Question 1

How does Survivor work?

Accepted Answer

Each gameweek, pick ONE team from your pool's league that you think will WIN their match. If your team wins, you survive to the next gameweek. If they lose, you’re out. Outlast everyone else and you win the pool. Results are scored automatically from live league data — Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, Ligue 1, or Primeira Liga — so eliminations and standings update within minutes of full time.

Question 2

Do draws eliminate me in Survivor?

Accepted Answer

Under the classic rule, yes — your team must WIN, and a draw eliminates you. Commissioners can enable the draws survive option when creating the pool, in which case a draw keeps you alive. Your pool’s rules screen shows which rule applies.

Question 3

When do Survivor picks lock?

Accepted Answer

At the first kickoff of each gameweek — one deadline for the whole gameweek, even though its matches are spread across several days. You can change your pick as many times as you like before then. Once the gameweek locks, all picks are revealed to the pool.

Question 4

Can I use the same team twice in a season?

Accepted Answer

Not while your slate lasts — each club in your league can only be used once. Survive long enough and you may burn through the whole slate; what happens next is your pool’s team re-use rule: Slate resets (the default): once you’ve used every club, your slate wipes clean and every club becomes available again. No reset: used teams stay used all season. Survive the whole slate and you’ve finished the slate — you can no longer be eliminated, and you win (or share the pot with the other finishers) once the pool is decided. The commissioner picks the rule at pool creation, and your pick screen always shows which teams you have left.

Question 5

What happens if my team’s match is postponed or abandoned?

Accepted Answer

Your pick is voided: you survive the gameweek, and the team goes back onto your slate as if you’d never used it. A postponement never eliminates anyone.

Question 6

What if I forget to make a Survivor pick?

Accepted Answer

If the gameweek locks and you haven’t picked, you’re eliminated — that’s the game. Pools with auto-picks enabled have a safety net: shortly before the gameweek locks, Golazo automatically submits the strongest available team on your slate (by current league position). Auto-picks are marked as such, and you can replace them with your own choice any time before kickoff. Missed it completely? Ask your commissioner — they can reopen the gameweek just for you, for a window they choose. You’ll only be able to pick from matches that haven’t kicked off yet, so ask early.

Question 7

Can I join a Survivor pool after the season has started?

Accepted Answer

Yes — if the commissioner has enabled mid-season joining. You’re only responsible from the gameweek you join: earlier gameweeks don’t count against you, and you can’t be eliminated for weeks you weren’t in the pool.

Question 8

How do rebuys work?

Accepted Answer

Rebuys are an optional rule set by the commissioner. If they’re enabled and you’ve been eliminated, you can buy back in: you re-enter alive from the next open gameweek, and your used-team history carries over. The rebuy fee is collected by the commissioner like any entry fee — it goes into the pot and is tracked in the pool’s Finances tab. Rebuys close once the pool has been decided.

Question 9

Who wins a Survivor pool?

Accepted Answer

Last one standing: when only one member is left alive, they’re the champion. Everyone out together: if every remaining member goes out in the same gameweek, your pool's tie rule decides. By default a member who made a valid pick beats one who made none; the commissioner can instead have them all share the pot as co-champions. Whichever rule the pool was created with is shown in Pool Info. Slate finishers (no-reset pools): survive every club in your league — 20 in the Premier League, La Liga and Serie A, 18 in Ligue 1 and the Primeira Liga — and you’ve finished — once every remaining member has finished, they all share the pot. Season ends: if more than one member survives the whole season, they share the title too.

Question 10

How does Pick'em work?

Accepted Answer

Each gameweek you pick 5 of that round’s fixtures — 10 in the 20-team leagues, 9 in Ligue 1 and the Primeira Liga — and call each result: home win, draw, or away win. If every pick on your card is right, you’ve hit a perfect card and win — or share — that gameweek’s pot. Every week is a fresh card, so one bad gameweek never knocks you out. Picks lock at the gameweek’s first kickoff, and you can edit your card freely until then.

Question 11

Why am I limited to 2 home wins and 2 favourites?

Accepted Answer

Every card has two caps: Max 2 home teams picked to win. Max 2 top-four teams picked to win (a top-four side picked to draw doesn’t count against the cap). Without the caps everyone would play the same bankers every week — the limits force real opinions. The top four comes from your league’s live table; at Gameweek 1 there isn’t one yet, so in the Premier League it falls back to last season’s final top four and in the other leagues the cap simply doesn’t apply that week.

Question 12

How are the weekly pots calculated?

Accepted Answer

Your commissioner sets a per-gameweek entry fee. The season pool — fee × the season’s gameweeks × members — is split evenly into one pot per gameweek (38 in the Premier League, La Liga and Serie A; 34 in Ligue 1 and the Primeira Liga). Perfect cards win the week’s pot; multiple perfect cards split it evenly.

Question 13

What happens if nobody gets a perfect card?

Accepted Answer

The pot rolls over and is added to the next gameweek’s pot. Rollovers can stack for weeks, so one perfect card at the right moment can land a monster payout.

Question 14

What happens to the pot on the final gameweek?

Accepted Answer

The season’s final gameweek has nowhere to roll over to, so the commissioner sets the rule when creating the pool: Split among the season’s best (the default): the pot goes to the member(s) with the most gameweek wins that season. Carry to next season: the pot seeds next season’s pool. Commissioner decides: the group settles it their own way. The rule is fixed at creation, so everyone knows the stakes all season.

Question 15

What if one of my Pick'em matches is postponed?

Accepted Answer

That pick is voided — it is not marked wrong, and it never counts against you. But a card only takes the pot when all five picks are graded and correct, so a voided pick means you can't win that gameweek. With no winner the pot simply rolls over to the next one.

Question 16

What happens if I miss a Pick'em deadline?

Accepted Answer

You just sit that gameweek out — no elimination, and you’re back in next week. If your pool has auto-picks enabled, Golazo submits a valid favourites card for you shortly before the gameweek locks (favourites by league position, within the home-win and top-four caps), and you can still edit it until the first kickoff. Missed it completely? Ask your commissioner — they can reopen the gameweek just for you, for a window they choose. You’ll only be able to pick from matches that haven’t kicked off yet, so ask early.

Question 17

When do the seasons start?

Accepted Answer

The 2026–27 seasons kick off across August 2026 and run through the end of May 2027: the Primeira Liga on August 7, La Liga on August 15, the Premier League and Ligue 1 on August 21, and Serie A on August 22. The Premier League, La Liga and Serie A run 38 gameweeks; Ligue 1 and the Primeira Liga run 34. You can create a pool and invite your group at any time — before the opener or mid-season. Gameweek 1 picks lock at its first kickoff.

Question 18

How do I create a pool?

Accepted Answer

From your dashboard, tap + New pool and choose Survivor or Pick'em. Name your pool and set your rules — Survivor pools choose the draws rule, team re-use, mid-season joining, and rebuys; Pick'em pools choose the final-gameweek pot rule; both can enable auto-picks and a message board. Then set your entry fee and payment handles and share the invite code. It takes about two minutes.

Question 19

How do I join a pool?

Accepted Answer

Enter the invite code your commissioner shared (or open their invite link), or browse public pools. You’ll see the pool’s type, rules, and entry fee before you confirm.

Question 20

How do entry fees and prize money work?

Accepted Answer

The commissioner sets the entry fee in the pool’s currency — USD, GBP, EUR, or BRL. Golazo never collects, holds, or pays out prize money: you pay your commissioner directly through the payment handles listed in the pool (Venmo, Zelle, Cash App, PayPal, or Pix), and they mark you as paid in the pool’s Finances tab so the whole pool can see the books. Survivor pools use a one-time buy-in; Pick'em fees are per gameweek, and most commissioners collect the season total up front.

Question 21

What is the hosting fee?

Accepted Answer

Golazo is free for pools with 5 or fewer members. Larger pools pay a hosting fee of $2 per member above 5 (12 members = $14, 50 members = $90), paid by the commissioner — not by individual members. In multi-entry pools, each entry counts as one member for the fee. It covers the entire season: live scoring, deadline reminders, payment tracking, and support. Entry fees are separate and stay entirely within your group.

Question 22

When and how is the hosting fee paid?

Accepted Answer

The fee comes due around your pool’s first gameweek — Gameweek 1 for pools created before the season, or your first upcoming gameweek for pools created mid-season — so the member count has settled before anything is owed. The commissioner pays by card through Stripe, from the pool’s Finances section or the emailed payment link. If it goes unpaid there’s a grace period: after 7 days standings are hidden, and after 10 days picks are locked. Paying at any point restores everything immediately.

Question 23

What happens if more people join after I’ve paid?

Accepted Answer

You only ever pay for members you haven’t already covered. If your pool grows after you’ve paid, the commissioner tops up just $2 for each new member above 5 — never again for members already paid for. If the pool shrinks there’s no change and no refund, and you’re never billed twice for the same member. Any top-up due shows in the pool’s Finances section, and we’ll email you when it’s time.

Question 24

Can I be in more than one pool?

Accepted Answer

Yes — join or create as many as you like, and mix formats freely. Plenty of groups run a Survivor pool and a Pick'em pool side by side with the same members.

Question 25

Can I leave a pool?

Accepted Answer

Yes — open the pool and choose Leave Pool in the Pool Info section. Note that your picks in that pool are deleted when you leave.

Question 26

Can I reopen a deadline for someone who missed it?

Accepted Answer

Yes — if you’re the commissioner. Open your pool’s Activity tab, find the member and choose Reopen, then set how long the window stays open (anything from a minute to a week). It closes itself when the time is up, so there’s nothing to remember to switch off. Two things to know. It reopens for that member only — never the whole pool — so nobody who already picked can revise their card once matches are under way. And they can only choose fixtures that haven’t kicked off: in Pick'em they pick from whatever is left, and in Survivor the team they pick must still have a match to play. Once every match has started, reopening achieves nothing. Everyone in the pool sees a Reopened badge next to that member, so it is never a silent change. Pool admins can’t do this — only the commissioner — and a Pick'em gameweek that has already been settled and paid out can’t be reopened at all.

Question 27

Do you offer pools for other sports?

Accepted Answer

Yes — the team behind Golazo runs two sister sites: TennisPools at [tennispools.com](https://tennispools.com) for Grand Slam tennis pools, and FootballPools at [footballpools.us](https://footballpools.us) for NFL Survivor and Pick'em pools. Same simple setup, free to start — bring your group to any of them.

Question 28

Will I get a reminder before each gameweek deadline?

Accepted Answer

Yes — if you haven’t picked yet, Golazo reminds you twice every gameweek: a heads-up about a day before the deadline, and a last call in the final hours before the first kickoff. Reminders arrive by email, and by push notification if you’ve enabled it. Once you’ve picked, you won’t be nagged.

Question 29

How do I know my picks were saved?

Accepted Answer

Your picks are confirmed on screen the moment you submit, and Golazo also emails you a confirmation listing exactly what you picked. If anything looks wrong, you can change your picks as many times as you like before the gameweek locks.

Question 30

Does Golazo send push notifications?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Enable notifications when the app asks (or from your account settings) to get deadline reminders on your device. On iPhone, add Golazo to your home screen first — iOS only delivers push notifications to installed web apps.

Question 31

Why does Golazo ask for my phone number?

Accepted Answer

New accounts are verified with a one-time SMS code at sign-up — it keeps bots and duplicate accounts out of everyone’s pools. Your number is used for verification only. If you’d rather not share a phone number, you can verify by email instead.

Question 32

How do I add Golazo to my home screen?

Accepted Answer

iPhone/iPad: Open golazo.us in Safari → tap the Share button → "Add to Home Screen" Android: Open golazo.us in Chrome → tap the menu (⋮) → "Add to Home Screen" It looks and feels like a native app — including push notifications — with nothing to install from an app store.

Question 33

How do I reset my password?

Accepted Answer

Click "Forgot Password" on the login page and enter your email. You’ll receive a reset link valid for 1 hour.

Question 34

Can I sign in with Google?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Click "Continue with Google" on the login or sign-up page. We’ll create your Golazo account automatically using your Google email — no separate password needed.

Question 35

Can I change my display name?

Accepted Answer

Yes, go to Account Settings to update your display name or email.

Question 36

Is my data secure?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Passwords are encrypted, and we never share your personal information. See our Privacy Policy for details.

Question 37

What happened to World Cup 2026 pools?

Accepted Answer

The tournament is over — 48 teams across the USA, Canada, and Mexico, ending with the Final at MetLife Stadium on July 19, 2026. World Cup pools are now archived: standings are final, but everything is still there to relive.

Question 38

How did World Cup pools work?

Accepted Answer

Two game types ran during the tournament: Survivor — pick one team per round to win; a loss (or draw) knocked you out. The same format now powers Survivor pools across Europe’s top leagues. Bracket — predict every group’s finishing order before kickoff, then every knockout winner, with points climbing from 1 (Round of 32) to 8 (the Final).

Question 39

Can I still see my World Cup pools and picks?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Archived pools stay on your dashboard with final leaderboards, every member’s picks, and the pool’s payment records. Nothing is deleted.

Question 40

Will Golazo run tournament pools again?

Accepted Answer

Golazo now runs year-round, with Survivor and Pick'em pools covering a full season across Europe's top leagues — the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, Ligue 1, and the Primeira Liga — and we plan to bring back tournament pools for future majors. Members hear about new pools first, by email.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Survivor

Pick'em

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World Cup 2026 (Past Tournament)