Configure tiebreakers and scoring rules

When you set up a pool, you choose how points are awarded and how the app should break ties before anyone submits a pick. Both live in the same setup flow, so it's worth deciding on them before you share the pool link, since players are working off the rules as soon as they join.

Scoring options

On the pool creation screen, after you've picked the tournament, named the pool, and chosen a predictions type, work down to the scoring section. What you see there depends on the pool type:

• Flat scoring. Every correct pick is worth the same, whether it's a straight winner pick or a correct result. This is the default for pick'em-style pools.
• Weighted scoring. Assign different point values to different stages or rounds, so a later round of a bracket, or the run-in matchdays of a season-long league, count for more than an early one.
• Bonus scoring. Add extra points on top of the base score for specific outcomes, such as calling an upset correctly, nailing the exact score of a match rather than just the winner, or predicting the group standings in the right order.
• Champion pick. If your pool includes a pick for the eventual overall winner, set how many points that pick is worth on its own. Leave it at zero and the champion pick is effectively switched off.

If your pool includes score predictions rather than just winner picks, you'll also see separate point values for getting the winner right and for calling the exact score, since those are graded independently.

You're not locked into whatever you pick here. Scoring rules can be changed later from the pool's settings if you realize the weighting is off or you want to turn on a bonus you skipped, though it's best to lock them in before players start submitting picks so nobody's working off numbers that later change under them.

Tiebreakers

Every pool type handles ties differently, so set this before the first picks lock:

• Survivor pools let you decide what happens when more than one player is still alive at the end, or everyone busts out in the same week. Leave the tiebreaker off and the remaining survivors share the win, which is the default and how most pools run it. Turn on the margin tiebreaker instead, and the app ranks survivors by the combined winning margin of every correct pick they made, so someone who edged out narrow wins doesn't beat someone who called blowouts. Related to this: you can also decide separately whether a tied game counts as a loss for that week's pick (the default) or lets the player survive.
• Bracket pools typically settle ties with a predicted total score for the championship game, closest guess without going over. Some groups also break ties on the number of upsets called correctly or the best single-region performance, if your pool has that option enabled.
• Golf pools can settle a tied lineup by best single golfer's finish, total birdies, or a predicted winning score submitted before the event starts.
• Confidence-style weekly pools rarely need a tiebreaker at all, since two players landing on the exact same total is uncommon when every pick carries a different point value. If it does happen, the tied players share the position unless your group has agreed its own decider.

Whatever rule you choose, set it once during setup and the app applies it automatically when a tie actually occurs. There's no manual step at the end of the season, you won't need to work it out by hand when the standings come down to it.