Rules & Help
The Final Fan — WC2026
The Basics
Pick Teams to Win
Simply Pick Teams. Be Smart → Underdogs are worth more but Favourites win more matches!
Stay in the Game
Win and Lose Lives → Just finish each Round Above Zero to Avoid Elimination
Be The Final Fan
Survive → Beat the World and Your Friends to be a WC Legend in 2026
Two Games to Play
10 Rounds— Full Tournament (Group Stage & Knockout Stages)
Sign up before Thu, Jun 11, 06:30 PM UTC to earn a Second Chance
Last entry: Thu, Jun 18, 03:30 PM UTC (No Second Chance)
7 Rounds — Knockout Stages Only (Round of 32 → Final)
Last entry: Sun, Jun 28, 06:30 PM UTC
The rules are the same. Game 2 just has fewer rounds and covers Knockout Stages only.
Sign up before the Round 2 deadline and you can play both games. Sign up after that, and you'll join the Knockout Stages Game only.
Use the buttons below to switch the rules view between games:
Rounds & Deadlines — Main Game
Rounds open as the previous round closes — see deadlines below:
| Round | Stage | Picks | Deadline |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Group | 12 | Thu, Jun 11, 06:30 PM UTC |
| 2 | Group | 12 | Thu, Jun 18, 03:30 PM UTC |
| 3 | Group | 12 | Wed, Jun 24, 06:30 PM UTC |
| 4 | R32 | 7 | Sun, Jun 28, 06:30 PM UTC |
| 5 | R32 | 9 | Wed, Jul 1, 03:30 PM UTC |
| 6 | R16 | 4 | Sat, Jul 4, 04:30 PM UTC |
| 7 | R16 | 4 | Mon, Jul 6, 06:30 PM UTC |
| 8 | QF | 4 | Thu, Jul 9, 07:30 PM UTC |
| 9 | SF | 2 | Tue, Jul 14, 06:30 PM UTC |
| 10 | Final | 1 | Sun, Jul 19, 06:30 PM UTC |
Lives Scoring — Group Stage (Rounds 1–3)
How It Works — Group Rounds (R1–R3)
In each Group Round, pick one team from each of the 12 groups to win their match that round.
Each pick has three possible outcomes:
The amount of lives won or lost depend on whether you picked the Favourite or Underdog (see table below).
| Your pick | Win | Draw | Lose |
|---|---|---|---|
| Favourite | +1 | 0 | −2 |
| Underdog | +2 | +1 | −1 |
⚡ Round 3 Update — Favourite + Draw = −1
For Round 3 only, a Favourite pick that ends in a Draw scores −1 instead of 0. All other values unchanged. Rounds 1 & 2 are unaffected.
Lives Scoring — Knockout Rounds (Rounds 4–10)
How It Works — Knockout Rounds
In each Knockout Round, pick a team from each match to advance to the next round. Your team must win in regulation time, extra time, or on penalties.
Each match has two possible outcomes:
The amount of lives won or lost depend on whether you picked the Favourite, Underdog, or Toss-Up (see table below).
| Your pick | Win | Lose |
|---|---|---|
| Favourite | +1 | −3 |
| Underdog | +3 | −1 |
| Toss-Up | +1 | −1 |
⚡ Knockout Scoring Update — Sharper Stakes
KO rounds use higher-variance scoring than Group Stage: Favourite wrong costs −3 lives, Underdog right earns +3. The Favourite/Toss-Up cliff at 55% matters more — a 54% team is Toss-Up (±1), a 56% team is Favourite (+1/−3).
Favourite, Underdog & Toss-Up
The team with a win probability above 55%, sourced from prediction data before each match.
The team with a win probability below 45%. Higher reward, higher risk.
When neither team is clearly favoured (favourite's win probability is below 55%). Knockout rounds only — both teams treated equally: +1 correct, −1 wrong.
Classifications are set from prediction data before each round's deadline. Please be aware these may shift as odds move — check the current classification before the deadline.
No-Repeat Rule
During the group stage (Rounds 1–3), you cannot pick the same team more than once across rounds. Choose carefully — your Round 1 pick is locked out for Rounds 2 and 3.
Example
You pick Brazil in Round 1. Brazil is now dimmed in Rounds 2 and 3 — you must pick a different team from their group.
Lives
- →* Game Rules are subject to change during the tournament depending on actual tournament outcomes — but will remain equal and fair to all.
- →Starting Lives for each Round will vary between Rounds and are subject to change. All Players will start on the same Default Starting Lives to ensure a level playing field. (This does not include extra Lives earned through Referral).
- →Lives reset at the start of each round — your lives from the previous round do not carry over.
- →Win and lose lives based on pick outcomes (see scoring table above).
- →Finish each round above zero lives to advance. Drop to zero or below and you're eliminated.
- →Lives are only updated after a match officially finishes — not during play.
Example round (Group Stage)
Pick Underdog → they win: +2 lives
Pick Favourite → they lose: −2 lives
Pick Underdog → they lose: −1 life
Net change: −1. Stay above zero by round end to survive.
Elimination
- →Finish each round above zero lives to advance. Drop to zero or below and you're eliminated.
- →If a higher than expected percentage of players finish rounds above zero lives, a discretionary percentage of players may be eliminated. This will be based on the finishing lives in the relevant round.
Referral Bonus
Earn +1 extra life by referring a friend who completes sign-up. There are three referral windows — the round you earn for depends on when your friend joins:
- →Round 1 bonus — friend signs up before the Round 1 deadline
- →Round 2 bonus — friend signs up before the Round 2 deadline
- →Round of 32 bonus (Game 1 Round 4 / Game 2 Round 1) — friend signs up before the Round of 32 deadline
You can earn one bonus per window. The Round 1 and 2 bonuses apply to Main Game lives. The Round of 32 bonus applies to both Main Game and Knockout Stages Game lives.
Second Chance
Sign up before Round 1 to earn a Second Chance. If you're eliminated in Rounds 1–5, you automatically re-enter the next round at that round's starting lives. You can only use it once, and the last possible re-entry is Round 6 (R16a).
Second Chance is Main Game only. There is no Second Chance in the Knockout Stages Game.
Late joiners: Players joining in Round 2 may still enter the Main Game, but your Second Chance is consumed on entry.
Friends Tourneys
Create a private tourney for friends, family, or colleagues. You can simply share a link which will let friends click and join automatically, or use your unique shareable 6-character PIN — anyone with the PIN can join. Track everyone's lives and standings in one place.
You can set up an optional private entry fee to create and track a Winners Pool should you wish. TheFinalFan.com has no involvement whatsoever in any fees, payments or transactions agreed by and between Friends. The Tourney Manager is the sole organiser. It is your responsibility to confirm that Friend pools are permitted where you live.
How to Win a Tourney
Different Friends groups will have their own rules on how they want to decide winners and potentially allocate a Winning Pool — that will likely depend on preferences and Tourney size. Ensure you speak to your Tourney Manager.
Our recommended approach (use should you wish):
The Winning Pool goes to the player(s) who survive to the latest possible stage (i.e. the latest possible stage is surviving the Final Round).
If 5 or fewer Fans are the last to be eliminated at the same stage, these Fans equally share the Pool.
If more than 5 Fans (6+) are the last to be eliminated at the same stage, the Tourney Manager returns the original entry fee to all.
If more than 5 Fans make it to the final possible stage, the Pool is shared equally (regardless of the number of surviving Fans).
Reminder: Friends Tourneys and Pools are an entirely private arrangement. TheFinalFan.com has no involvement in any way on the financial arrangements between Friends. Speak to your Tourney Manager to discuss any of these arrangements.
Becoming a Final Fan
To become a Final Fan you must do two things in the Final Round (Main Game Round 10 / Knockout Stages Game Round 7):
1. Make your own picks.Auto-picks don't count. If you miss the Final Round deadline and your pick is made automatically, you will not be a Final Fan — even if your team wins. (Using “Copy picks to Game 2” does count as your own pick.)
2. Survive the Final Round. Finish above zero lives, as in every other round.
Do both, in either game, and you're a Final Fan.
The Grand Prize
All Final Fans go into the draw for the Grand Prize — one latest generation iPhone 17e. The winner is selected at random from all Final Fans using a certified third-party random number generator, after the conclusion of the WC 2026 Final.
- Every Final Fan has an equal chance in the draw.
- Maximum one entry per person, whether you play one game or both.
- If no eligible Final Fan survives the Final Round, the draw will take place among all eligible players who made their own picks in the Final Round.
Full prize terms, eligibility and conditions: Prize Rules →
Prizes
See all details and Terms for Prizes here →
FAQs
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