A bracket pool is a prediction pool where you commit to the entire knockout stage all at once — before a single match is played. You pick who wins every Round of 16 matchup, who advances to the quarterfinals, the semis, and ultimately who lifts the trophy. Once the bracket locks, you’re along for the ride. This is Toqui’s Cascading Bracket mode. It’s the most dramatic way to run a pool. It’s also the hardest.Documentation Index
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Cascading Bracket is one of three preset scoring modes. To compare it with Casual and Escalating, see Scoring modes.
How it works
Your pool uses Cascading Bracket mode
The organizer selects Cascading Bracket when creating the pool. This enables the bracket prediction interface for all members.
Members submit their full knockout bracket
Before the Round of 16 begins, every member opens their bracket and picks a winner for every knockout match — Round of 16, quarterfinals, semifinals, third-place match, and final. All predictions in a single session.You’re not predicting scores at this stage, just outcomes: which team advances from each matchup.
The bracket locks
Once the first knockout match kicks off, picks lock for everyone. There’s one deadline — the first Round of 16 kickoff — not a series of per-match or per-round deadlines. If you haven’t submitted your bracket before that moment, you won’t be able to enter picks for the knockout stage.
Teams advance — or crash out
As matches are played, the app tracks which teams actually advance. If you predicted a team to win their Round of 16 match and they do, you earn points and they “auto-advance” in your bracket — they’re slotted into your predicted quarterfinal matchup.If your predicted team loses, you earn no points for that match, and every subsequent prediction that depended on that team is also lost. An early upset can unravel an otherwise strong bracket.
How points work
Points use the same escalating scale as the Escalating preset. Correct picks in later rounds earn significantly more than early rounds.| Stage | Exact score | Correct outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Round of 16 | 7 pts | 5 pts |
| Quarter-final | 10 pts | 7 pts |
| Semi-final | 15 pts | 10 pts |
| Third-place match | 20 pts | 15 pts |
| Final | 30 pts | 20 pts |
The cascade effect
The name “Cascading Bracket” refers to what happens when an upset occurs. Your predicted bracket assumed Team A would reach the final. If Team A is knocked out in the quarters, all the points you had lined up for the semis and final — for every match you expected Team A to play — disappear with them. This creates moments of collective suspense that a regular per-match pool doesn’t produce. One result can simultaneously reshape dozens of members’ standings.The deadline: don’t miss it
All bracket picks must be submitted before the first Round of 16 kickoff. That’s a single hard deadline for the entire bracket.Is bracket mode right for your group?
When bracket mode works best
When bracket mode works best
Bracket mode is best for groups where members want to commit once and then just watch. It’s low-maintenance after submission — no picking before every match, no stage-by-stage deadlines. Just one session of picks, then the tournament.It rewards people who have a strong sense of how deep teams will go in the tournament, rather than who can predict individual match scores.
When to choose Escalating instead
When to choose Escalating instead
If your group includes members who want to engage with every match — submitting fresh picks each round, adjusting their strategy based on how the group stage went — Escalating gives them that. Bracket mode takes that choice away by design.
Can members skip the bracket and still use the pool?
Can members skip the bracket and still use the pool?
No. In Cascading Bracket mode, the bracket submission is the pool. Members who don’t submit a bracket before the deadline won’t have knockout stage picks and won’t earn points for those rounds.