How Tournler works

For organizers

Creating and starting tournaments currently needs a staff role (tournament admin or admin).

1. Pick a format

   • Single elimination. Losers are out. The two semifinal losers play a 3rd-place match.
   • Double elimination. A winners and a losers bracket that meet in a grand final. Needs at least 4 teams.
   • Round robin. Every team plays every other team once, ranked in a standings table.

2. Open registration

   Teams register themselves from the tournament page until the start time or until every slot is taken. A tournament needs at least 2 registered teams to start.

3. Start it, or let it start itself

   Start a tournament from its page with Start tournament. The confirmation shows the registered teams against capacity before anything happens. If you don't, a scheduled check starts it once its start time has passed, so it can begin a few minutes late.

   Starting locks the teams, generates the bracket and creates every match.

4. Servers are handled for you

   Each match gets a CS2 dedicated server from Tournler's pool, configured through MatchZy. About 5 minutes before a match's scheduled start, the server is loaded with that match so players can connect and warm up. You never hand out IPs or passwords.

   Only as many matches can run at once as there are servers in the pool.

5. Scores come from the server

   A match goes live when the game server reports that the series has started. The server reports the score as it happens. When a series ends, the winner advances in the bracket automatically and player stats are recorded.

6. Step in from the match room

   Admins can pause, resume, restart or end a match from its match page. Those controls send real commands to the server. If the server fails to report a score, an admin can enter it by hand there.

For players

1. Sign in

   Sign in with Steam, Discord or an email link.

2. Link your Steam account

   You need a linked Steam account to connect to match servers. The server knows you by it. Link it from your profile if you signed in another way. It also lets your profile show your FACEIT level, if you have one.

3. Put a team together

   Go to Teams to create a team and invite your teammates.

4. Register for a tournament

   Open a tournament from Tournaments and register your team while registration is open. The bracket and your matches appear once the tournament starts.

5. Ban and pick maps

   Before the match, both teams take turns banning and picking maps from the tournament's map pool on the match page. The match can't start until the veto is done.

6. Connect when your server is ready

   The match page tells you when your server is ready, about 5 minutes before the start. It then shows the server address, a button that launches CS2 and connects you, and a button that copies the console command. Join early to warm up.

Pickup matches work without teams: join a side from the match page, up to 5 players each, with no map veto.