A World Cup sweepstake with a twist
Instead of randomly drawing teams from a hat, players compete in a secret auction to build their own portfolio of World Cup teams.
Once the tournament begins, your teams compete for a share of the prize pot across six prize categories.
The goal isn't simply to own the World Cup winner. The goal is to spot the best value.
Ewie's Cup in 60 seconds
Bid on teams
Submit secret bids for any World Cup teams you want to own. Highest bid wins. You only pay if you win. All bids are private.
Own your teams
Once bidding closes, those teams belong to you for the entire tournament. You can own one team or several.
Watch the tournament
As your teams progress through the World Cup, they become eligible for prizes.
Win a share of the pot
Prizes pay out across six categories. A single team can win multiple prizes.
| Prize | Share of pot |
|---|---|
| Tournament Winner | 50% |
| Runner Up | 10% |
| Dark Horse | 15% |
| Giant Killer | 5% |
| Group Stage Top Goalscorer | 5% |
| Wooden Spoon | 15% |
A team may win multiple prizes.
How bidding works
Players submit the maximum amount they are willing to pay for each team. All bids are sealed. The highest bidder wins the team and pays exactly what they bid. Everyone else pays nothing.
Example
Three players bid on England:
| Player | Bid | Pays |
|---|---|---|
| Sarah | £12 | £0 |
| Tom | £18 | £0 |
| James | £25 | £25 — wins England |
James wins England and pays £25 into the prize pot. Sarah and Tom pay nothing.
Multiple teams
Players can bid on as many teams as they like. For example:
- • England £25
- • Japan £8
- • Mexico £5
- If the player wins all three, they own all three and pay £38 in total.
The money rules
Maximum spend — £75
Each player has a maximum bidding budget of £75. The total value of all winning bids cannot exceed £75, except in the specific all-in tie-break scenario described below. This keeps the competition balanced and prevents one player from buying all the favourites.
Minimum contribution — £10
Every player must contribute at least £10 to the prize pot. If a player's winning bids total less than £10 after a round, they must bid the shortfall in the next round.
Example
Round 1: Brazil £10 (lost), Japan £4 (won), Ghana £3 (won) → total contribution £7.
In Round 2, the player must bid at least £3 across the remaining available teams. Once winning bids total £10 or more, the requirement is satisfied.
Bid increments
All bids must be made in whole pounds.
Multiple rounds
Not every team will be sold in Round 1. Teams move into later rounds if nobody bids on them, or a playoff fails to produce a winner. Only unsold teams are available in later rounds.
Rounds continue until every team has an owner, all players reach the £75 cap, or the organiser closes bidding. Default maximum: 5 rounds. Any teams still unsold remain unowned and are not eligible for prizes.
Tied bids
If two or more players submit the highest bid for a team:
- 1. A playoff round is created.
- 2. The original tied bid becomes the minimum bid.
- 3. Tied players may increase their bids.
- 4. The highest bid wins.
If players remain tied, additional playoff rounds may be held. If nobody increases their bid, the team returns to the next general bidding round.
All-in tie break
Sometimes two or more players may use their entire remaining budget on the same team. For example, Sarah and James each have £12 remaining and both bid £12. Neither can legally raise without exceeding the £75 limit.
In this situation, the spending limit is temporarily removed for that playoff only. Tied players continue bidding against each other until someone wins.
This rule exists purely to break deadlocks and ensure every team can eventually be sold.
Six ways to win
Tournament Winner
Owner of the team that wins the FIFA World Cup Final.
Runner Up
Owner of the team that loses the FIFA World Cup Final.
Dark Horse
Highest-finishing owned team outside the pre-tournament Top 9 favourites.
Giant Killer
Team responsible for the tournament's biggest seeding upset.
Group Stage Top Goalscorer
Team that scores the most goals during the group stage only. Knockout and penalty shootout goals do not count.
Wooden Spoon
Worst-performing team in the tournament.
Tournament Winner — 50%
Awarded to the owner of the team that wins the FIFA World Cup Final.
If the World Cup winner is unowned, the Tournament Winner prize is awarded to the owner of the Runner Up.
If both finalists are unowned, the Tournament Winner prize is redistributed proportionally across the remaining prize categories.
Runner Up — 10%
Awarded to the owner of the team that loses the FIFA World Cup Final.
If the Runner Up is unowned, this prize is redistributed proportionally across the remaining prize categories.
Dark Horse — 15%
Awarded to the highest-finishing owned team outside the pre-tournament Top 9 favourites.
Top 9 favourites
Argentina · France · England · Brazil · Spain · Germany · Portugal · Netherlands · Belgium
This list is locked before bidding begins.
If two or more eligible teams finish in the same round, use these tie-breakers:
- Most goals scored in that round.
- Best goal difference in that round.
- Most knockout-stage goals.
- Best knockout-stage goal difference.
- Most group-stage goals.
- Best group-stage goal difference.
- Prize shared equally.
Group Stage Top Goalscorer — 5%
Awarded to the owned team that scores the most goals during the group stage. Only group-stage goals count. Knockout goals do not count. Penalty shootout goals do not count.
Tie-breakers:
- Most group-stage goals.
- Best group-stage goal difference.
- Most group-stage wins.
- Prize shared equally.
Giant Killer — 5%
Awarded to the owned team responsible for the tournament's biggest upset victory. This celebrates the shock result that nobody saw coming — the underdog that takes down one of the tournament favourites.
The official calculation method is fixed before bidding begins and remains unchanged throughout the tournament.
Technical definition
- • Calculated using the FIFA Men's World Ranking snapshot dated 31/05/2026.
- • Upset score = defeated team's FIFA ranking position − winning team's FIFA ranking position.
- • The largest positive upset score wins.
- • Only matches won in normal time or extra time count.
- • Penalty shootout wins do not count as Giant Killer victories.
Tie-breakers:
- Later tournament round.
- Bigger winning margin.
- More goals scored by the winning team.
- Prize shared equally.
Wooden Spoon — 15%
Awarded to the lowest-performing owned team in the tournament.
Tie-breakers:
- Fewest group-stage points.
- Worst group-stage goal difference.
- Fewest group-stage goals scored.
- Lower FIFA ranking.
- Prize shared equally.
Unowned teams
Unowned teams are not eligible for any prize category. If an unowned team would otherwise win a prize, the prize is awarded according to the relevant fallback or tie-break rules.
A winning scenario
Imagine a player wins Japan in the auction. During the tournament:
- Japan reaches the Semi-Finals.
- Japan defeats France in the Quarter-Finals.
- Japan scores more group-stage goals than any other owned team.
Japan could win Dark Horse, Giant Killer, and Group Stage Top Goalscorer — one team, three prizes.
Quick FAQs
Do I pay for bids I lose?
No. Players only pay for teams they successfully win.
Can I own multiple teams?
Yes. Players can own as many teams as their budget allows.
Can multiple players own the same team?
No. Each team can only have one owner.
Can a team win multiple prizes?
Yes. Owners receive all applicable prize payouts.
What happens if nobody bids on a team?
The team rolls into the next round.
What happens if a team remains unsold?
It remains unowned and is not eligible for prizes.
Can I skip a round?
Yes, provided the £10 minimum contribution requirement has already been satisfied.
Are bids private?
Yes. All bids are sealed until bidding closes.
What happens if there is a dispute?
The organiser reserves the right to make a final ruling on any situation not explicitly covered by these rules. Any ruling will be applied fairly and consistently.
48 teams • Sealed bids • One prize pot • By invitation only