Case study · NO. 02
Our bracket, not theirs.
Every bracket site wants an account, an email, and a data trail that ends at a sportsbook. I wanted my friends arguing about group C — so I built us our own.
- Started
- Spring 2026
- Status
- Scoring live results
- Share format
- One short URL
- Accounts
- None, on principle
No accounts, on principle
Bracket predictions are a fun argument between friends, and most sites price them at an email address and a summer of sportsbook ads. This one asks for nothing — which forces the interesting design: the share link is the bracket. A hundred-plus picks bit-pack into a URL of about two dozen characters; send it to the chat and the other browser reconstructs your whole tournament. No bracket database anywhere. The friend pool keys on a display name because friends don’t need authentication, they need effortless.
Making real results score it
The foundation worked in days; real results took the time. FIFA’s 48-team format means full tiebreak ladders, head-to-head mini-tables, and an official constraint table that routes the eight best third-placed teams — regulations as load-bearing code. Standings only publish once a group’s six matches all finish, so scores never flicker, and a hand-published admin result overrides any feed glitch. The knockouts are scoring now. No leaderboard drama yet — but it’s coming.