Your first tournament on Rankly, in 10 steps

The simple version. From your phone, without ever having used Rankly. Anything you don’t need the first time has been left out.

First, four words

Tournament
The whole day: who registers, who plays, who wins.
Groups
Part one. Players are split into groups and play a few matches each: every round Rankly pairs players with roughly the same points (this is called “Swiss”).
Bracket
Part two. The best players from the groups play knockout: whoever loses is out, all the way to the final.
Phase
Each of the two parts. You start it with one tap, “Start phase”.
Registration→Check-in→Groups→Bracket→Podium

Is your club affiliated with ProBladers Italia? Don’t create your own organisation in step 2: PBI opens the club for you with an invitation email, for free. Follow the full guide Il primo torneo del tuo club (in Italian).

  1. 1
    on Rankly

    Sign in with Google or Discord

    Go to rankly.it and tap “Sign in”, then “Continue with Google” (or Discord). No password to make up.

    The first time it asks for your nickname: type the one people know you by at tournaments and tap “Continue”.

  2. 2
    on Rankly

    Tell Rankly you want to organise

    When asked “What brings you to Rankly?” choose “I want to run my own tournaments”, then give your organisation a name (your club, your shop, your group) and tap “Create organisation”.

    There’s a 14-day free trial, then the subscription: you see it written before you confirm. Clubs affiliated with ProBladers Italia skip this step: read the box at the top.

    What brings you to Rankly?
    I want to play in tournaments
    I want to run my own tournaments
    Continue →
  3. 3
    on Rankly

    Tap “+ New tournament” and fill in three things

    • Name: what you call it on the poster.
    • Date and time the matches start.
    • How many spots (“Player cap”): anyone who comes later goes on the waiting list.
    New tournament
    Tournament name Saturday Cup
    Start date 14/11 · 15:00
    Player cap 32
  4. 4
    on Rankly

    Keep the recommended structure and tap “Create tournament”

    In “Tournament structure” “Swiss + final bracket (recommended)” is already selected: groups first, bracket after. That’s perfect to start with, and you can adjust the numbers later.

    If there’s an entry fee, enter it in “Entry fee”; if you have a venue, search for it in “Venue”. You can ignore the rest.

  5. 5
    on Rankly

    Tap “Publish and open registration”

    It’s the button at the top of the tournament page. Until now the tournament was an invisible draft: now it exists for everyone.

  6. 6
    on Rankly

    Tap “Share” and send the link

    Paste it in the WhatsApp group, on Telegram, on Instagram. Whoever opens it taps “Register me”, signs in with Google and lands on the list. You see them arrive in the “Players” tab.

    Someone doesn’t have their phone at hand? Add them yourself from “Players”, even with just a name.

    Saturday Cup
    Registration open · 14 Nov
    Share
    Players17 / 32
  7. 7
    on the day

    “Close registration and open check-in”, then mark who’s there

    At the entrance desk, tap “Present” next to each person who arrives. Anyone who wasn’t on the list, add with “Add and check in”. The groups form by themselves.

  8. 8
    on the day

    “▶ Start the tournament”, then “Start phase”

    The first tap closes the desk (anyone who didn’t show up is out of the competition). The second, in “Phases & matches”, creates the pairings: it shows you a summary and you tap “Start the phase”.

  9. 9
    on the day

    Enter the results with the pencil

    Next to each match there’s a pencil: tap it, enter the points, “Save score”. When a round is fully entered, the next round starts by itself. Once the groups are done, “Start phase” on the bracket, and the pencil again.

    Entered a wrong score? Same pencil, correct it, “Confirm”.

    GROUP A · ROUND 1
    Orso4 – 1Pixel✎
    LampovsNuvola✎
  10. 10
    at the end

    You don’t have to do anything: the tournament closes by itself

    With the last result of the final the tournament becomes “Finished” and the standings appear on the public page. You also find them in the “Stats” tab, with the podium and the awards.

When wins are tied: OMW% strict and OOMW%

In the groups, whoever won the most matches goes through. If two players are tied, the “Ranked PBI” preset looks at who faced stronger opponents:

If it’s still a tie: points difference, then head-to-head.

Done

That’s all you need. When you want more (referees, numbered tables, Telegram notifications, spots reserved for staff), you’ll find every detail in the Guide inside Rankly.

If you get stuck

I can’t find the button to open registration
It’s at the top of the tournament page, called “Publish and open registration”. If it isn’t there, the tournament is already open.
“Start phase” is greyed out
First you need to tap “▶ Start the tournament” (step 8). If it’s greyed out mid-day, a result is still missing in the groups.
I made a mistake creating the tournament
While it’s a draft nobody can see it: edit or delete it from the “⋮ More actions” menu.