WCCE 2026 · Knockout Stage · Pre-Final

Knockout State
Every Tie, Two Ways to Measure Strength

30 knockout matches played — Round of 32 through Semi-Final — for both the chess engines and the FIFA 2026 nations they mirror. The Final is set; this is the full record before it's played.

16
R32 · Complete
8
R16 · Complete
4
QF · Complete
2
SF · Complete
1
Final · Pending

The Final

set, not yet played
Championship Match
Stockfish(Spain · 3093 Elo · FIFA 1876) vs Reckless(Argentina · 3071 Elo · FIFA 1875)
Stockfish is the Elo favorite by 22 points and the FIFA favorite by a single point — the closest double-favorite alignment of the entire bracket. Both engines have won every match by both metrics so far: zero upsets across their combined 7 ties.

Round of 32

16 matches · 16 games each
#MatchEngine 1Engine 2ResultElo (E1–E2)FIFA Rank (E1–E2)Winner
1M74Pawnocchio (Germany)RofChade (Turkey)6–03009–29361730–1599Pawnocchio
2M77PlentyChess (France)Peacekeeper (Tunisia)9–03060–28931877–1483PlentyChess
3M73Koivisto (Korea Republic)Revenge (Canada)1–22911–29301589–1556Revenge
4M75Tarnished (Japan)Horsie (Morocco)3–12994–29901660–1756Tarnished
5M83Starzix (Colombia)Integral (Croatia)0–12979–30041693–1717Integral
6M84Stockfish (Spain)Seer (Austria)6–03093–29021876–1593Stockfish
7M81RubiChess (United States)Clarity (Algeria)6–02984–29081673–1564RubiChess
8M82Halogen (Iran)Black Marlin (Saudi Arabia)5–12980–28781615–1421Halogen
9M76Alexandria (Brazil)Caissa (Netherlands)2–03043–29921761–1758Alexandria
10M78Cinder (Ecuador)Motor (Senegal)0–42945–29811595–1689Motor
11M79Clover (Mexico)Booot (Scotland)5–02991–29141681–1498Clover
12M80Obsidian (England)Arasan (Ivory Coast)6–03044–28951826–1533Obsidian
13M86Reckless (Argentina)Komodo (Uruguay)3–03071–29911875–1673Reckless
14M88Velvet (Australia)Viridithas (Belgium)0–42934–30111581–1735Viridithas
15M85Hobbes (Switzerland)SlowChess (Egypt)8–02989–28751649–1563Hobbes
16M87Berserk (Portugal)Igel (Panama)4–03024–29101764–1541Berserk

Round of 16

8 matches · 20 games each
#MatchEngine 1Engine 2ResultElo (E1–E2)FIFA Rank (E1–E2)Winner
1M89Pawnocchio (Germany)PlentyChess (France)0–33009–30601730–1877PlentyChess
2M90Revenge (Canada)Tarnished (Japan)1–62930–29941556–1660Tarnished
3M91Alexandria (Brazil)Motor (Senegal)4–13043–29811761–1689Alexandria
4M92Clover (Mexico)Obsidian (England)0–32991–30441681–1826Obsidian
5M93Integral (Croatia)Stockfish (Spain)1–43004–30931717–1876Stockfish
6M94RubiChess (United States)Halogen (Iran)1–42984–29801673–1615Halogen
7M95Reckless (Argentina)Viridithas (Belgium)3–03071–30111875–1735Reckless
8M96Hobbes (Switzerland)Berserk (Portugal)0–32989–30241649–1764Berserk

Quarter-Finals

4 matches · 24 games each
#MatchEngine 1Engine 2ResultElo (E1–E2)FIFA Rank (E1–E2)Winner
1M97PlentyChess (France)Tarnished (Japan)5–13060–29941877–1660PlentyChess
2M98Stockfish (Spain)Halogen (Iran)7–03093–29801876–1615Stockfish
3M99Alexandria (Brazil)Obsidian (England)2–13043–30441761–1826Alexandria
4M100Reckless (Argentina)Berserk (Portugal)4–03071–30241875–1764Reckless

Semi-Finals

2 matches · 28 games each
#MatchEngine 1Engine 2ResultElo (E1–E2)FIFA Rank (E1–E2)Winner
1M101PlentyChess (France)Stockfish (Spain)1–53060–30931877–1876Stockfish
2M102Alexandria (Brazil)Reckless (Argentina)0–43043–30711761–1875Reckless

Strength Comparison — Elo vs FIFA Rank

30 knockout matches

Every WCCE 2026 engine carries two independent strength signals: its own tournament Elo, and the FIFA 2026 world-ranking points of the nation it mirrors. Marking the higher-rated side as the "favorite" under each system and checking it against the actual result shows which signal tracked the bracket better.

28/30
Elo favorite won (93,33%)
25/30
FIFA favorite won (83,33%)
2
Elo upsets
5
FIFA upsets
Reading the gap: Elo never failed on its own — both of its misses (M94, M99) were also FIFA misses. FIFA rank, on the other hand, was wrong three extra times when Elo called it correctly (M73, M75, M101) — including the Semi-Final, where France's 1-point FIFA edge over Spain didn't survive contact with Stockfish's real engine strength. Across this bracket, in-tournament Elo has been the more reliable predictor of who actually advances.
MatchRoundTieElo FavoriteFIFA FavoriteActual WinnerUpset
M73R32Koivisto vs RevengeRevengeKoivistoRevengeFIFA only
M75R32Tarnished vs HorsieTarnishedHorsieTarnishedFIFA only
M94R16RubiChess vs HalogenRubiChessRubiChessHalogenBoth
M99QFAlexandria vs ObsidianObsidian (+1)ObsidianAlexandriaBoth
M101SFPlentyChess vs StockfishStockfishPlentyChess (+1)StockfishFIFA only