🏆 2026 Paws Football Cup Tournament Plan

Nemo

Hello, Party Animals!

Based on the feedback and suggestions you previously shared, we have made several adjustments and improvements to the Paws Football Cup tournament plan. We are now sharing the official version below.

Tournament Name: Paws Football Cup (PFC)

Tournament Rules

Match Rules

Tournament-specific settings will be enabled during matches: characters will wake up more quickly, and grabbing will consume significantly more stamina.
Teams may not intentionally and repeatedly knock out or drag the same opponent in a way that prevents them from participating normally in the match.
If a match ends in a draw, an additional round will be played, with the first team to score winning the match.
Each team must confirm its match lineup before the match begins. No substitutions may be made once the match has started.
If a team does not have enough players, it may either begin the match with fewer players or add AI players. AI difficulty will use the default setting.

Player Conduct

Players must conduct themselves respectfully and refrain from making inappropriate remarks.
Any team that fails to appear within 10 minutes of the scheduled match start time will forfeit the match.
Players may not compete under another player’s identity or allow another person to compete on their behalf.
Exploiting bugs, unintended mechanics, or any other unauthorized methods to gain a competitive advantage is prohibited.
Tournament officials may issue penalties for rule violations at their discretion, including warnings, a match loss, or disqualification from the tournament.

Additional Rules

During the BO1 stage, teams will be grouped by server region whenever possible. If the two teams are located in different regions, the match server will be determined by random draw.
During BO3 and BO5 matches, the server for the first game will be determined by random draw. The teams will then alternate servers for each subsequent game. Alternatively, both teams may agree to use a mutually acceptable server region.
Once the list of participating teams has been confirmed, any team that voluntarily withdraws will be treated as having forfeited, and the relevant matches will be recorded as losses.
If a player disconnects due to an issue with their own network or device, the match will continue.
If a match cannot be completed due to a server issue, lobby crash, or another cause outside the players’ control, a rematch may be requested.
Tournament officials will determine whether a rematch will be granted based on the circumstances.
Any dispute regarding a match result or ruling must be reported to tournament staff immediately after the match.
All rulings made by tournament officials are final. The organizer reserves the right to make the final interpretation of the tournament rules.
If the tournament cannot proceed as planned due to circumstances beyond the organizer’s control, the organizer reserves the right to adjust the schedule or competition format.

Tournament Schedule

Qualifiers

Saturday, July 4, 7:00 - 9:00 AM PT

Round of 64
- Matches will be played as single-elimination BO1s, with the winners advancing to the Round of 32.

Sunday, July 5, 7:00 - 9:30 AM PT

Round of 32
- 7:00 - 8:00 AM PT
- BO1 single-elimination matches, with the winners advancing to the Round of 16.
Round of 16
- Approximately 8:10 - 9:30 AM PT
- Best-of-three (BO3) matches, with the winners advancing to the Quarterfinals.

Knockout Stage (Livestreamed)

Saturday, July 11, 7:00 - 9:00 AM PT

Quarterfinals
- 7:00 - 7:30 AM PT
- The remaining 8 teams will compete in head-to-head matchups.
Semifinals
- Semifinal 1: Approximately 7:40 - 8:10 AM PT
- Semifinal 2: Approximately 8:20 - 8:50 AM PT
All matches will be played as best-of-three (BO3), with the winners advancing to the next round.

Finals (Livestreamed)

Sunday, July 12, 7:00 - 9:00 AM PT

Third-Place Match: 7:00 - 8:00 AM PT
Championship Match: Approximately 8:00 - 9:00 AM PT
Both matches will be played as best-of-five (BO5).

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Special Showmatch (Livestreamed)

Saturday, July 18, 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM or Sunday, July 19, 4:00 AM - 6:00 AM PT

The Global Region champion will face the China Region champion in a special showmatch.
The final match time will be determined based on the server regions of both teams.
The match will be played as a best-of-five (BO5).
More details about the showmatch will be announced later.

Tournament Prizes

Tournament Winner Rewards

Champion: 4 cases of collectible cards + Paws Football Cup Championship Trophy
Runner-Up: 2 cases of collectible cards
Third Place: 1 case of collectible cards
Fourth Place: 18 boxes of collectible cards
5th-8th Place: Each player on the team will receive 1 official merchandise item of their choice
- Available merchandise options: Any currently available official Party Animals merchandise, excluding limited-edition and special-edition items.

Lucky Draw Rewards

20 teams will be selected at random, with each player on those teams receiving 300 Nemo Bucks.
10 teams will be selected at random, with each team receiving 3 boxes of collectible cards.
5 teams will be selected at random, with each team receiving 6 boxes of collectible cards.
1 team will be selected at random to receive 12 boxes of collectible cards.

Lucky Draw Rules

The Lucky Draw will be conducted publicly among participating teams that did not advance to the Top 8.
The number of winners may be adjusted based on the final number of participating teams.
Teams that forfeit or do not actually participate in the tournament will not be eligible for the Lucky Draw.
Each team may win only once.
The Lucky Draw will be conducted live during the tournament broadcast.

Important Notes

“Collectible cards” refers to Shining Soul x Party Animals Collection Trading Cards Vol. 2.
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The Party Animals Archives Series includes a variety of collectible cards, PAWS game cards, and a chance to obtain in-game outfit redemption cards from the Shining Soul x Party Animals collaboration.
Each case contains 24 boxes, each box contains 16 packs, and each pack contains 6 cards.
Unless a reward is specifically stated as being awarded to “each player,” it will be awarded on a per-team basis.
Team rewards will be sent to the team captain, and each team will be responsible for distributing them among its members.
After determining how the rewards will be distributed among team members, the captain may either handle shipping personally or ask the organizer to ship the rewards directly to the team members on the team’s behalf.
Collectible card rewards are expected to be distributed within 1 month after the tournament concludes. The championship trophy is expected to be distributed within 3 months after the tournament concludes. If distribution is delayed due to circumstances beyond the organizer’s control, a separate notice will be issued.

Broadcast Schedule

The Knockout Stage, Finals, and Special Showmatch will be officially livestreamed on July 11, July 12, and either July 18 or July 19, depending on the final showmatch time.
The tournament will be livestreamed on Twitch.
In addition to watching the tournament unfold, viewers will also have chances to receive livestream rewards, including random game keys and official merchandise.

Thank you for your support, Party Animals! 🏆🐾⚽

Nemo

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Adjustment to the Match Schedule

After considering a variety of factors, we have decided to adjust the tournament schedule to the following dates and times:
📅 July 4, July 5, July 11, July 12, and July 19
🕖 7:00 AM - 9:00 AM PT

We hope this updated schedule will provide a better tournament experience for players across different regions.

Team captains should confirm whether their teams are available to compete during the time slots listed above. If your team has any scheduling conflicts or special circumstances, please contact the tournament staff as soon as possible.

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2. Cross-Region Latency and Suggestions for Region-Based Tournaments

We understand that cross-region matches may result in latency issues. During the qualifiers stage for the Global Region, teams will therefore be grouped by server region whenever possible. In later stages, we will aim to balance the match experience for both teams through methods such as random draws, server rotation, or allowing both teams to agree on a server region.

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We have received suggestions regarding region-based tournaments. Given the differences in network conditions across regions, we will carefully evaluate the feasibility of holding regional tournaments and consider this an important reference for future community event planning.

3. Clarification Regarding Knockout-Related Rules

Regarding the tournament-specific settings that allow characters to wake up more quickly and cause grabbing to consume significantly more stamina, we considered feedback from players in both regions. To keep the tournament rules as consistent as possible between the two regions, we decided to enable these settings for both the China Region and the Global Region.

During the initial rule discussions, we considered disabling knockouts entirely. However, while collecting feedback, some players expressed a preference for keeping the knockout mechanic, as they felt it added more tension and excitement to matches. After considering feedback from all sides, we ultimately decided to retain knockouts while increasing character wake-up speed and grabbing stamina consumption to create a more balanced tournament experience.

These settings will be added to the game before the tournament begins, giving participating teams time to familiarize themselves with the tournament settings in advance.

4. Changing Team Rosters, Withdrawing, and Adding or Removing Players

To request any changes to your submitted team roster, including adding or removing players or withdrawing from the tournament, please join the official Party Animals Discord at discord.gg/partyanimals and contact ModMail.

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When contacting ModMail, please clearly state that you are requesting changes to a submitted Paws Football Cup roster and provide the relevant team information.

The deadline for all roster change requests is June 29 at 11:59 PM PT.

Nemo

The tournament-specific settings are shown below:

Wake-Up Speed

https://cdn.forum.partyanimals.com/2026-06-27/1782565489-100670-7fb14caa-72f7-4deb-9e0b-822976fabda3.mp4

Grabbing Stamina Consumption

https://cdn.forum.partyanimals.com/2026-06-27/1782565499-235345-c06bd58e-47e3-4c7a-8e2c-a0f1540a0048.mp4

Character wake-up speed will be significantly increased, and grabbing will consume significantly more stamina. Our goal is to preserve the strategic aspects of knockouts and grabbing while minimizing their impact on the overall pace of matches.