Organizing Your First Tournament

Any player on HubMatch can create and run a tournament - no special permissions needed. This guide walks you through the process from creation to completion.

Choosing a Format

HubMatch supports four bracket formats:

Single Elimination (SE) - One loss and you are out. Fast, high-stakes, best for 8-16 teams or quick events. The downside: one bad game ends a team's run.

Double Elimination (DE) - Every team gets a second chance through the Losers bracket. Takes longer but produces more accurate results. The most popular format for competitive Rematch events.

Round Robin (RR) - Every team plays every other team. Fairest format but scales poorly - 8 teams means 28 series. Best for small, high-quality fields of 4-8 teams.

Swiss System - Teams play a fixed number of rounds, paired by similar records each round. Handles 16-32 teams efficiently without the time commitment of Round Robin.

For your first tournament, Single Elimination with 8-16 teams is the safest choice.

Setting Up GameSettings

Every tournament has a GameSettings configuration applied to all matches:

• Match Duration - Standard competitive times are 6 or 8 minutes.
• Overtime Duration - Set to 0 for no overtime, or infinite to guarantee a winner.
• Score to Reach - Target score to end early. Set to 0 for no limit.
• Mercy Rule Goal Difference - Ends the match when one team leads by this margin. Common values: 4 or 5. Set to 0 to disable.
• Max Spectators - Spectator slots per match.
• Goal Sweeper / Goal Keeper - Toggle these game abilities on or off.

A casual event might use 6-minute matches with mercy rule enabled. A serious bracket might go with 8 minutes, no mercy rule, and infinite overtime.

Creating the Tournament

Fill in the details: name, game mode (5v5 or 3v3), region, format, and best-of for series (BO1 for speed, BO3 for competition, BO5 for finals). Set the maximum number of teams and the registration window with open and close dates.

You can add custom rule sections for special rules - these appear as structured sections on the tournament page with titles and bullet-point items.

Managing Registrations and Check-In

Once registration opens, teams sign up through the tournament page. Before the tournament starts, a check-in phase confirms which teams are ready. Teams that do not check in can be removed and waitlisted teams promoted.

If you set a roster limit, captains select their active players during registration. Verify that registered teams meet the minimum roster for your game mode.

Running the Tournament

Once matches begin, your role shifts to monitoring:

• Track progress - The bracket view shows completed, in-progress, and upcoming series.
• Handle forfeits - If a team misses its match check-in window (5 minutes; 10 minutes for late rounds of very large brackets), it is automatically forfeited and the opponent advances.
• Enforce results - Both teams submit scores. If they agree, the result confirms automatically. If they disagree, a dispute is created for you to resolve.
• Manage disputes - As organizer, you can review evidence and override results.

Tips for Success

Start small. 8 teams, Single Elimination, BO1 or BO3. Scale up once you have the process down.

Set clear deadlines. Give teams a specific window per round (e.g., 48 hours). Without deadlines, brackets stall.

Use Discord. Link your server in tournament settings for announcements, coordination, and disputes.

Finalize GameSettings before registration. Changing them mid-tournament undermines trust.

Be available on match days. No-shows and disputes happen. A responsive organizer keeps the tournament moving.