How to Import Your Challonge Tournament into Score7
Switching tournament tools is annoying. You have participants entered, results recorded, brackets built — and the thought of re-entering all of that into a new platform is enough to keep you where you are. The Challonge importer removes that friction. Paste your tournament URL, enter your API key, and Score7 pulls in your participants, match results, and standings automatically.
What you need
Two things:
- Your Challonge tournament URL — the public link to your tournament (e.g.,
challonge.com/mytournament). - Your Challonge API key — find it at challonge.com/settings/developer. You need to be logged in to Challonge to access this page.
Your API key is used only during the import and is never stored by Score7.
Step-by-step walkthrough
Step 1: Open the import page
Go to score7.io/import/challonge. You can also get there from the Score7 vs Challonge comparison page, which has an "Import from Challonge" button. You need to be logged into Score7 — the imported tournament will be created under your account.
Step 2: Paste your tournament URL
Enter the full Challonge URL for the tournament you want to import. Subdomain-style URLs (like yourname.challonge.com/tournament) work too.
Step 3: Enter your API key
Paste your Challonge API key. This gives Score7 read access to your tournament data, including private tournaments. The key is discarded after the import completes.
Step 4: Preview the import
Click Preview Import. Score7 fetches your tournament and shows a summary: tournament name, format, number of participants, number of matches, and how many matches have results. If the tournament hasn't started yet, you'll see a note that only settings and participants will be imported (since there are no results to bring over).
Step 5: Import
If the preview looks right, click Import Tournament. Score7 creates a new tournament, adds all participants, and submits match results in the correct order so the bracket and standings build up properly. This usually takes a few seconds.
Step 6: Review and continue
You'll see a summary of what was imported. If any match scores couldn't be read, a warning tells you how many were skipped — you can enter those manually. Click Go to Tournament to see your imported tournament in Score7.
From here, you can adjust settings, customize your branding, set up scheduling, or just keep entering results where you left off.
Supported formats
| Challonge format | Score7 format | Supported? |
|---|---|---|
| Single Elimination | Knockout | Yes |
| Double Elimination | Double Elimination | Yes |
| Round Robin | Round Robin | Yes |
| Swiss | — | Not yet |
| Free For All | — | Not yet |
| Group stages (Challonge) | — | Not yet |
Double elimination tournaments with "grand finals reset" enabled are also not supported.
If your tournament uses an unsupported format, Score7 will tell you before importing — nothing is created, nothing is lost.
What gets imported vs. what doesn't
| Imported | Not imported |
|---|---|
| Tournament name | Custom scoring rules and tiebreakers |
| All participants (matched by seed order) | Logos or images |
| Match results, including forfeits | Schedule dates and times |
| Multi-set scores (e.g., 3-2, 1-3, 3-0) | Referees or venues |
| Bracket structure and advancement | — |
| Standings (calculated from results) | — |
The things that don't carry over are all configurable inside Score7 after the import. Tiebreakers, schedule, venues, and branding can be set up in a few minutes.
Frequently asked questions
Where do I find my Challonge API key?
Log in to Challonge and go to challonge.com/settings/developer. Your API key is shown on that page. If you don't see one, you may need to generate it first.
Is importing free?
Yes. The import feature is free for all Score7 plans. The imported tournament counts against your active tournament limit as usual (1 active tournament on Free, more on Premium).
Can I import a private Challonge tournament?
Yes. Your API key grants access to all tournaments on your Challonge account, including private ones.
What if some match scores get skipped?
Some score formats on Challonge are unusual or custom. If Score7 can't parse a score, it skips that match and shows you a count of how many were skipped. The rest of the tournament imports normally. You can enter the missing scores manually in Score7.
Is there a participant limit?
Yes. Knockout and Double Elimination imports support up to 128 participants. Round Robin supports up to 72. Tournaments exceeding these limits are rejected before import with a clear message.
Can I import a tournament that hasn't started yet?
Yes. Score7 imports the tournament settings and participant list. Since there are no results yet, the bracket is created empty and ready for you to start entering scores.
What happens if the import fails?
You'll see an error message explaining the issue — invalid URL, expired API key, unsupported format, tournament not found, or Challonge being temporarily unavailable. Nothing is created on Score7's side until the import succeeds, so you can fix the issue and try again.
Ready to bring your tournament over?
If you're already thinking about switching, Score7 vs Challonge: Which Tournament Tool Is Better? covers the full comparison — formats, scheduling, pricing, and where each platform is stronger. That article is worth a read before deciding.
When you're ready, the import takes about a minute. Start here.