked team gets an automatic win that round
Final standings determine placement after all rounds are played

Best for: large tournaments with limited time. Everyone plays, strong teams eventually face strong opponents.

The three tiers

Tiers scope the stakes:

Tier	Entry fee	Best for
Bronze	Free	Practice, casual competition, Hall of Fame runs
Silver	100-5,000 FOXSY (creator picks within the range)	Competitive stakes with a real prize pool
Gold	5,000+ FOXSY (creator picks)	Highest rewards, most serious competition

The creator sets the exact FOXSY amount when creating a Silver or Gold tournament, constrained by the tier’s bounds shown above. Bronze is always free.

Lineup snapshot (the core rule)

Why? Fairness. Without a snapshot, deep-pocketed players would sync-boost before every final and tournaments would turn into a pay-to-win sprint. With the snapshot locked, everyone competes on the stats they brought.

What you CAN still do during a tournament:

Train players (XP still accumulates and your Squad updates instantly)
Sync (for matches outside this tournament)
Play casual/ranked matches with players not locked into this tournament

What you CANNOT do:

Use locked tournament players in casual / ranked matches
List a locked player for sale (they unlock when the tournament ends or earlier if you’re eliminated)

Schedule

Every tournament has:

Registration deadline: last moment to join before the bracket is generated
Tournament start: when the first match kicks off. Must be at least 1 hour after creation so the bracket can be pre-scheduled
Round interval: minutes between the end of one round and the start of the next one. Creator picks one of four options: 30 min / 1 h / 2 h / 1 day

Matches within a single round are staggered ~30 min apart so spectators can watch each one.

Blocking window (anti-overlap)

Each tournament reserves a blocking window from one hour before its first kickoff until one hour after the estimated final whistle. You can’t join two tournaments whose blocking windows overlap. This prevents the same players being needed in two brackets simultaneously.

Seeding

When registration closes, all participants are seeded by ELO rating:

Seed #1 = highest ELO at the moment of join
Seed #N = lowest ELO

Seeding drives:

Knockout bracket slots (classic #1-vs-#N pairing so top seeds don’t meet in round 1)
Groups + KO pot distribution (balanced groups)
Swiss first-round pairing (strongest vs weakest to start)
Round Robin doesn’t use seeding for match order (everyone plays everyone)

Draws and penalty shootouts

Round Robin / Group stage / Swiss draws are legal results (1 point each).
Knockout / semifinal / final / 3rd-place match draws cannot stand. The tie goes to extra time and if still unresolved, to a penalty shootout, with the winner advancing.

Third-place match

Knockout and Groups + KO tournaments support an optional 3rd-place match between the two semifinal losers. The creator toggles this when setting up the tournament. The winner is recorded in the Hall of Fame alongside the champion and runner-up.

If the creator leaves it OFF, both semifinal losers finish as “3rd/4th” without separation.

Auto-subs and forfeit

FoxLeague expects you to have 18 eligible players (11 starters + 7 substitutes) ready when your next tournament match kicks off. If a player drops out of eligibility between rounds (in cooldown, etc.), the tournament automatically substitutes an eligible bench player in.

The match report shows which auto-subs were applied for each side
If a full 18 eligible players can’t be fielded at all, your team forfeits the match and the opponent advances. The forfeit reason is shown on the match card so you know what went wrong

Keep your bench deep. A forfeit in round 1 of a Gold Knockout is an expensive lesson.

Hall of Fame

Completed tournaments are archived in the Hall of Fame tab. Each entry shows:

Tournament title, format, tier, completion date
Winner team name + badge
Runner-up team name + badge
3rd place team name + badge (if a 3rd-place match was played)

A permanent record of every finished tournament across all tiers and formats.

Prize distribution

When a Silver or Gold tournament completes, the accumulated entry fees are distributed on-chain automatically. Winners receive their share directly in their wallet with no claim action needed:

Place	Share of pool
Winner	50%
Runner-up	30%
3rd place	15%
Platform fee	5%

Example: 16 teams × 100 FOXSY entry = 1600 FOXSY pool → 800 winner / 480 runner-up / 240 third-place / 80 platform fee.

Bronze tournaments have no entry fee and therefore no prize pool. They’re for practice, ELO-safe competition and Hall of Fame glory.

Tips

Don’t join if your best players are needed elsewhere. The snapshot lock means they’re out of circulation for the entire tournament duration.
Watch the round interval. A 30-minute interval with a 4-team Knockout normally wraps up in under three hours; a 32-team bracket on the same interval stretches across most of a day once you factor in the 30-minute match stagger. A 1-day interval means your tournament spans the better part of a week.
Check the tier before committing FOXSY. Silver and Gold entry fees leave your wallet the moment you join. Leaving early doesn’t refund.
Add a third-place match if you can. Extra prize money goes to someone, Hall of Fame gains a name.
Sync before joining, not after. The snapshot freezes what’s synced at join time. Any unsynced training progress won’t be used for this tournament.