How to create a custom competition: formats, sports and rules your way

Want to run a competition that matches your exact rules? Here you can create a custom competition by choosing the format, the sport, the points system and the tiebreak criteria. Chain phases together, set the privacy and share it with a link. Free and nothing to install.

What you can customise

From the format down to the last tiebreak rule, everything is configurable:

• Format: league (home-and-away or single round), cup with groups and a knockout, league + playoffs, straight knockout tournament, Swiss, McMahon or Americano.
• Combined phases: with the custom mode you chain groups, a league and a knockout in the same competition, deciding who qualifies from each phase.
• Any sport: football, basketball, padel, tennis, chess, esports and many more, as teams, individuals or pairs.
• Points and tiebreaks: set the points for a win, draw and loss, and order up to 9 tiebreak criteria (goal difference, head-to-head, fair play...).
• Privacy and capacity: public competition or invite-only with a join code, and a maximum number of teams or participants.

How to create your custom competition step by step

1. Create a free account. Sign up in under a minute; no card required.
2. Choose the format and the sport. League, cup, playoffs, knockout, Swiss, McMahon, Americano or a custom combination of phases.
3. Set the points and the tiebreaks. Define the points for each result and order the criteria that will decide ties.
4. Add teams or players and set the capacity. Set the maximum number of participants and, if you want, a join code to keep it private.
5. Generate the schedule and share the standings. The system builds the matches and the standings update on their own with every result.

Real example: a neighbourhood darts league with its own rules

A group of 8 friends sets up a double round-robin darts league with its own rulebook: 3 points for a win, 1 for a draw and 0 for a loss (some matches are single-leg and can end level). Before the first fixture they agree on a 3-level tiebreak order: 1) head-to-head, 2) leg difference, 3) legs won. By the end of the season two players are tied on 24 points. Since they played each other twice and each won once, head-to-head ends 1-1 and settles nothing, so it moves to the second criterion: player A has a leg difference of +14 and player B +9, so A is crowned champion. Without that order agreed in advance, the argument at the season's end would have been unavoidable.

Tips for setting up your custom competition well

• Agree the rules before the first fixture: set the points system and the tiebreak order before the first match is played, not once a tie is already on the table.
• Pick points that fit your sport: if your sport has no draws (sets, sudden-death games...), consider a win/loss-only system instead of forcing a value for a draw that will never happen.
• Order tiebreaks from least to most disputable: put head-to-head and overall difference first, and leave a draw or coin toss as the last resort, so it is rarely needed.
• Test the format with a small group before scaling it: if you are combining phases (groups + league + knockout), validate the schedule with a small group before opening it to more participants.
• Write the rules down and keep them visible: share the competition link with the points and tiebreak rules in plain sight so nobody discovers them mid-season.

Common mistakes when customising a competition

• Not fixing the tiebreaks until a tie already exists: deciding the criterion on the fly feels like it is being chosen to suit someone, and it creates disputes that are hard to resolve.
• Copying another sport's points system without adapting it: using 3-1-0 in a sport with no draws leaves that value unused; using win/loss-only in a sport with many draws puts too much weight on the tiebreaks.
• Changing the rules mid-season: changing the points or the tiebreak order after several matchdays invalidates the criterion the earlier matches were played under and breaks the group's trust.
• Forgetting the participant limit or privacy setting: a public competition with no join code can fill up with people outside your group; set the capacity and privacy before sharing the link.

How this differs from a fixed-preset format

The other guides on this site are built around one specific mechanism: the Swiss system for chess, McMahon for go, Americano for padel, or a knockout bracket for a straight elimination tournament. This custom option is what you pick when none of those presets fit your case as-is: a neighbourhood league with its own rules, an esports tournament with a tiebreak based on map difference, or a championship for a niche sport that has no standard format anywhere. Here you combine format, sport, points and tiebreaks to your own measure instead of bending your competition to fit an already-closed mechanism.

Frequently asked questions

Which formats can I choose as a base?

League (with or without a return leg), cup with groups and a knockout, league + playoffs, straight knockout tournament, Swiss, McMahon and Americano, plus a custom mode to combine phases.

Can I combine several formats in one competition?

Yes, with the custom mode you can chain a group stage, a league and a knockout, deciding how many qualify from each phase.

How do I choose the points system if my sport isn't football?

You set the points for a win, draw and loss, or win/loss only if your sport has no draws, like volleyball or basketball scored by sets. You can use 3-1-0 football-style, 2-0 sets-style, or your own value for racquet sports or darts.

In what order are the tiebreak criteria applied if three or more teams are level?

In the order you defined, and each criterion is recalculated only among the teams still tied after the previous one: if the first (say, head-to-head) does not separate all three, it moves to the second, and so on up to 9 levels.

Can I change the points or tiebreaks mid-season?

Technically yes, but it is not advisable: changing the rules after several matchdays invalidates the criterion under which the earlier matches were played. It is best to fix them before the first match and leave them untouched until the end.

What if my sport has no typical criterion like cards?

You simply leave it out of your list: you choose only the tiebreak criteria that make sense for your sport, such as points difference, head-to-head or points scored, and order them however you like, without needing to use all 9 available.

What "non-standard" sports is this custom option good for?

It is ideal for neighbourhood leagues with their own rules, esports tournaments with a tiebreak based on map difference, darts championships, team quiz or trivia nights, or any niche sport that does not fit a standard preset.

Is it free?

Yes, you can create and manage your custom competition for free, with live standings, schedule and statistics.

Create your custom competition now

Set up the competition you need, with your own rules, in minutes. Create your free account or explore the competitions to see how it works.