June 11 – July 19, 2026 · USA · Canada · Mexico
The 2026 World Cup
Bracket Challenge
Pick all 72 group stage matches, populate your elimination bracket, and chase your friends and family on the live leaderboard. Bragging rights for the next four years.
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$5 to play
Send $5 via PayPal (mikelars@gmail.com) or Venmo (@Michael-Larson-364). Your bracket is marked Paid on the leaderboard once confirmed.
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Lock in by June 10
All picks must be submitted before the first kickoff: Mexico vs South Africa, June 11, 1:00 PM CDT. Edits allowed any time before then.
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Scoring builds
MD1 = 1 pt · MD2 = 2 pts · MD3 = 3 pts · R32 = 4 · R16 = 5 · QF = 6 · SF = 7 · Final = 8. Tiebreaker: total Final goals (reg + OT, no PKs).
Prize pool
Top 3 win the pot
From the pooled $5 entries paid to PayPal:
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1st place
60% of the pot
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2nd place
30% of the pot
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3rd place
10% of the pot
Full pot to the top 3. No house cut.
How it works
- 1. Pick every group stage match. Win, lose, or tie — for all 72 matches across 12 groups. Each match worth 1, 2, or 3 points by matchday.
- 2. Set your group finishers. Pick your predicted 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in each group. Then choose which 8 of the 12 third-placers advance.
- 3. Fill in the elimination bracket. Round of 32 through Final — pick the winner of every game and the Final goal total tiebreaker.
- 4. Watch the leaderboard climb. Mike enters official results as games end. The standings auto-update.