u/tpkm216

Hey r/SideProject,

I built tribepicks.com — a free platform for running private World Cup tipping competitions. The bracket predictor went live this week and I wanted to share it here for feedback.

The bracket page (no signup needed): https://tribepicks.com/bracket?slug=wc2026

Pick your way through the entire knockout stage — round of 32 → final → champion. Once you're done, it generates a shareable image and a message template you can drop into WhatsApp or wherever your group chat lives. The idea is that people share their bracket, friends try to beat it, and the social loop pulls people in without the platform having to do much marketing.

Some context on why I built it:

Every four years someone in my office volunteered to run the World Cup tipping comp, and every four years the spreadsheet broke down by week two. The existing options were either betting apps I didn't want to use, paid platforms with weird pricing, or DIY chaos. So I built TribePicks to remove the admin and let people just enjoy the comp. After the tournament, I can invite tipsters to join future sports comps (e.g. EPL, NBA, Champions League etc)

Stack: Next.js, react, Supabase — happy to talk about technical decisions if anyone's curious.

Some things I'm genuinely uncertain about:

1. The bracket page works but I'm not sure the share message hits the right tone. Currently it's pretty plain — wondering if I should make it more competitive ("beat my bracket") or keep it neutral.
2. The 4-Pick Challenge is the lowest-friction entry, but I'm not sure if I should default new visitors to that or to the full bracket. Bracket is more impressive, 4-Pick is more accessible. (4 pick Challenge)
3. The tournament starts June 11, so there's a hard deadline on most of this. Any advice on which launches to prioritise in the next month would be hugely appreciated.

Happy to answer any questions about the build, design decisions, or anything else. Genuinely keen for honest feedback — including "this is a bad idea because X."

Cheers.

2026 World Cup!

My 2026 World Cup pick. 🏆

Champion: Spain

Bold call: Switzerland in the final

Beat it → tribepicks.com/bracket?slug=wc2026

https://preview.redd.it/xojad1jam31h1.jpg?width=1600&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ee92ebf705b6d980f37aba660f2f34f1a6dab132

Looked at every World Cup winner since 1998 — the 'favourite at kickoff' won only 1 of 7. Spain was the only favourite to live up to their reputation.

Anyone seen rigorous work on this?

1998 — Brazil pre-tournament favourites. Brazil were favoured even at the final (4-6 odds vs France's 6-5). Winner: France. → Favourite lost.

2002 — France defending champions and pre-tournament favourites. Argentina was the other top contender. Winner: Brazil (which entered ranked outside the very top favourites at the start). → Favourite lost.

2006 — Brazil overwhelming favourites at 5-2 odds, well clear of the field. Winner: Italy. → Favourite lost.

2010 — Spain and Brazil were co-favourites. Spain typically slightly shorter odds. Winner: Spain. → Favourite won.

2014 — Brazil (host) and Argentina were short pre-tournament favourites, Germany typically around third. Winner: Germany. → Favourite lost (Germany was a strong second-tier favourite, but not the top of the book).

2018 — Germany and Brazil were pre-tournament favourites. France was around the third tier. Winner: France. → Favourite lost (France not in top 2).

2022 — Brazil were the pre-tournament favourites at most books, with France and Argentina behind. Winner: Argentina. → Favourite lost.

based on consensus betting favourite (Pinnacle, Bet365, Ladbrokes, W. Hill)

Smallest nation at the world cup. what an achievement considering some Euro powerhouses like Italy havent made it through the last 3 WC

One of the best feel good stories for the coming world cup surely