The 3rd Universal Cup Finals Warm Up Game
The Universal Cup Finals is coming! To build excitement and get everyone in the spirit, we are launching a special Warm-Up Game for The 3rd Universal Cup Finals. The game will run in the lead-up to the Finals and is open to all Universal Cup participants and supporters.
Visit the game event at: https://qoj.ac/event/ucup-finals
How does the game work
Every participant starts with an initial 100 points. From there, you can earn — or wager — more points by taking part in the three activities below. Climb the leaderboard to win prizes from the Universal Cup!
1. Solve Problems
A set of problems will be regularly posted by the Scientific Committee (SC). These tasks come from a curated mix of sources:
- Past Universal Cup events
- Original problems authored by our SC or judges
- Problems recommended by task authors from the community
Each problem has an associated point reward. Browse the problem list, give them a try, and click the "Claim!" button once you've solved one to collect your points. Problems remain claimable for the entire duration of the warm-up, so you can solve them at your own pace.
You're welcome to discuss problems, read tutorials, or ask for help in the community — that's part of the fun. However, do not cheat by copying other people's code or submitting AI-generated solutions. The SC will review the leaderboard and inspect submissions, and anyone caught gaining points through cheating will be banned.
We understand that problems from recent Universal Cups, ICPC contests, and training camps may have been used as training material for contestants. To keep things fair, we will not use any problems from the 2024, 2025, or 2026 ICPC or Universal Cup contests.
2. Prediction & Betting
A series of prediction questions will be released throughout the warm-up period, covering contest outcomes, problem-solving statistics, and other Finals-related events.
- Place wagers from your point balance on the outcomes you believe in.
- Odds will be displayed for each option — higher odds reward bolder calls, while safer bets pay out smaller but steadier.
- Accurate predictions earn points proportional to your stake and the odds at the time of betting.
Whether you prefer careful analysis or bold gambles, the prediction board is your playground.
3. Additional Activities
You can also earn points by participating in various UCup-related activities — community challenges, live activities, and surprise events held in the run-up to the Finals. Further details will be announced in our future posts.
The 3rd Universal Cup Finals Prediction Game
Following our tradition, alongside the Warm-Up Game we are also hosting the UCup Finals Prediction Game. In the prediction game, you are asked to predict the final ranking of the top 12 teams of The 3rd Universal Cup Finals.
Make your predictions at: https://qoj.ac/voting_game/ucupf3/vote
The deadline to update your prediction is May 10th, 2026 at 10:00 (UTC +8) — that is, the start of the contest session.
Medal tiers at the Finals are:
- Gold: 1st ~ 3rd place
- Silver: 4th ~ 7th place
- Bronze: 8th ~ 12th place
You predict the 1st through 12th place teams. Each team can be nominated only once. For each team you nominate, let $r$ be its actual final rank and $R$ be the rank you predicted:
- Proximity: you earn $\max(0, 5 − |r − R|)$ points — full 5 points for an exact match, partial credit if you're within 4 ranks, 0 otherwise.
- Medal bonus: if you correctly predicted the team's medal tier (gold / silver / bronze), you earn an additional +3 points on top of rule 1.
- Champion bonus: if you correctly predicted the champion (1st place), you earn a further +2 points on top of rule 2.
Participants will be ranked first by their final score, then by the time of last edit — earlier edits rank higher in case of a tie. The final leaderboard will be posted after the contest is over.