How to Set Up a Tournament in Mario Kart 8

Last Updated: July 8, 2021

One of Mario Kart 8's new features is the ability to create tournaments. With the feature's many settings and possibilities, you can set up tournaments to your own liking. If you're a Mario Kart 8 player who wants to know how to set up a tournament, look no further.

Steps

1
At the game's menu, select "Online - One Player" (you can also select "Online - Two Players" if you have another person with you).
2
Wait to be connected to game's online server. Then, at the online menu, select "Tournament".

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3
Select "Create a Tournament".
4
Select an icon and give a name to your tournament.
5
Customize your tournament's rules and settings. You'll have to specify the mode your tournament will be using (race or battle), if there will be teams, the rules for items, how long each round will last (if you're doing battle mode), the rules for vehicles, what control method(s) can be used, if there will be computer players, how often your tournament will happen, the day it will be on (if weekly), the start date (if it will be on a single day), the end day, the end date, the end time, how many races there will be, if groups will be shuffling, if the tournament will be public or private, whether global or regional players can play, and the ranking necessary for players to play in the tournament.
6
Press the "A" button to create your tournament.
7
Start your tournament on the specified date/time. To do this, go to the tournament menu, select your tournament, and select "Join".

Community Q&A

Question

What does the flag beside the tournament titles represent?

Community Answer

That means the tourney is in full-play.
Question

Can I do this in Mario Kart 8 on Nintendo Switch?

Community Answer

Yes, you can do that as long as you're online.

Warnings

If you're setting up a tournament specifically for somewhere such as a website, be sure to keep other people's time zones and commitments in mind. People may not be able to join because a tournament is too early/too late for them or they may have something else to do while the tournament is going on.

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Unless you want your tournament to be specifically for skilled players, don't make the ranking threshold too high. Otherwise, there may not be a lot of people in your tournament.

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Don't expect things to go fairly all the time, even if you encourage people to be fair. It is Mario Kart, after all.

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While turning off items makes the game more fair for skilled players, it also makes it less fun. If you don't like Blue Shells or another specific item, you can select settings such as "Mushrooms Only" or "Bob-ombs Only".

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