Last month, I was grinding my way through the 2026 Brawl Stars Masters ranked bracket, trying to qualify for the regional summer tournament qualifiers, when I ran into three matches in a row where the opposing team picked level 1 Shelly, El Primo, and Colt, walked straight into my team's spawn, and didn't fire a single shot. At first I thought I just got lucky, but a quick check of their profiles showed they all had 10+ recent losses to the same player I'd seen climbing the global leaderboard the week prior. That's when I realized I'd run right into wintrading, one of the most frustrating and harmful issues plaguing the game's competitive scene right now. If you've ever run into a similar situation and wondered what is wintrading in Brawl Stars, this guide breaks down everything you need to know, from how it works to what you can do to stop it.
What Is Wintrading in Brawl Stars, Exactly?
At its core, wintrading is a form of intentional match manipulation where two or more players or teams coordinate to pre-determine the outcome of a match, usually to give one party an unfair competitive advantage. It's different from random trolling or having a bad game, because it's pre-planned and done for a specific reward, rather than being a one-off, unplanned mistake. I've talked to dozens of casual and competitive players this year, and most of them can tell the difference between a player who's just having an off game and one who's intentionally throwing for wintrading purposes – the latter is almost always too consistent, and follows a very predictable pattern.
Wintrading has existed in Brawl Stars for years, but the 2026 ranked rework raised the stakes significantly, making it a far more common issue across all rank brackets. The new update gives top 100 global players exclusive in-game skins, automatic invites to international prize tournaments, and custom profile badges that are visible to all other players, so there's far more incentive for people to cheat their way to the top. Many new players don't realize that even agreeing to throw one match for a clan mate counts as wintrading, and can lead to serious penalties, even if you don't get any material reward for doing it.
I've seen people try to argue that wintrading is harmless, especially if it's just between friends who want to help each other climb ranks, but that's just not true. For every person who gets a free win, there are 3 other players on the opposing team who just wasted 3 minutes of their time playing a match that was never going to be fair, and that frustration adds up fast. It also skews the matchmaking system, putting boosted players in lobbies they don't belong in, where they'll throw future matches for their random teammates who earned their rank fairly.
How Wintrading Manipulates 2026 Brawl Stars Ranked and Tournament Lobbies
Wintrading works by exploiting Brawl Stars' matchmaking system, which pairs players based on their current trophy count and recent win/loss ratio. Wintraders will coordinate to queue for matches at the exact same time, so they get paired against each other, then one team will intentionally throw to let the other team gain trophies without having to compete against fair opponents. There are a few common tactics that wintraders use in 2026, many of which are organized through private Discord servers or clan chat groups:
The 2026 Brawl Stars ranked mode trophy reset rules make wintrading even more appealing, because players who finish the season in the top 100 get a 75% trophy retention bonus, which means they don't have to re-grind as many trophies at the start of the next season to keep their top rank. That bonus is a huge incentive for people to wintrade in the final week of each season, when the final global rankings are locked in. I saw this firsthand at the March 2026 regional qualifier I attended, where two teams were disqualified mid-tournament for colluding to wintrade their way into the semi-finals, which meant the team that should have advanced didn't get their shot at the $10,000 prize pool.
Even casual players feel the impact of wintrading, too. If you've ever been matched with a teammate who has a really high rank but plays like they've never touched the game before, there's a good chance that player got boosted through wintrading, and now they're stuck in a rank they don't belong in, ruining matches for everyone else on their team. Over time, this can make even casual ranked play feel frustrating and unfair, especially for new players who are just learning the game and trying to climb ranks the right way.
Penalties for Wintrading You Need to Know in 2026
Supercell updated its fair play policies in January 2026 to crack down harder on wintrading, after reports of match manipulation rose 60% in the final quarter of 2025 following the ranked rework announcement. The penalties are steep, and they apply to both players who receive the free wins and players who intentionally throw matches to help others, even if you don't get paid for it.
First-time offenders usually get a temporary 72-hour to 30-day ranked ban, where they can't earn any trophies, participate in competitive events, or qualify for tournament invites. They also lose all trophies gained from wintraded matches, so they're set back to the rank they would have been at if they'd played fairly. Repeat offenders or people who organize large-scale wintrading rings face permanent account bans, with no option to appeal. Supercell announced in June 2026 that they'd banned over 18,000 accounts for wintrading in the first half of the year, including 470 top 1000 global players who'd been manipulating matches for months.
If you're caught wintrading in any official Supercell or partner tournament, you'll face even harsher penalties, including loss of all competitive tournament prizes you've won in the past 12 months, a lifetime ban from all future Brawl Stars competitive events, and in some cases, legal action if you won a large cash prize through manipulated matches. A friend of mine who wintraded his way to top 50 global late last year thought he got away with it, but he got hit with a permanent ban in February 2026, and lost all the exclusive skins, tournament invites, and even the $500 he won in a small local tournament. It's just not worth the short term gain.
You don't even have to get reported by another player to get caught, either. Supercell uses an AI detection system that flags unusual match patterns, like accounts that have a high number of wins against players with abnormally high loss rates, or accounts that only queue for matches at the exact same time as a group of other accounts with suspicious activity. That means even if no one reports you, you could still get flagged and banned months after you participated in wintrading.
How to Report Wintrading and Keep Brawl Stars Lobbies Fair
Fighting wintrading isn't just Supercell's responsibility – every player can do their part to keep lobbies fair, even if you're not a top competitive player. If you run into a suspicious match that you think is wintrading, there are a few simple steps you can take to report it, and help get manipulative players removed from the game.
First, take screenshots or record a short clip of the match, and note the match ID, which you can find in your match history tab right after the game ends. Use the in-game report feature immediately, select "fair play violation" and then "match manipulation" as the reason, and add a short note explaining what you saw, like "opposing team intentionally walked into spawn without attacking, all have recent losses to the same player." Supercell prioritizes reports with evidence, so adding those details makes it far more likely that the offending players will be penalized quickly.
If the wintrading is part of a tournament or you're reporting a large-scale wintrading ring, you can submit a formal report with your evidence through the official 2026 Brawl Stars fair play guidelines portal. The support team usually responds within 48 hours, and they'll follow up with you if they need more information to take action against the offending players. You don't have to be a top competitive player to make a difference – every report helps Supercell flag and remove wintraders faster, which makes lobbies fairer for everyone from casual bronze players to pro tournament competitors.
Most importantly, never participate in wintrading yourself, even if a friend asks you to throw a match to help them climb, or someone offers you money to lose a game. The risk of losing your account, all your progress, and access to future tournaments is far higher than any short term benefit you might get from helping someone cheat. You can also help by calling out wintrading when you see it discussed in clan chats or public community groups, instead of ignoring it, and encouraging your friends to play fairly and earn their ranks the right way.
Wintrading might seem like a quick way to get ahead in Brawl Stars, but it erodes the fun and fairness that makes the game worth playing for millions of people around the world. Whether you're a casual player who only plays a few matches a week, or a competitive player grinding for a spot in the 2026 Brawl Stars World Championship, understanding what is wintrading in Brawl Stars, how to spot it, and how to report it is one of the best ways you can help keep the game fun for everyone. Next time you run into a suspicious match, don't just brush it off as bad luck – take 30 seconds to file a report, and you'll be doing your part to make Brawl Stars' 2026 competitive scene the fairest it's ever been.