# 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.
* Two play modes: **Free to Play (FTP)** has no salary cap. **PRO** has a 100-point salary cap 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, in-contract** players that meet the Bonus Pool threshold pay you a bonus
* Promotion through 5 divisions: Bronze, Silver, Gold, Diamond, Elite
* 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.

***

### FTP vs PRO

Both modes play the same 5-pick game. They differ in salary cap and Bonus Pool eligibility.

|                        | FTP                                   | PRO                                                                                 |
| ---------------------- | ------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Salary cap             | None                                  | 100 points across 5 picks                                                           |
| Player salary range    | N/A                                   | 5 to 40 per player                                                                  |
| Picks score            | Full                                  | Full                                                                                |
| Tournament rank        | Yes                                   | Yes                                                                                 |
| Skill Rating           | Yes                                   | Yes                                                                                 |
| Bonus Pool eligibility | Hold ≥100 shares of the picked player | Picked player worth ≥1.5% of your tournament squad value or a minimum value of $500 |

Salary values in PRO 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 per sport. Football SR is separate from NFL SR.

Everyone starts at **1,000 SR** in Bronze.

| Division | SR band        |
| -------- | -------------- |
| Bronze   | 1,000 to 2,000 |
| Silver   | 2,000 to 3,000 |
| Gold     | 3,000 to 4,000 |
| Diamond  | 4,000 to 5,000 |
| Elite    | 5,000+         |

Your Picks Tournament Score is compared to the average score of your division. Score above your division's average and your SR goes up. Score below it and your SR goes down. Cross a division band and you promote or relegate.

Tied scores on the leaderboard are broken by higher SR.

***

### 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
* You own the player but they are out of contract
* The player is benched
* Your holding does not meet the Bonus Pool threshold: FTP requires at least 100 shares, while PRO requires either 1.5% of your squad value or a minimum of $500.
* 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 modifier applies to your whole tournament SR change, not per pick.

<table><thead><tr><th width="195">Loaned picks in lineup</th><th>SR modifier</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>0</td><td>100%</td></tr><tr><td>1</td><td>80%</td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td>60%</td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td>40%</td></tr><tr><td>4</td><td>20%</td></tr><tr><td>5</td><td>10%</td></tr></tbody></table>

Loans also reduce your Bonus Pool reward (see Rewards below).

{% hint style="warning" %}
If a player is selected as a loan for your lineup, and then the manager fixes the reason it was a loan player, e.g. bought more shares or renewed contract. You will need to remove and re-pick the player for them to be considered reward eligible.
{% endhint %}

***

### 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.

#### FTP rule

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.

#### PRO rule

To be Bonus Pool eligible, a picked player must be worth either 1.5%+ of your tournament squad snapshot value or $500+ at submission.

#### Tournament squad snapshot

Your **tournament squad snapshot** is the total value of players you own that are playing in this tournament:

* Includes players you own who have a fixture in this tournament
* Includes both in-contract and benched players
* Excludes players you do not own
* Excludes players with no fixture in this tournament

Benching does not reduce the snapshot. This stops you from benching assets to push your conviction percentage up.

The snapshot is taken once per tournament, at a configurable time around tournament start.

***

### 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:

<table><thead><tr><th width="190">Pool</th><th width="170">Default share</th><th>Who it pays</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Main Pool</td><td>90%</td><td>Holders of that player, by existing rules</td></tr><tr><td>Picks Bonus</td><td>10%</td><td>Managers who picked that player and meet the rules below</td></tr></tbody></table>

#### Picks Bonus split across divisions

The Picks Bonus share of each rewarded player is split across the higher divisions:

<table><thead><tr><th width="108">Division</th><th width="207">Share of Picks Bonus</th><th>Reward threshold</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Bronze</td><td>0%</td><td>None. SR only.</td></tr><tr><td>Silver</td><td>0%</td><td>None. SR only.</td></tr><tr><td>Gold</td><td>20%</td><td>Top 20% of full-picks managers in Gold</td></tr><tr><td>Diamond</td><td>30%</td><td>Top 50% of full-picks managers in Diamond</td></tr><tr><td>Elite</td><td>50%</td><td>All full-picks managers in Elite</td></tr></tbody></table>

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 by 20% per loan in your lineup. 1 loan = 80%, 2 loans = 60%, and so on.

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.

***

### 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.&#x20;

***

### Missing a tournament

You will not lose SR for missing one tournament. There is a one tournament grace period.

Repeated non-participation results in zero score and SR consequences. Consistent participation matters for ladder progression.

***

### Strategy notes

* In PRO, 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.


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