Hold prize funds in escrow

Escrow is a holding mechanism for prize funds. When you fund an escrow pool for a tournament, the prize money is committed before the event begins, so participants can see that funds exist. The pool then moves through several stages — pledged, funded, in escrow, verification, and distributed — as the tournament runs and completes, and money is only released to winners once a post-tournament dispute window has passed and each winner is cleared to receive a payout. Tournament Suite deducts a platform fee from the pool before winners are paid.

Where to find it

Projects → [Project] → [Tournament] → Escrow

Step by step

1. Open the tournament and click Escrow in the navigation.
2. Review the escrow dashboard: KPI cards for the committed, funded, and released amounts, a status stepper showing where the pool is in its lifecycle, and a release-readiness panel.
3. Click Add funds. Enter an amount and choose a payment provider — Stripe, Dots, or manual — to create a funding request. Depending on the provider, the payment is then completed and confirmed before it counts toward the pool.
4. Once funding is confirmed, the pool status moves to Funded — this status is visible to registered participants.
5. Run the tournament as normal. When it starts, the pool automatically advances to In escrow while funds stay committed for the duration of play.
6. After the tournament ends and final standings are confirmed, the pool automatically moves to Verification and a 48-hour dispute window opens. Funds cannot be released until this window has elapsed.
7. Once the dispute window has passed, check the release-readiness panel on the Escrow page. The Release funds action is only enabled when readiness shows Ready; if it shows blockers instead — for example, a winner missing a verified payout method or required tax documents — resolve those first (see Payout setup).
8. Click Release funds and confirm. The platform fee deduction is recorded as its own line item in the escrow transaction ledger alongside the funding and payout entries, so you can see it applied.
9. Funds are sent to each winner through the Dots payout provider, using each winner's configured payout method.

When to use escrow

• Tournaments with large or significant prize pools where participant trust matters.
• Events where you want to guarantee prize availability before the tournament runs.
• Tournaments with paid registration fees where participants expect a refund guarantee if the event is cancelled.

Platform fee

Tournament Suite deducts a platform fee — 3% by default — from the escrowed prize pool before disbursement. Each fee deduction appears as its own entry in the escrow transaction ledger alongside funding and payout entries. Share the net figure, not the gross prize pool amount, when telling participants what they'll be paid.

Funding and confirmation

Funding a pool is a two-step process: creating a funding request with an amount and payment provider, and then having that payment completed and confirmed. Only after confirmation does the pool count as funded — an unconfirmed request does not move the pool out of Pledged.

Dispute window and release readiness

Once final standings are confirmed, the pool enters Verification and a 48-hour dispute window begins. Release is blocked until that window passes. After it clears, the release-readiness panel evaluates every recipient; if any winner is missing a verified payout method or hasn't completed required tax documentation, that recipient shows as a blocker and the Release funds action stays disabled until it's resolved.

Tax documentation

Winners whose payout exceeds $100 must have submitted tax documentation before that payout can be released. Winners whose cumulative payouts from your tournaments exceed $600 in a calendar year must also complete a 1099 tax-document collection step. Both requirements surface as blockers in the release-readiness panel until the winner completes them — see Payout setup for what winners need to provide.

Requesting a refund

If a tournament is cancelled or otherwise won't complete, funds still held in escrow (before release to winners) can be refunded back out of the pool, which sets its status to Refunded. Contact support with the tournament and pool details to have this processed. Refunds are not available once funds have already been released to winners.

What happens next

• Winners must have a verified payout method — and any required tax documentation — before they can receive escrow disbursements. See Payout setup.
• For general prize configuration on a tournament, see Prizes and payouts.
• To track escrow and disbursement activity across your project, go to Financial overview.