Running a tournament end to end
A map of the 5 stages of a tournament on Superstar — opening it, configuring it, taking registrations, playing, closing it — and which article answers what.
Updated 9/27/2026
A tournament on Superstar goes through five stages, in that order. Each stage unlocks the next: with no categories you can't publish, without publishing nobody registers, and without approving registrations a draw produces empty groups.
This article is a map — it doesn't teach any single action. Each stage below points to the article that answers exactly that.
The five stages
1. Open the tournament
Superstar tournaments are opened by an administrator in the Admin area; Challenge sessions are opened by the club itself. Both are born in DRAFT status — nobody can see them yet.
2. Configure
Declare categories, the scoring format, the receiving bank account, courts and rules. Publish only after that.
3. Take and approve registrations
Teams register and pay, the organisers rate their skill level and then approve them to compete. Only APPROVED registrations enter the draw.
4. Play
Draw, publish the bracket, schedule courts on the timeline, referees score, and you handle whatever comes up.
5. Close the tournament
Switch the status to «Completed». Results are settled and locked against editing, and referral commissions open for the referrers to withdraw.
Two kinds of tournament, two different ways in
Superstar tournaments (Superstar Cup, Signature…) are opened by a Superstar administrator and handed over to the organising team. A Challenge session belongs to the club: a club granted the permission opens and publishes it itself, without waiting for Superstar to approve each session. Most screens afterwards are the same — the main difference is who can press which button.
Everything sits behind the «Manage» button
Open your tournament in the app and tap Manage. The first screen is the registration overview — number of entries, fill rate, registrations by day — and below it are eight ways in:
Registration list · Draws & competition bracket · Send notifications · Scan check-in tickets · Analytics · Player list · Complaints · Settings.
How many of those you see depends on the permissions you were granted. Someone with only match-scoring permission (a referee) cannot get into the Manage area — they go straight from the match into the console.
«Settings» groups four sections
TOURNAMENT INFO — General info · Content & rules · Contacts · Sponsors · Images.
COMPETITION — Categories · Scoring format · Courts · Recording devices.
OPERATIONS — Status · Payments · Manual registration entry · Skill rating on approval.
STAFF — Staff · Referee ratings.
A row that doesn't appear is either outside your permissions, or that feature hasn't been enabled for this tournament.
The order can't be swapped
Three things must be done BEFORE publishing: at least one category, a receiving bank account, and the correct competition dates. Publishing an empty tournament means it appears on every user's Discover feed with nothing to register for.
Frequently asked questions
I was assigned to manage a tournament but I can't find the Manage button?
The button is right on the tournament page, next to the tournament name. If you still don't see it, you haven't been added to that tournament's staff — somebody with the «Manage staff» permission has to invite you first. Signing in with a different account or opening a different tournament won't help.
I can get into Manage but many rows are dimmed or missing?
Each row is tied to its own permission. You see the rows whoever invited you ticked. This is deliberate design, not a display bug — it's why a referee can't read the phone numbers and skill ratings of everyone who registered.
Can scores still be edited after the tournament has finished?
No, except by Superstar administrators and the tournament's head referee. When a tournament switches to «Completed», every path that writes a result is locked — because that is also the moment prizes are settled and referral commissions open. Reading stays open as normal.
Is a Challenge session very different from a normal tournament?
It differs in three notable ways: the club publishes it itself without Superstar approval, registration money goes straight to the club's account if the club declares one, and captains can still change teammates even while the session is under way. Everything else — categories, formats, approvals, draws, scoring — uses the same set of screens.
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