Picks: Football
Picks is the captain layer on top of the main squad and tournament game. You hold a squad of players. Each tournament, you pick 5 of them as your lineup and 1 of those 5 as your Captain. The Captain gets a 1.5x score multiplier, and you earn a Picks Bonus on top of your normal tournament rewards.
Squad and tournament rewards work the same whether you play Picks or not. Picks is additive: it does not change Main Pool payouts, it adds a new bonus layer on top.
In the app
Navigation guide coming soon. This section will show you exactly where to find Picks in the app.
TL;DR
- Pick 5 players from your squad per tournament: 1 GK, 1 DEF, 1 MID, 1 FWD, 1 Flex (any position)
- Max 2 players from the same team
- Choose 1 of your 5 as Captain. Captain score is multiplied by 1.5x.
- A 100-point salary cap applies, with player salaries from 5 to 40
- All valid picks count toward your Picks score, your tournament rank, and your Skill Rating
- Picks Bonus rewards are a separate gate: only owned players that meet the Bonus Pool threshold pay you a bonus
- Everyone starts in the Challenger division at 3,000 SR. After the group stage you are ranked and split into leagues (Bronze to Elite) for the knockouts.
- Bronze and Silver earn Skill Rating only. Gold, Diamond, and Elite earn Picks Bonus rewards.
How Picks works
Each tournament, you build a 5-player lineup. The intended way to play is to pick from your own squad. That is also the only way to qualify for the Picks Bonus on each pick (see Loaned picks below).
You can mechanically pick any player in the active tournament, even ones you do not own. Picks from outside your squad still count toward your Picks score, your tournament rank, and your Skill Rating, but they pay no Picks Bonus and may carry an SR penalty in higher divisions.
Picks have rolling locks. A player locks the moment they enter the pitch. Until then you can swap them out.
Your Captain locks once their match has started.
Lineup rules
| Slot | Position |
|---|---|
| 1 | Goalkeeper (GK) |
| 2 | Defender (DEF) |
| 3 | Midfielder (MID) |
| 4 | Forward (FWD) |
| 5 | Flex (any position) |
Other rules:
- Max 2 players from the same team. This is a fixed contest rule.
- You need all 5 picks submitted to fully compete for rewards.
- You need a Captain to score the 1.5x multiplier.
Salary cap
Your 5 picks must fit within a 100-point salary cap. Individual player salaries range from 5 to 40.
Salary values are based on projected performance, not market price. They are fixed for the tournament.
Captain
Choose 1 of your 5 picks as Captain. Their score is multiplied by 1.5x.
You can change Captain at any point before that Captain's match starts. Once it starts, Captain is locked.
Pick the player you expect to score highest, not necessarily the most expensive.
Rolling locks
There is no single tournament-wide lock. Locks are per-player.
- Each player locks when they enter the pitch.
- Picks that are not yet locked can still be swapped.
- Picks that are locked cannot be changed.
- Captain locks when the Captain's match starts.
Divisions and Skill Rating
Picks uses a Skill Rating (SR) ladder. Each gameweek, your Picks Tournament Score is compared to the average score of your division. Score above the average and your SR goes up. Score below it and your SR goes down. Tied scores on the leaderboard are broken by higher SR.
WC 26 structure
- Everyone starts in the Challenger division at 3,000 SR. Challenger is the single starting division for the group stage, and is equivalent to the Gold division.
- You compete in Challenger through the group stage (GW1 to GW3).
- Participation bonus: in the group-stage gameweeks (GW1 to GW3) you earn a flat +50 SR on top of your normal SR change each gameweek, just for completing the gameweek. In the knockout gameweeks (GW4 to GW7) there is no participation bonus, so SR changes are formula-only.
- After the group stage, everyone is ranked by their combined Picks tournament score and split into leagues by that ranking: the top 5% into Elite, then down through Diamond, Gold, Silver, and Bronze.
- For the knockouts (GW4 to GW7) you compete in your assigned league. The Picks Bonus split below is by league, so the league you land in sets your reward tier for the rest of WC 26.
- No promotion or relegation. Once leagues are assigned, Free to Play does not move you between them, and there is no SR ladder clamp. You stay in your league no matter how high or low your SR goes.
- Joining late: if you join after the league assignment, you compete in the Bronze league.
Loaned picks
A loan is a pick that counts for your score but is not eligible for Bonus Pool rewards.
A pick is loaned if any of these are true:
- You do not own the player
- Your holding does not meet the Bonus Pool threshold (fewer than 100 shares of the player)
- The player is not tradeable
- The player is not eligible for the tournament
Loans still appear in your lineup. They still earn Picks score and count toward your rank and SR. They just do not pay Bonus Pool rewards.
Loan penalties in higher divisions
In Bronze and Silver, loaned picks have no penalty.
In Gold, Diamond, and Elite, loaned picks reduce your SR gain for that tournament. The penalty applies to your whole tournament SR change, not per pick.
| Loaned picks in lineup | SR penalty |
|---|---|
| 0 | 0% (no penalty) |
| 1 | -20% |
| 2 | -40% |
| 3 | -60% |
| 4 | -80% |
| 5 | -90% |
Loans also reduce your Bonus Pool reward (see Rewards below).
Bonus Pool eligibility
Bonus Pool eligibility is locked at submission. Once you submit your picks, that pick stays Bonus Pool eligible (or not) for the whole tournament. Releasing the player after submission does not retroactively remove eligibility. Price drops, injuries, and post-submission status changes do not change it either.
A pick is Bonus Pool eligible if you hold at least 100 shares of that player at submission. The 100-share threshold is flat across all players.
Rewards
Picks does not change Main Pool tournament rewards for holders. It adds a new ownership-linked reward layer on top.
How a rewarded player's prize is split
For each player that finishes in a rewarded placement (see Tournaments and Rewards), that player's prize is split:
| Pool | Default share | Who it pays |
|---|---|---|
| Main Pool | 90% | Holders of that player, by existing rules |
| Picks Bonus | 10% | Managers who picked that player and meet the rules below |
The split percentages can vary per tournament. Main Pool math is unchanged.
Picks Bonus split across divisions
The Picks Bonus share of each rewarded player is split across the higher divisions:
| Division | Share of Picks Bonus | Reward threshold |
|---|---|---|
| Bronze | 0% | None. SR only. |
| Silver | 0% | None. SR only. |
| Gold | 20% | Top 20% of full-picks managers in Gold |
| Diamond | 30% | Top 50% of full-picks managers in Diamond |
| Elite | 50% | All full-picks managers in Elite |
A full-picks manager is anyone who submitted a complete 5-player lineup for that tournament.
The reward threshold is the gate to receive any Picks Bonus from that division. Finish below the threshold and you earn nothing from the Picks Bonus that tournament.
If no one in a division picked a given player and met the rules, that division's share for that player is forfeit. It does not roll over to other divisions or other players.
How the division reward set is built
The division reward set is decided once per tournament, ranked by your overall Picks Tournament Score across all 5 picks. Ties are broken by SR. The same reward set is reused for every rewarded player. A single great pick cannot lift you into the reward set on its own.
How your Picks Bonus is calculated
For each rewarded player you picked, your share of that player's division slice is weighted by three multipliers:
- Rank multiplier. Linear ramp inside the division reward set. Rank 1 gets 3x, the bottom rank gets 1x.
- Shares of the picked player. Your share count in that player at reward time. More shares, bigger weight. This is the same lever the Main Pool uses, so Picks Bonus and Main Pool now reward share-holding consistently.
- Loan debuff. Reduces your weight based on how many loans are in your lineup: 1 loan keeps 80%, 2 keeps 60%, 3 keeps 40%, 4 keeps 20%, 5 keeps 10%.
Your share of that player's division slice is your weighted score divided by the sum of all weighted scores in the set. This calculation runs once per rewarded player.
If you Release shares of a picked player, the share count used in the formula drops with the Release. Signing shares back does not restore it. The count is locked at its lowest point since the player went on the pitch. Release all your shares and your weight on that pick is zero. You keep eligibility but earn no Picks Bonus on that player.
Per-pick outcomes
After settlement, each pick on your card shows one of:
- Paid. The pick earned a Picks Bonus.
- Loan at submission. The pick was a loan when you submitted, so it was never Bonus Pool eligible.
- Player not rewarded. The player did not finish in a rewarded placement.
- Division not rewarded. Your division does not earn Picks Bonus (Bronze and Silver).
- Outside reward threshold. You finished outside your division's reward threshold.
- No shares. Your share count in the picked player was zero at reward time.
Releasing a picked player
You can release a picked player at any time. Eligibility is decided at submission and does not flip after, but the bonus you receive does:
- The pick still scores for the tournament rank, leaderboard, and Skill Rating.
- Bonus Pool eligibility stays locked at whatever it was at submission.
- The Picks Bonus formula uses your share count in the picked player at reward time. Releasing shares of that player cuts your bonus weight on that pick in proportion.
- Signing shares back later does not restore the weight. The share count used in the formula only goes down, not back up.
- Release all your shares of that player and you earn no Picks Bonus on that pick. The pick still appears as Eligible (eligibility was locked at submission), but the share count multiplier is zero.
Missing a tournament
You will not lose SR for missing one tournament. There is a grace period.
Repeated non-participation results in zero score and SR consequences. Consistent participation matters for ladder progression.
Strategy notes
- Salary is based on projected performance. The cheapest players are not always the worst picks.
- Captain choice often matters more than the 5th pick. Pick the player you expect to score highest, not the highest salary.
- In Gold, Diamond, and Elite, loans hurt. Build a squad you can pick from, not just one you can hold.
- Once you have cleared the eligibility threshold, your Picks Bonus on each pick scales with the shares you actually hold in that player at reward time. Conviction now pays directly, the same way Main Pool does.
- Releasing a picked player mid-tournament directly cuts your bonus on that pick. Below the threshold, the pick was a loan to begin with. Above it, every share you Release is a share that no longer earns you Picks Bonus.
Common mistakes
- Picking players you do not own in Gold, Diamond, or Elite without realising they count as loans (no Bonus Pool, SR penalty)
- Forgetting the 2-per-team cap
- Submitting only 4 picks and missing the full-picks reward set
- Not setting a Captain and missing the 1.5x multiplier
- Releasing shares of a picked player and assuming the bonus is unaffected because the pick still shows Eligible. Eligibility locks at submission, but the formula uses your share count at reward time.
- Assuming Bonus Pool eligibility tracks live state. It locks at submission.