A team withdraws after the competition has started

Updated 20 Oct 2026

When a team withdraws from a round robin competition that has already started, you don't need to regenerate the schedule. You can deal with the withdrawn team's remaining fixtures yourself, one round at a time, by editing each fixture. This article explains the two ways to do that, how to choose between them, and what MatchPoint will and won't let you change.

Which article do I need?

The team hasn't played yet (no results entered for them): use Mapping a bye in an existing competition. That replaces the team with a bye in every fixture in one go.
The team has already played at least one fixture: use this article. Once a team has a played fixture, Unmap Competitor and Map Bye are no longer available for them, because changing them would alter results that have already been entered.

Choose how to handle the withdrawn team's fixtures

Decide this with your competition committee before you start, and use the same option for every remaining round.

Option 1 – Give their opponents a bye (recommended). In each remaining fixture, replace the withdrawn team with BYE. Each team that was drawn to play them gets a bye that round instead. This is the simplest option, it keeps every team on the same number of matches, and it doesn't create any repeat pairings.
Option 2 – Fill the gap with the team that has the bye. In each remaining fixture, replace the withdrawn team with the team that has the BYE that round, so the opponent still gets a match. Read what to expect with Option 2 first: the original BYE fixture can't be removed, and the new pairing will usually repeat a match already in the draw.

Before you start

This works for round robin competitions. In other competition types, such as knockouts, the teams in a fixture can't be changed.
Only unplayed fixtures can be changed. Fixtures on the Played tab are locked. Their teams can't be changed and they can't be deleted.
You can't delete fixtures from a final schedule. MatchPoint only allows draft fixtures to be deleted. If you try to delete a fixture on the Final tab you'll see "Unable to delete the fixture. Only draft fixtures can be deleted." That's why both options below edit fixtures rather than deleting them.
BYE fixtures can't be edited. A fixture with a BYE is resulted automatically, so its teams can't be changed afterwards. Only edit the withdrawn team's fixtures, not the BYE fixtures.
The schedule must not be archived. Use the schedule on the Final tab.
Check how byes are scored. Byes earn whatever points are set under Bye in the competition's Results Settings › Points. Check this before you start, especially if you're using Option 1, because it decides how many points the withdrawn team's opponents get for the bye.
Note the withdrawn team's name and, for each remaining round, which team has the bye. If the competition has more than one Grade, only change fixtures in the withdrawn team's grade.

Step 1: Open the fixtures

1. Go to Competitions › Schedules and select the Final tab. Find the competition.

2. Click the actions button (spanner icon) on the competition's row and choose View Fixtures.

The Final tab on the Schedules page. Open the actions menu and choose View Fixtures.

3. Select the Unplayed tab. This lists every fixture that can still be changed, with its grade and round. Find the withdrawn team's fixture in the round you're working on, and the BYE fixture in the same round.

The Unplayed tab. In round 1 of this example, Team Alpha has the BYE and Team Delta (the withdrawn team) is drawn against Team Charlie.

Step 2: Open the withdrawn team's fixture

4. Click the actions button on the withdrawn team's fixture and choose Edit. The Edit Fixture panel opens on the right.

Open the actions menu on the withdrawn team's fixture and choose Edit. Don't use Delete: fixtures on a final schedule can't be deleted.

5. The Home and Away fields are greyed out to start with. Click the padlock button at the top right of the panel to unlock them.

Click the padlock to unlock the Home and Away fields.

Step 3, Option 1: Replace the withdrawn team with BYE

6. Click the field (Home or Away) that has the withdrawn team. Choose BYE from the list. You can also type BYE to filter the list. Leave the other team as it is.

The list shows TBD, BYE and every team in the grade. Choose BYE in place of the withdrawn team.

7. Scroll to the bottom of the panel and click Save.

8. Repeat steps 4 to 7 for each of the withdrawn team's remaining fixtures.

After you save, the fixture shows BYE against the opponent, the same as any other bye in the draw. That round will now have two byes: the original one and the new one.

Step 3, Option 2: Replace the withdrawn team with the team that has the bye

6. Click the field (Home or Away) that has the withdrawn team. Choose the team that has the BYE in that round. Leave the other team as it is.

In this example, Team Delta (withdrawn) has been replaced with Team Alpha, which had the bye in round 1.

7. Check the date, time and location are still right for the new pairing, then scroll to the bottom of the panel and click Save.

8. Repeat steps 4 to 7 for each of the withdrawn team's remaining fixtures. In a round robin the bye moves to a different team each round, so the team you choose will change from round to round.

What to expect with Option 2

The original BYE fixture stays. It can't be deleted (it's on a final schedule) or edited (it was resulted automatically). If you try to change it you'll see an error saying the match "cannot be unresulted because it contains a bye". So in each round you change, the team that had the bye appears twice: in its BYE fixture and in its new match. It will still get the bye points as well as the result of the new match.
The new pairing will usually repeat a fixture. In a round robin where every team plays each other once, the team with the bye is already drawn against every other team, including the withdrawn team's opponent, in another round. So this option gives those two teams a second meeting. Agree with your competition committee that this is acceptable before you start.
If either of these is a problem for your competition, use Option 1 instead.

The message you'll see if you try to change a BYE fixture.

Rounds that need something different

The withdrawn team has the bye that round. There's nothing to change. Every other team already has a fixture, so leave the round as it is.
You'd rather the home team changes. Use Switch Home/Away from the fixture's actions menu to swap which team is at home.
You've made a mistake. Open the fixture with Edit again, unlock it with the padlock and choose the right team. This only works while the fixture isn't a BYE fixture; once a fixture has a BYE in it and has been resulted, contact us and we'll help.
You see "Only draft fixtures can be deleted". This is expected on a final schedule. Edit the fixture instead of deleting it.

The message you'll see if you try to delete a fixture on a final schedule.

What stays the same

Fixtures the withdrawn team has already played stay on the Played tab, with their results. They still count in the results unless you change them.
The withdrawn team stays in the competition's list of teams. They just won't appear in any of the remaining fixtures you've changed.
Other fixtures in each round aren't affected.

Check the result

When you've finished, look through the Unplayed tab. The withdrawn team shouldn't appear in any unplayed fixture.

Option 1: each fixture that had the withdrawn team now shows BYE against their opponent.
Option 2: each fixture that had the withdrawn team now shows the team that had the bye, and that team's original BYE fixture is still listed.

After: in round 1 (Option 2), Team Alpha now plays Team Charlie and keeps its BYE fixture. In round 3 (Option 1), the withdrawn team has been replaced with BYE against Team Echo. This example shows both options for comparison; in your competition, use one option for every round.

Let the teams know

Captains score their matches in the MatchPoint Scoring App, so let the captains of every affected team know about the change before their next match:

With Option 1, tell each opponent they now have a bye that round.
With Option 2, tell both teams in each new pairing who they're playing, and confirm the date, time and location.

Need help?

If the Edit option or the padlock isn't available on an unplayed fixture, or the competition isn't a round robin, contact helpdesk@matchpoint.kiwi with the competition name and the withdrawn team, and we'll help.