How to use consolation matches on Challonge.com

Consolation matches are ONLY available for single & double elimination bracket formats.

First, lets define what consolation matches are

Consolation matches are used to give participants who lose in early rounds of tournaments a more enjoyable experience. It sucks to be excited for a tournament, lose in round 1 and have nothing else do to that evening. With consolation matches, hosts can guarantee a minimum number of matches to their participants.

Think of these matches, as scrimmages. They have no effect on placement or community ratings. They're just an extra match or two to keep your community engaged after getting knocked out early.

1) To set up consolation matches, your tournament must have begun. Click 'Start the Tournament'
NOTE: if you're hosting a two-stage bracket, consolation matches are only available in the final stage and not the group stage.

2) With the tournament 'in progress, navigate to the left menu panel on the bracket. Click 'Consolation Matches'.



3) You'll be prompted to create a 'New Consolation Match'. Click the orange button.

From this menu, you can..
a) Either select a players' name from the dropdown or...
b) Select the loser of a particular match.

For our purposes, we're going to select the losers of a match because we want each player to get at least 2 matches in.



4) Go ahead and create as many consolation matches as you want in your tournament now. For our purpose, we'll have 4 consolation matches since there are 8 matches in round 1 and each will have a loser.



Now, your bracket page will automatically generate the matchups you entered.



Remember, these additional matches do not impact standings or community ratings/elo. These are just "extra" matches you're able to provide your participants to keep them engaged after they are out of the bracket.

Updated on: 06/06/2024