Road to the Final
Three predictions per match, each scored on its own: the winner, the exact score, and how it ends. Bold calls pay more, and a correctly-backed underdog pays a bonus.
The Road to the Final is scored on its own system, separate from the full brackets and the Knockout Stage, and it rewards bold calls. A correct winner pays the round's pick value, plus an underdog bonus when the team you backed was the lower-ranked side. An exact score adds a bonus on top of a correct winner. And a correct finish call pays by rarity, even when your winner was wrong: a 90-minute finish is the safe call, penalties the bold one.
| Round | Correct winner | Underdog bonus | Exact-score bonus | Finish call 90' / ET / pens | Max per match |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quarter-Final (4 games) | 40 | +20 | +20 | +5 / +15 / +20 | 80 |
| Semi-Final (2 games) | 80 | +40 | +40 | +10 / +30 / +40 | 160 |
| Bronze Final (1 game) | 40 | +20 | +20 | +5 / +15 / +20 | 80 |
| Final (1 game) | 160 | +80 | +80 | +20 / +60 / +80 | 320 |
A perfect bracket scores 1,040 points before underdog bonuses; every correctly-called upset pays on top. "Max per match" counts the boldest finish call (penalties). Point values were finalized on July 8, 2026, before the first quarter-final.
Picks lock when the Semi-Finals begin, so you can enter and edit all through the quarter-final weekend. To keep it fair, each quarter-final also locks individually the moment it kicks off, and a match that had already kicked off when you created your bracket earns no points, since its result was already under way. Any match that had not started yet still counts in full.
Every match pays out on three independent predictions, and conviction pays extra. A correct winner is worth 40 points in a quarter-final, rising to 160 for the final, with a further underdog bonus when the winner you called was the lower-ranked team. Nailing the exact end-of-play score adds a bonus on top of a correct winner, and correctly calling how the match ends pays by how bold the call is: penalties pays the most, a 90-minute finish the least.
The score at the end of play, including extra time if the match goes there. A penalty shootout does not change the scoreline: a 1-1 match decided on penalties counts as 1-1. The exact-score bonus only pays when you also picked the correct winner.
No. The finish call is scored on its own, weighted by rarity: in a quarter-final a correct 90-minute call pays 5, extra time 15, and penalties 20. If you predicted penalties and the match goes to penalties, you earn that bonus even if the wrong team won the shootout.
When the winner you correctly picked was ranked below their opponent in the FIFA world ranking, you earn an extra half of the pick value: 20 in a quarter-final up to 80 in the final. Rankings are frozen on the June 11, 2026 FIFA edition for the whole challenge, so the bonus is judged the same way for everyone from the first quarter-final to the final.
A match that had already kicked off when you created your bracket earns no points, since its result is already under way. Every match that has not started yet still counts in full, so the sooner you are in, the more you can score.
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