Squad Battles, week 1: what 650 players figured out in 4 days
The Clutch Team · Published October 30, 2026

We launched Squad Battles without a playbook. You wrote one in four days.
Squad joins jumped tenfold right before the first Preparation day, and almost one in four active players is now in a squad. In a few days, squad chats went from “how does this work?” to real strategy meetings.
Leaders became managers
- Rosters picked by win rate, with messages like “take X off the roster, under 50% on their last 10 bets”.
- A Co-leader election, run in the squad chat with candidates and a vote.
- Co-leaders who gave up their own roster spot to stronger players.
- House rules on inactivity. The consensus: 7 to 10 days.
“I gave my spot to someone with a much better win rate than me. Good luck! 🫡”
“Guys, just in case: we’re not playing Werewolf here. If you want to leave, tell us first, and at least finish the battle week!”
The bench found its job
Only rostered players bet, but the whole squad can boost them. In one week, 730 teammates sent 7,500 boosts.
“Thanks for the boosts! I’m farming ads to send tickets to everyone playing the battle 🫡”
Problem #1 of the week: “there are no bets left”
It’s the message we read the most. A squad can place only one bet per market. With up to 20 players getting 300 Tickets 🎟️ a day each, many squads had nothing left to bet on by Wednesday, while still holding hundreds of Tickets.
“I have 1,200 tickets and I can’t bet any of them.”
You found the fix before we did: bet the max. The average stake doubled in four days, and some squads set their own minimum stake (100, then 150, 200, 300 Tickets).
In Tickets 🎟️, week 1. Friday counts the morning only.
“We didn’t know how it would play out. Now we do.”
What changes in Monday’s battle
- More markets, all the time. We add markets every day, starting with markets that end before Sunday. Each one is created and then checked, so it takes time: expect more of them week after week.
- Bigger stakes. From Monday, the max stake per bet goes well above 300 Tickets 🎟️. One bet can take far more Tickets, so fewer of them sit unused.
- Our tip: go big on the markets you believe in. A small bet locks that market for your whole squad.
Best of the chat
“Does anyone speak English here?” … “Bro, it’s a French server.”
“I like turtles.” Six hours later: “I like turtles too.”
“What’s your technique?” “My brain, that’s it.” “… Be descriptive.”
“I’ll sound like a boomer, but what’s Steam?”
“Clash of Clans is back!”
Next week
60% more squads already qualify for Monday’s battle. To play, your squad needs 5 eligible members: it must be their main squad, they need the latest app, and they must join before Monday 00:00 UTC. One player short? Invite them before Sunday night.
New to battles? Here are the full rules.
Tell us about your first battle
What worked, what didn’t, what would make next week more fun? Tap below to share it, it goes straight to our team.
Not in a squad yet? Get the app and join one before Monday.
More from the blog

Squad Battles: your squad vs another squad, every week
Squad Battles are here. Every week, your squad takes on another squad of your level: bet Tickets 🎟️, win Crowns 👑, boost your teammates from the bench, and win up to 200 Credits 💎 each. Here’s how it works.

We handed you the verdict. Then the wars started.
Ten days ago, we handed you the verdict. Since then you have settled 666 markets, claimed almost every one within minutes, fought 75 wars and saw 99.4% of your verdicts stand. Here is everything we learned, the good and the messy.

Community resolution is here: settle markets, stake ⚡, win the bounty
Clutch players can now settle closed markets themselves by putting a ⚡ deposit behind the verdict. It is rolling out progressively to a first group of players. Here is who can take part, how proposing and contesting work, how you win, and why we are being careful.

One player, 211 accounts, 2 seconds: how we caught a phone farm cheating on Clutch
Five "players" placed the exact same prediction, in the same order, half a second apart. Then they did it again. And again. Here is the story of how we unmasked a phone farm running 211 fake accounts, and what we did about it.

A small team from France
Clutch is built by a small team based in France. We are only a handful of people, and we care a lot about making the best prediction game we can. Every player who shows up pushes us to make it better.
Learn more about Rodger StudioPlay Clutch
Clutch is a free, no-money prediction game. Predict real news and sports with in-app credits, climb your league, and build your track record.