How Tournaments Work

A complete guide to every step of a tournament — from signing up to having a winner declared. Read this before your first match so you're never confused.

Before the Tournament

Register

Go to a tournament page and click Register. You must have your Epic Games account linked in Settings — this verifies who you are and prevents alt accounts.

You can register solo (for 1v1) or as a team. For team tournaments, your team captain registers the team and picks the roster from your team members.

✓ Register early — tournaments fill up and close registration before they start.

Wait for the organizer to start

Once registration closes, the organizer starts the tournament. This generates the bracket automatically. You'll get an in-app notification when it starts.

You can watch the bracket at any time from the tournament page — no account needed to spectate.

During the Tournament

Check In to your match

⏱ 15 minutes

When your match is ready, a 15-minute check-in window opens. You'll see a banner at the top of every page showing your match and what to do.

Go to your match page and click Check In Now. If you're in a team, only the team captain can check in — make sure your captain is available.

⚠ If neither team checks in within 15 minutes, the winner is decided by coinflip. If only your team checks in, you win automatically — don't miss this.

✓ The first team to check in becomes the Lobby Creator. The second team becomes the Joiner. It doesn't affect the outcome, just who sets up the private match.

Create the Private Match (Lobby Creator)

⏱ 5 minutes

If your team checked in first, you are the Lobby Creator. You have 5 minutes to create the private match in Rocket League and verify it on the site.

Open Rocket League → Play → Private Match → Create
Enter the Room Name and Password shown on your match page exactly as written
Set the region to the tournament region shown on the match page — this is important
Once created, return to your match page and click I've Created the Lobby

⚠ If you don't verify within 5 minutes, the other team wins automatically. Don't create the lobby and forget to verify on the site.

Join the Private Match (Joiner)

⏱ 5 minutes

If you're the Joiner, wait for the creator to verify they've set up the lobby. Once they do, your match page will show the room credentials and prompt you to join.

Open Rocket League → Play → Private Match → Join
Enter the Room Name and Password from your match page
Once you're in the lobby, return to your match page and click I've Joined the Lobby

⚠ If you don't join and verify within 5 minutes of the creator verifying, the creator's team wins automatically.

Play the match

⏱ 2 hours max

Once both teams have verified, the match is live. Play your series (Best of 3, 5, or 7 — check your match page).

The banner at the top of the site will show you're in an active match. The match page shows how much time is left.

⚠ If no results are submitted within 2 hours of both teams joining, the winner is decided by coinflip. Keep your matches moving — don't take long breaks mid-series.

Submit your result

⏱ 20 minutes for the other team to respond

After the series ends, both teams independently submit their scores. Go to the match page, enter the final score, upload at least one screenshot of the scoreboard, and hit Submit.

If both teams report the same winner → result is confirmed automatically
If scores differ → a conflict is flagged and the organizer reviews the screenshots
If the other team doesn't submit within 20 minutes → your result is auto-confirmed

✓ Always take a screenshot of the final series score before leaving. This is your proof if there's a dispute.

⚠ If you submit the wrong score, contact the tournament organizer immediately via the ticket system on your match page.

Advance or be eliminated

Winners advance to the next round. The bracket updates automatically and your next match page appears with a new check-in window. The whole process repeats.

For double elimination, losers drop to the losers bracket and get another chance.

Timer Summary

Stage	Time limit	If time runs out
Check-in	15 minutes	Neither checks in → coinflip. One checks in → that team wins.
Create lobby	5 minutes	Creator team forfeits. Other team wins.
Join lobby	5 minutes	Joiner team forfeits. Creator team wins.
Play & submit results	2 hours	Coinflip determines winner.
Other team confirms result	20 minutes	First team's submitted result is auto-confirmed.

Need Help During a Match?

If something goes wrong — wrong server region, opponent is unresponsive, technical issue — use the Report an Issue button on your match page. This sends a ticket directly to the tournament organizer.

You can also request a timer extension through a ticket. If an organizer responds in time, they can manually intervene. If no one responds, timers run as normal.

Join the Outmatched Discord for live support during events.

✓ The banner at the top of every page always shows exactly what you need to do next and how much time you have. If you're unsure, check there first.