World Cup 2026 Sweepstake

A self-updating, read-only sweepstake tracker. You edit one file (results.json); GitHub rebuilds and redeploys the public site automatically.

How it works

results.json  ──(edit + push)──▶  GitHub Action runs build.mjs
              ──▶  index.html  ──▶  GitHub Pages (public)

• results.json — the only file you ever edit. Allocations, scores, prizes.
• build.mjs — computes standings, the 8-best-third-placed cut, prize owners, and bakes everything into index.html. You never edit this.
• template.html — the look of the site. You never edit this (unless you want to restyle).
• index.html — generated output. Don't edit it by hand; it gets overwritten on every build.

Viewers only ever see index.html. They cannot change anything — all data is baked in at build time.

One-time setup

1. Create a new GitHub repo, push these files to the main branch.
2. Repo Settings → Pages → Build and deployment → Source: GitHub Actions.
3. Push any change (or run the workflow manually: Actions → Build & Deploy → Run workflow).
4. Your public URL appears under Settings → Pages. Share that link.

Updating during the tournament

Edit results.json directly in GitHub's web UI (works on a phone): open the file → pencil icon → edit → Commit. The site rebuilds in about one minute.

Enter a score: find the fixture, set homeScore/awayScore to integers.

{ "group": "C", "date": "2026-06-13", "home": "Brazil", "away": "Morocco",
  "homeScore": 2, "awayScore": 0 }

Leave both as null for unplayed games. Standings, GD, and qualification update automatically.

Set allocations: under allocations, map each person to their teams using the exact team names from the groups block.

"allocations": {
  "Dave": ["Brazil", "Japan", "Norway", "Panama"],
  "Sam": ["England", "Spain", "Curaçao", "Iraq"]
}

Award a prize: put the responsible team in the prize's team field. The owner is resolved automatically. If nobody owns that team, it shows as unowned (by design).

"firstHatTrick": {
  "label": "First Hat-trick of Tournament",
  "team": "Argentina",
  "note": "Messi vs Algeria"
}

Resolve a tie the build can't: if two teams finish equal on points, goal difference and goals scored, the site shows a red warning and the Action log lists it. The engine can't apply FIFA's later tiebreakers (team conduct, FIFA ranking), so you decide the order:

"tiebreakOverrides": {
  "C": ["Brazil", "Scotland", "Haiti", "Morocco"]
}

List all four teams top-to-bottom. The warning disappears on the next build.

Knockout stage: fill the knockout block as matches happen. Example:

"roundOf32": [
  {
    "home": "Brazil",
    "away": "Switzerland",
    "homeScore": 2,
    "awayScore": 1,
    "winner": "Brazil"
  }
],
"final": {
  "home": "Brazil",
  "away": "France",
  "homeScore": 1,
  "awayScore": 0,
  "winner": "Brazil"
}

Setting a winner marks the loser eliminated on the Pool board.

Local preview (optional)

node build.mjs && open index.html

Notes / limitations

• Group eliminations only finalise on the Pool board once all 12 groups are complete, because the 8-best-third-placed cut needs every group's final table. Before that, only knockout losers are marked out.
• Fixtures are pre-seeded with correct groups and dates. Kick-off times aren't shown (date only) — add them to the template if wanted.
• First-red-card / first-hat-trick are manual: no free data source exposes them reliably.