Champions League format: league phase, play-off round and knockout

How the format works

• Teams are split into pots by strength. Each plays several opponents from every pot, so strong teams do not knock each other out in round one.
• All results go into one league table.
• The top of the table qualifies directly, the middle plays a play-off round, the bottom is eliminated.
• Then a knockout bracket runs to the final.

A layout for your field

The UEFA layout is built for 36 teams: 4 pots, 8 matches each. It does not work for 16 or 25 teams, so HoneyCup picks a layout for your actual field: how many pots, how many matches per team, how many direct and play-off spots. If the field does not split into 2, 3 or 4 pots, 5 pots are used — for example, 25, 35 and 55 teams get 5 pots with 10 matches each.

You can adjust these values in the format settings. Until the first result is in, the draw is rebuilt whenever the roster changes. After the first score the layout is frozen, so a late entry cannot reshuffle rounds that are already played.

Rounds like the real thing

Matches are arranged so that every team plays in every round and nobody sits out, just like the original competition. Each team's recent form and goal difference are shown in the table.

Play-off round and knockout

Once the league phase is over, play-off pairs and the bracket are built automatically from the table. Play-off winners join the directly qualified teams in the round of 16 or quarter-finals, depending on the field.