THE RULES

🦞 What Is This?

The Rob Lobster Cup is a pick-and-survive contest for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. You pick teams. They win, you survive. They lose, you're boiled. Last lobster standing takes the entire pot. Simple. Ruthless. Beautiful.

⚽ Phase 1 — Group Stage (2 Picks)

• ▸Pick 2 teams you believe will advance out of the group stage (top 2 from any group).
• ▸Both teams advance? ✅ You survive to knockout. Those 2 teams are now BURNED — can't use them again.
• ▸One or both fail? 💀 You're boiled. (But see the Lobster Trap below!)
• ▸Picks can be changed anytime before the first group stage game kicks off (June 11, 2026). After kickoff, picks are LOCKED.
• ▸Before lock: only you can see your picks. After lock: everyone sees everything. No hiding.

⚔️ Phase 2 — Knockout Stage (5 Picks)

5 rounds: Round of 32, Round of 16, Quarterfinals, Semifinals, Final.

• ▸Pick 1 team to WIN each round.
• ▸Burned teams (including your 2 group picks) cannot be reused. Every pick burns the team for the rest of the tournament.
• ▸Your pick wins? You survive. Your pick loses? 💀 Boiled.
• ▸Penalties count as a win for the advancing team.
• ▸Total picks across the entire tournament: 7 (2 group + 5 knockout).

🦞 The Lobster Trap — Buy-Back

Got boiled in the group stage? One shot at redemption.

• ★48-hour window after group stage ends. Get in or stay boiled.
• ★Buy-back details are commissioner controlled. Any extra money goes straight to the pot — everyone benefits.
• ★Buy-back players must pick 2 winners in the Round of 32 (regular survivors only pick 1). BOTH must win.
• ★From Round of 16 onward, buy-back players follow normal rules (1 pick per round).
• ★One buy-back per player. No third chances. This isn't a charity.

💰 Payout

• ▸50% of the pot → Winner — last lobster standing.
• ▸50% of the pot → Breakthrough T1D — donated to breakthrought1d.org within 30 days of the final.
• ▸If multiple players survive all rounds, the winner's 50% splits evenly among survivors.

❤️ The Charity

Half of every dollar in this pool goes to Breakthrough T1D — the leading organization funding Type 1 Diabetes research. Play hard, do good. The donation is made in the pool's name after the tournament ends. No changes, no exceptions.

🔒 Deadlines

• ▸All picks lock at the kickoff of the first game of each round.
• ▸Before lock: only you see your picks, and you can change them freely.
• ▸After lock: all picks are visible. No edits. No excuses.