Run a Tournament on Pokékipe
Pokékipe's tournament engine runs the full host workflow, bracket creation, seeding, check-in, match management, dispute handling, standings, without you leaving the site. This page is the end-to-end host workflow, in 12 steps, with the engine UI as the active tool.
Bracket types
Single-elim, double-elim, Swiss, round-robin
Cost
Free, no player count cap
Match flow
Auto-report + dispute → host-resolve
Audit
Full trail of host actions, transparent
A clean tournament feels boring to host: matches resolve themselves, disputes are rare, standings publish on schedule. That "boring" outcome is the result of disciplined setup. Spend 20 min configuring; save 2 hours of mid-tournament chaos.
At a glance
Hosting a tournament is a 12-step workflow. The first 4 steps happen pre-tournament (configure, seed, check-in, start). The next 7 happen during play (match lifecycle, auto-report, disputes, host-resolve, deadlines, chat, standings). The last 3 close it out (grand final, edit/cancel, audit).
- Pre-tournament (Steps 1-4)Configure → Seed → Check-in → Start
- During play (Steps 5-10)Match lifecycle, auto-report, disputes, host-resolve, deadlines, standings
- Close-out (Steps 11-12)Grand final (DE), edit/cancel, audit trail
- Bracket typesSingle-elim, double-elim, Swiss (Pokémon Champions standard), round-robin
- Match statespending → ongoing → finished | disputed | forfeited | bye
- Dispute flowMismatched auto-reports → disputed → host-resolve final ruling
Step 1, Create the tournament
Open the tournament engine, click "Create." The form has 8 fields, name, slug, format, visibility, bracket, max players, timer, description. Each one matters; spending 5 min here saves issues later.
The 8 fields
- Pangalan, Ang nakikita ng players sa hub at detail page. 3–80 characters, kahit ano pwede.
- URL slug, Ang path part pagkatapos ng /tournaments/, lowercase, digits, hyphens. Auto-suggested mula sa name pero editable. Dapat unique.
- Format, Gen 9 OU, VGC 2026 Reg H, Gen 8 Ubers… Fixed sa creation; hindi na pwedeng baguhin mamaya.
- Visibility, Public (naka-list sa hub, kahit sino pwedeng sumali) o Private (invite-only via generated code).
- Uri ng bracket, Single-elim, double-elim, round-robin o Swiss. Tingnan ang next section para sa tradeoffs.
- Pinakamataas na manlalaro (opsyonal), Soft cap sa registrations. Iwanan blangko para walang cap. Kailangan ng double-elim ng kahit 4 players.
- Timer ng laban (opsyonal), Minutos na pinapayagan per match kapag alam na ang dalawang players. Pag lumipas ang deadline, awtomatikong nagiging disputed ang match at papasok ang host.
- Paglalarawan (opsyonal), Free-form text para sa rules, schedule, team clauses, prize pool. Prominenteng lumalabas sa tournament page.
Step 2, Seed the bracket
Seeding determines who faces whom in round 1. Higher seed = better matchup against lower-seeded players. Pokékipe auto-seeds by ELO if available; you can also manually arrange.
Auto-assigned ang seeds sa registration order (FIFO) sa /start time.
Bago i-launch, pwede mong manually i-reorder via "Reseed" sa tournament page. Useful para ilagay ang top seeds sa magkasalungat na side ng bracket (classic pattern: 1 vs 8 sa quarterfinals, 2 vs 7, etc.).
In practice
Step 3, Run check-in
Check-in is the window between "tournament published" and "bracket starts." Players confirm presence; no-shows get auto-removed. Skipping check-in = bracket starts with absent players, who get assigned forfeits.
Ang check-in ay optional lock na pinipilit ang players mag-confirm ng attendance bago mag-launch. Useful para sa scheduled events kung saan gusto mong iwasan ang no-shows sa round 1.
Check-in workflow
- Iki-click ng host ang Open check-in sa tournament page (during draft/registration lang).
- Makikita ng registered players ang Check me in button; ang pag-click nito ay magpapalit ng status mula registered papunta checked_in.
- Pag i-click ng host ang Start, lahat ng players na registered pa rin (hindi checked in) ay auto-dropped mula sa bracket.
- Pwede ring i-Close check-in ng host kahit kailan para i-disable ulit nang hindi nagsisimula.
In practice
Step 4, Start the bracket
Once check-in closes, click "Start." The engine generates round 1 matches based on seeds, notifies players, and starts the match timer. From here, the tournament is live.
Handa na mag-launch? I-click ang "Start tournament" (green button, host only). Tapos ang engine ay:
What happens at start
- Lina-lock ang registrations, wala nang ibang makakasali.
- Ina-assign ang final seeds (respect sa anumang manual reorder na ginawa mo).
- Nagge-generate ng round 1 bracket base sa pinili mong format.
- Auto-advance ang anumang byes (e.g. para sa non-power-of-2 participant counts).
Lilipat ang tournament sa "ongoing" status, wala nang sign-ups na pwede. Makukuha ng players ang unang kalaban nila sa notifications feed.
Step 5, Match lifecycle
Every match in the bracket goes through a defined sequence of states. Knowing the states means knowing what action is required at each point.
May malinaw na lifecycle ang bawat match. Eto ang mga statuses na maaari mong makita sa bracket:
The 6 match states
| State | Meaning |
|---|---|
pending | Nagawa na, naghihintay na malaman ang both players. |
ongoing | Confirmed na ang both players, ongoing ang match sa Showdown. |
finished | Nai-record na ang winner, umusad na ang bracket. |
disputed | Nag-flag ng match ang isang player (o nag-expire ang deadline). Kailangang i-resolve ng host. |
forfeited | Sumuko ang isang player (self-forfeit) o ni-DQ ng host. Nai-record ang winner + advance. |
bye | Walang kalaban, auto-advance ang player. Karaniwan sa mga bracket na hindi power-of-2. |
Step 6, Auto-report results
Auto-report is the standard match-resolution flow: both players submit the result; if reports match, the match auto-finalizes. Disagreement flips the match into disputed state for host-resolve.
Ito ang killer feature sa Pokémon side, hindi mo kailangang manu-manong pumili ng winner. Kapag alam na ang dalawang players:
Auto-report flow
- Laruin ang match sa Pokémon Showdown gaya ng dati.
- Sa katapusan, i-click ang Save replay sa Showdown, makakakuha ka ng replay URL.
- Buksan ang match room sa Pokékipe (i-click ang match sa bracket) at i-paste ang URL sa Report result box.
- Kinukuha namin ang replay, vine-verify na tugma ang dalawang players sa expected pseudos at tugma ang format, ine-extract ang winner mula sa Showdown log, at sinasara ang match. Awtomatikong mag-a-advance ang bracket.
Kung hindi ang dalawang players ang ina-asahan namin (maling replay, naghalo ang pseudo) o hindi tugma ang format, ire-reject ang report na may malinaw na error message. Sa kasong yan, ulitin ang match o bumalik sa "Host resolve" kung hindi kayang ayusin ang incident.
In practice
Step 7, Disputes & forfeits
When auto-report fails (mismatched results), the match goes into disputed. Forfeit is when a player no-shows or concedes mid-match. Both end up at host-resolve.
Disputes
Pag naka-block ang match (no-show opponent, cheating suspicion, server issue, hindi pagkakasundo sa result), pwedeng i-dispute ng player o ng organizer. Lilipat sa `disputed` status ang match na may free-text reason. Frozen ito hangga't hindi nag-aarbitrate ang organizer via "Host resolve".
Forfeits
Gamitin ito kapag may kailangang umalis o hindi nag-show up. Dalawang variant:
- Mag-forfeit ang player: pwede lang nilang ideklara ang kalaban bilang winner. Mainam para sa self-withdrawal.
- Mag-forfeit ang host: pumili ng kahit sinong player bilang winner. Mainam para sa pag-DQ (rule violations, harassment, etc.).
Step 8, Host resolve
Host resolve is where the host (or co-host) makes the final call on a disputed match. Replay evidence, screenshots, witness reports, all considered, but the host decides. The decision is logged in the audit trail.
Pagkatapos ng dispute, o simpleng kapag hindi available ang auto-report, ang organizer lang ang pwedeng magsara ng match. I-click ang "Host resolve" sa match room, pumili ng winner mula sa dalawang players, at tapos.
Naka-log sa audit ang resolution na may user_id mo, timestamp at pinili na winner. Final ito: walang undo (by design, soberano ang arbitrage ng host).
Format rule
Step 9, Deadlines & chat
Match deadlines and tournament chat are the two communication tools that keep play moving. Use deadlines aggressively (slow players slow the whole bracket); use chat to broadcast announcements.
Match deadlines
Kung may configured timer ang tournament, bawat match na nagiging playable ay nakakakuha ng deadline = now + timer. Lumalabas ang countdown badge sa match sa bracket at sa match room.
Pag lumipas ang deadline, awtomatikong na-flag bilang disputed ang match na may reason na `deadline_exceeded`. Kailangan na ng organizer pumasok, mag-extend via fresh resolution, pumili ng winner, o i-cancel.
Tournament chat
May sariling chat room ang bawat match, kita lang ng dalawang players at ng organizer. Gamitin para mag-coordinate ng timing, i-share ang Showdown room URL, mag-report ng technical problem.
Lumalabas ang messages real time via server-sent events, hindi kailangang i-refresh. Napapanatili ang history pagkatapos ng match hanggang 30 days, para sa dispute reference.
Step 10, Standings & publication
Standings auto-update as matches finish. Once the final match resolves, standings are locked and the tournament is closed. Publication makes the bracket + standings publicly visible (or private depending on config).
Para sa round-robin at swiss brackets, may "Standings" panel na nagpapakita ng real-time position ng bawat player. Ang columns:
Standings columns
- Wins, matches won (kasama ang byes at received forfeits).
- Losses, matches lost (kasama ang self-forfeits at DQs).
- Nilaro, kabuuang mga laban na nagsara (hindi kasama ang byes).
- Pending, matches na hindi mo pa ginagawa sa round na ito.
Step 11, Grand final (double-elim only)
In double-elim, the grand final is special: the upper-bracket finalist has bracket advantage. If the lower-bracket finalist wins game 1, the bracket resets, they must win twice. Pokékipe handles this automatically.
Nagtatapos ang double-elim brackets sa grand final sa pagitan ng upper bracket champion (UB) at lower bracket champion (LB). Dumarating ang UB na may 0 losses, ang LB na may 1. Kaya nga may reset mechanic ang system.
Kung nanalo ang UB champion sa grand final → tapos ang tournament (0 losses pa rin). Kung nanalo ang LB champion → awtomatikong gagawa ng bracket reset match. Pareho na ngayong may 1 loss ang players. Ang totoong panalo ng second round na ito ang manalo sa tournament.
Worth knowing
Step 12, Edit, cancel, audit trail
Tournaments aren't immutable post-creation, edits before start are free; mid-bracket edits are constrained. Cancellation is final. Every host action is logged in an audit trail for transparency.
Edit + cancel
Habang ang tournament ay nasa draft o registration, pwedeng i-click ng organizer ang "Edit" sa detail page para i-adjust ang name, slug, description, visibility, bracket, cap, dates, at timer. Sinasadya na hindi editable ang Pokémon format pagkatapos ng creation, ang pagbabago nito ay magse-invalidate sa auto-report checks.
Format rule
Audit trail
Bawat sensitive organizer action (start, resolve, forfeit, cancel, edit) ay naka-log sa "Audit" tab. Kita lang ng organizer. May action type, author, timestamp at details, useful pag may player na nag-file ng claim o para sa post-mortem ng incident.
Where to go from here
Hosting is one half of the tournament loop. The other half is competing, see the player-side guides below.
- Tournaments FAQ, /faq/tournaments for the entry-point Q&A on the engine (what is it, can I use it, public vs private).
- Bo3 strategy, Bo3 Tournament Strategy for how to PLAY (vs. host) a Bo3.
- Match preparation, Match Preparation Workflow for player-side prep.
- Pokémon Champions, Pokémon Champions Era covers where Reg M-A community tournaments run.
- Live tools, Tournament engine, Pokémon Champions hub, your account.