Phygital glossary

A handy guide to the key terms used on our site and across phygital sport in general. Also, be sure to check out our FAQ page .

3on3 FreeStyle – the basketball video game that is the official digital-stage title for Phygital Basketball .
Augmented reality (AR) – technology that overlays digital images onto the real world through devices like smartphones or headsets, used in some phygital and tech-sport formats.
Avatar – the on-screen character a player controls during a digital-stage match.
Battle of Robots – a tech-sport discipline in which competitors build and control combat robots.
Battle Royale – an esports category where many players/teams fight until one remains; currently played on PUBG: Battlegrounds.
Best-of series – a match decided by winning a majority of games (e.g. best-of-three or Bo3).
Bracket – the diagram showing who each team will play, and when, throughout a knockout tournament.
Caster – a commentator who talks through a match live for the audience.
Choking – when an athlete or team is on the brink of victory but fails to close out the match and often then loses.
Clutch play – a decisive, high-pressure moment where a player performs incredibly well to give themselves or their team a huge advantage or to seal a win.
Combined score – the single result produced by adding an athlete's or team's digital-stage and physical-stage scores together.
Console – a dedicated gaming device (e.g. PlayStation, Xbox) used for some digital-stage matches.
Controller – the handheld device (joypad, keyboard and mouse, etc.) used to play a digital-stage match.
CS2 (Counter-Strike 2) – the tactical shooter currently used for Phygital Shooter 's digital stage.
Digital stage – the video-game leg of a phygital discipline, played on PC, console, phone or VR headset.
Direct qualification – automatic entry into GOTF given to the top-ranked club(s) in a discipline.
Dota 2 – the PC game currently used for the MOBA PC category.
Esports – competitive video-game tournaments; at GOTF these sit alongside phygital sport but have no physical-world stage of their own.
Fan zone – a public area at an event where visitors can watch, play and interact without a ticket to the main arena.
Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves – the fighting video game that is the official digital-stage title for Phygital Fighting .
Gamer – a competitive video-game player; every phygital athlete is also a gamer for the digital half of their event.
Games of the Future (GOTF) – the flagship annual global championship for phygital sport, esports and tech sport, held in a different host city each year.
GOTF Majors – the previous name for what is now called Phygital Rivals .
GOTF Minors – the previous name for the tournaments now called Phygital Origins .
GOTF Qualifiers – the previous name for the tournament now called Phygital Contenders .
GOTF Streaming Community – GOTF's official co-streaming program in which approved streamers and content creators get free, production-grade access to official live feeds, technical support and post-event highlight packages – and keep their own channel's earnings.
Group draw – the event or process that decides which teams will play in which group at the beginning of a tournament.
Group stage – the early round of a tournament where teams are split into groups and have to play everyone in their group. Teams with the most points after all matches have been played then progress to the next round.
Highlight reel – a short video compilation of a match's best or most exciting moments.
Host broadcaster – the media organization producing the official video coverage of an event.
Host city – the city chosen to stage a given year's Games of the Future.
Hybrid sport – a type of sport that combines elements from two or more different sports to create a new competitive activity. Examples include biathlon, which merges cross-country skiing and rifle shooting, and chess boxing, which alternates between rounds of chess and boxing. All phygital disciplines are hybrid sports as they combine physical sport and esports.
IRL (In Real Life) – shorthand for the physical-stage half of a discipline, as opposed to its digital-stage half.
Just Dance – the rhythm/dance video game currently used for Phygital Dancing 's digital stage.
K/D ratio – a player's kills divided by their deaths, a common shooter/Battle Royale performance stat.
Knockout stage – the elimination phase where a loss ends a team's run in the tournament.
LAN event – a competition where all players are physically connected on the same local network, usually in the same venue.
Laser tag – the real-world tagging format used for the physical stage of Phygital Shooter .
Leaderboard – a ranked list showing how players, teams or clubs currently stand.
Livestream – a real-time video broadcast of a match as it happens.
Loadout – the set of weapons, characters or equipment a player chooses before a match.
LOC (Local Organizing Committee) – the body responsible for planning and delivering a specific edition of the Games of the Future in its host city, working alongside Phygital International.
Meta – the strategies and choices currently considered strongest in a given game. In competitive games, players adapt to the current meta by recognizing popular strategies and countering them effectively.
MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) – the real-world combat-sport format used for Phygital Fighting 's physical stage, where athletes face off in a cage after their match on the digital stage.
MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena) – a video-game genre where two teams battle across a map and a pure esports discipline at GOTF with no physical stage.
MOBA Mobile – the mobile version of the MOBA category, currently played on Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB).
MOBA PC – the PC version of the MOBA category, currently played on Dota 2.
Mobile gaming – competing on a smartphone or tablet, as in MOBA Mobile.
Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) – the mobile game currently used in the MOBA Mobile category.
MVP (Most Valuable Player) – the title given to the best performer during a match or event.
Opening ceremony – the event that formally launches a tournament, before competition begins.
Patch – a small software update that corrects defects or vulnerabilities in a game without being a full release. Patches can also add new features or content to improve the overall gaming experience.
PC gaming – competing on a desktop or laptop computer rather than a console or phone.
Phygital – a blend of "physical" and "digital"; any format that combines a real-world activity with its video-game counterpart into one hybrid experience.
Phygital athlete – a competitor who trains and competes in both the digital and physical stages of a phygital discipline.
Phygital Basketball – console basketball gameplay (currently 3on3FreeStyle) followed by a 2v2 real-court basketball match.
Phygital Contenders – the international qualifying stage for clubs and athletes to earn the chance to compete for remaining GOTF places.
Phygital Dancing – a rhythm/dance video game (currently Just Dance) featuring a live choreography performance.
Phygital Drone Racing – a tech-sport discipline in which drones race around a predesigned course.
Phygital Fighting – a video game contest (currently Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves) followed by a live fight.
Phygital Football – a football video-game match (currently UFL) followed by a 5v5 futsal match.
Phygital International – the organizing body that runs Games of the Future.
Phygital Origins – the entry-level local/regional tournament stage where a club's phygital journey begins.
Phygital+ – the official broadcast/streaming platform for phygital sport and GOTF.
Phygital Rivals – the national-level tournament stage that feeds into WPC rankings.
Phygital Shooter – a first-person-shooter video game (currently CS2) followed by real-world laser-tag competition.
Phygital sport – a sport where competitors play a video-game version of a discipline, then play the physical version, with results from both stages combined into one final result.
Phygital Sports Summit – an industry conference for the phygital sports community.
Phygitalization – the process of turning a traditional sport into a phygital (hybrid digital/physical) format with its own separate rules and regulations.
Physical stage – the real-world leg of a phygital discipline, played on a court, pitch, track or in an arena.
PI Lab – Phygital International's research arm, which develops new phygital and tech-sport disciplines.
Podium – normally refers to the stage where the top three competitors receive their gold, silver or bronze medals – but can also refer to a top three finish in general.
Prize pool – the total money awarded to competitors across an event.
PUBG: Battlegrounds – the game currently used for the Battle Royale discipline.
Ranking points – points earned from tournaments run by the World Phygital Community which determine a club’s position in the global league table and therefore their chances of qualifying for the Games of the Future.
Referee/Judge – the official who enforces the rules during a physical-stage match.
Respawn – reappearing back in a video game after being eliminated, ready to keep playing.
Season – the competitive year (e.g. "26/27") of tournaments run by both the WPC (Phygital Origins and Phygital Rivals) and Phygital International (Phygital Contenders and Games of the Future). GOTF is the climax of the phygital season.
Seeding – ranking teams before a tournament starts so stronger teams are spread across the bracket.
Skin – a cosmetic appearance for a character or weapon that doesn't affect gameplay.
Streaming – delivering live or on-demand video coverage of GOTF over the internet rather than traditional broadcast TV. GOTF's coverage blends broadcast-partner TV deals, its own direct-to-consumer platform ( Phygital+ ), and creator-led streaming through the GOTF Streaming Community .
Sudden death – a tie-breaking format where the next point or goal instantly ends the match.
Tech sport – a competition built around a specific technology rather than a traditional sport, such as Battle of Robots or Drone Racing .
Two-stage format – the standard phygital structure: a digital round followed by a physical round of the same discipline, with points in each stage being combined to give the final score.
UFL – the football video game currently used for the digital stage of Phygital Football .
Underdog – a competitor or team considered less likely to win.
VOD (Video on Demand) – a recording of a match or stream that can be watched back after the event any time the viewer wants.
VR headset – a wearable display used for virtual-reality gameplay in some phygital and tech-sport disciplines.
Watch party – an organized gathering where fans watch a match together, in person or online.
Wildcard – a place in a tournament given outside the normal qualification route.
World Phygital Community (WPC) – the body that governs the ranking system and qualification pathway feeding into GOTF.
WPC Member – a registered legal entity (sports federation, association, club, educational institution or government body – not an individual) admitted to the World Phygital Community to develop and manage phygital sport in its own country. Members get exclusive territorial rights to a discipline but must run qualifying tournaments and pay a membership fee.
WPC Ranking System – the points-based system the World Phygital Community uses to rank clubs and set GOTF eligibility.