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Don't bother. It doesn't matter @mommy520 . I'd just like to hear King's explanation. You don't owe us any explanation at all.
We are reading everyone's comments. We will respond in the future to everything if and when we can.
Thanks for this rundown. The terms are very vague and you might be right but I'm not convinced. I was pretty sure that Kristen was the 11th leaderboard winner in 2024 , which I concluded from her own comment to me in the foreign language post, but the winning score in that group was obviously lower than others given that leaderboard started late. So I assumed the 11th leaderboard was a one-off mistake and not the norm. I personally think that the points King make about "absolute discretion" are all a get-out clause to allow them to pick the winners as they see fit without anyone questioning their decisions, and to counter any possible legal action. I still think there were ten leaderboards this year and this Community got hold of them all, and King are probably fuming that we did. If there really were more, then across all the social media sites someone would have come forward. Also we have not heard from anyone here in the community this year who complained that they came first and didn't get the place. I think this is because there were only the 10 leaderboards and no one had cause to complain. Kristen has not offered any explanation nor complained about being excluded, even though I know she has read all our posts, so I assume she either received an explanation from King or it was her own decision.
That's an interesting view
Yeah, it is just something I believe and have said many times in the past. I am probably (hopefully?) wrong, but it is just that the T&Cs seem badly written if the competition was as simple as the ten people at the top of ten leader boards are the overall winners.
Here is why I think this way.
5.4. Participants: Participants will not know the total number of players in the Tournament during any of the Stages.
5.4.
Participants:
Participants will not know the total number of players in the Tournament during any of the Stages.
First thing is that this is an odd thing to say if there are only ten leader boards in Stage 6.
5.5. Win Conditions: Subject to King’s sole and absolute discretion, the final score on the Tournament Leaderboard at the close of each Stage will determine which Participants shall pass to the next Stage of the Tournament.
5.5.
Win Conditions:
Subject to King’s sole and absolute discretion, the final score on the Tournament Leaderboard at the close of each Stage will determine which Participants shall pass to the next Stage of the Tournament.
Again an odd thing to say. To make things clearer and for the end result to comply with the consensus of this forum's users I believe Stage 6 should have a separate clause that simply reads, The ten people that finish first in the final ten leader boards will be the Finalists (subject to clause 3.1 & 6.9).
6.8 In the unlikely event that Stage 6 results in more than ten Participants who achieved the highest score in their respective Tournament Leaderboards, King in its sole discretion is entitled to award the Prize to only the top ten first place Participants who achieved the highest scores out of all of the relevant Participants.
I think it is this clause that causes the biggest misconception. This is the only time 'ten' is mentioned in the T&Cs but people have extrapolated from this and decided that this means there are only ten final leader boards. This isn't what it says.
All this actually says is that King do not expect more than ten people to achieve the highest scores across all of the leader boards.
This is the most interesting part.
King in its sole discretion is entitled to award the Prize to only the top ten first place Participants who achieved the highest scores out of all of the relevant Participants
If there are only ten leader boards and ten first places then no discretion would be required.
6.9 Standby In-Game Winner: At our sole discretion, we may select up to one standby player (the “Standby In-Game Winner”) from the pool of Participants who placed second in their respective Tournament Leaderboards during Stage 6 (Final Knockouts Round 3). The selection will be based on the highest and valid numerical score among all second-place scores across all Stage 6 Tournament Leaderboards. If for any reason we are unable to select from second-place scores, acting reasonably, King may select a Standby In-Game Winner from other ranks, starting from third place onwards. The Standby In-Game Winner will be offered:
6.9
Standby In-Game Winner:
At our sole discretion, we may select up to one standby player (the “
Standby In-Game Winner
”) from the pool of Participants who placed second in their respective Tournament Leaderboards during Stage 6 (Final Knockouts Round 3). The selection will be based on the highest and valid numerical score among all second-place scores across all Stage 6 Tournament Leaderboards. If for any reason we are unable to select from second-place scores, acting reasonably, King may select a Standby In-Game Winner from other ranks, starting from third place onwards. The Standby In-Game Winner will be offered:
Another popular comment when it comes to All Stars is that if the first placed player of any leader board is eliminated for any reason then the second placed player of the affected leader board is automatically then considered to be first in that leader board. This isn't stated anywhere in the T&Cs and I think the comments stem from the clause above and this below.
6.9 (ii) in the event an In-Game Winner is unable to attend the Live Final for any reason, at King’s sole discretion and by invitation only, an opportunity to participate in the Live Final instead of that absent In-Game Winner.
As you can see there is only one Standby player and their role is to replace an absent In-Game Winner. They do not replace players eliminated during the tournament
The only people that receive an invite to the LA final are those players (In-Game Winners) that achieve the highest scores in their respective leader boards.
If there are only ten leader boards and ten winners then none of this discretion would be required.
In my opinion this is the cause of all the complaints we have seen over the years from people claiming that they haven't received an invite. It is clear (well, that is an exaggeration) those who claim that they have reached the final, but haven't received an invite just haven't scored highly enough to be considered a 'top ten winner'.
It is also quite possibly the cause of the eleventh leader board from last year and the reason that no one from Christinewupp's leader board received an invite.
That's an interesting view @Alienscar . My best guess is that I will hear nothing though. If past years are anything to go by then once the event is complete and the winners announced King stay quiet and just wait for any complaints or questions to just go away. They usually do. Except in this case, chances are I'll be back to ask about it at the start of next year's event.
Hi @teenybee thanks for the information and sorry for the late response. I don't have much time for the forum over the weekend. I had forgotten all about Miki, thanks again
@christinewupp compared to all the previous years I find this thread, and some others, really interesting and informative. I really hope you get a response from QueenB as previously there has never been an official response to issues with the All Stars such as yours.
I have always maintained that there are more than ten leaderboards (and more than eleven) for the final round. That is why I am looking forward to QueenB's reply to see if I have been wrong all these years.
Let me see…
I really appreciate both @teenybee and @christinewupp’s perspectives here—it’s clear this tournament stirred a lot of passion, and rightfully so.
The idea that a player could lose out simply because they were unlucky enough to be placed on a board with a cheater—and then not have their spot reassigned—isn’t just unfortunate, it raises serious fairness concerns. I completely agree: being beaten by skill is part of the game, but being blocked by a disqualified player feels unjust.
I also relate to what @christinewupp said about the lack of clarity in what it actually takes to reach the Finals . If leaderboards are private and scoring thresholds shift from year to year, it’s nearly impossible to set a strategy or even gauge if you’re close.
I think what we’re seeing isn’t a lack of appreciation for the winners (congrats to Tiago and the finalists 🎉), but rather a desire for more transparent and consistent processes in future tournaments—especially when stakes are high, like travel or major prizes.
Maybe next year, clearer language in the Terms, visible scoreboards, and a published backup process for cheater disqualifications could help a lot. If everyone knew the system was fair and the rules couldn’t be misread or misapplied, the focus could go back where it belongs—on playing your best game.
Until then, I think this community did an amazing job sharing information and helping each other through the chaos. Let’s hope King learns from 2025 and makes 2026 even better 🌟
There is no logic in that argument for me and it's just speculation. Vetting is about following the rules and playing fair. That can change from one year to another. Let's see what the official answer is.
If I have read this thread first, I will not post there😆
Kristen, mommy520, is one of the finalists in 2024, so she would not have any problems in vetting system. You might notice that all past finalists have been placed in different leaderboards, this is not coincidence.
Sergio and Miki have different reactions after All Stars. Sergio congratulations to Miki in another post here and didn't have any upset about the vetting systems. It's unbelievable that a player who has kicked out from Live Finals and would not be upset if he hasn't any issues. For example, I have released a thread here about the unfair result of a contest held in contests column and you was the only one replied me. Because I feel very upset about the final winner picked not following to the rule.
And besides, if we look at the 2024 data it would appear that year too one of the leaderboards was ignored. From what I can gather from her posts Kristen was the person on the 11th leaderboard? This goes back a long time and is now history, but it must mean that one leaderboard went empty last year as well.
I'll answer you here @michimune . How do you know that Kristen could not attend for personal reasons? If that is the case then all is perfectly in order, but how do you know this?
Let me gather the data here in one place. These are the ten finalists and their leaderboards (in no particular order):
So Miki disappeared from this leaderboard as King removed him unfairly, Kiwi Lady Dee won and both went to the live finals.
This leaderboard is the one with no representative at the finals:
I hope this clarifies it @Alienscar and @QueenB
Nat was the second placed player on Sergio's leaderboard.
Miki was the real add on player: He had been unfairly disqualified and demoted to last place in one of the leaderboards with an hour or two to go in the competition, then argued his case and was reinstated. However as he did not play the last hour or so of the competition because of the demotion there was also a true winner of that leaderboard, so two players were chosen from one leaderboard.
Thanks for you reply and for moving these comments away to a place of its own. I appreciate that.
I really haven’t, @Alienscar. I just pulled stuff together. And that’s a very good question. It’s almost impossible to analyse the boards without the players’ in-game names. We can only speculate as to who’s who. But yes, no Sergio or mommy 520 so (at least) two replacements needed. posted this after the final knockouts:
And also, just for interests sake - and in the event that anyone on the list has to be replaced - the highest scoring 2nd placed players were Nat, who finished 2nd behind PlayingSince2014, with a score of 5,914,178, followed by Ben, who finished 2nd to Hayden, on 5,630,370.
And also, just for interests sake - and in the event that anyone on the list has to be replaced - the highest scoring 2nd placed players were Nat, who finished 2nd behind PlayingSince2014, with a score of 5,914,178, followed by Ben, who finished 2nd to Hayden, on 5,630,370
Obviously Nat made the finals based on score, and not because Sergio wasn’t invited. But Ben didn’t get the second spot so that wasn’t score-based. Your guess is as good as mine.
PS just remembered that Miki (mikihero) went through from the same leaderboard as Kiwi Lady Dee. He’d been leading, was wrongfully excluded and then reinstated. So two came from that leaderboard as well.
@teenybee you seem to have a good knowledge of the leaderboards so can I ask you something.
If Sergio and mommy520 didn't make the finals and King can only select one standby winner do we really know where the finalists came from?
Thanks for that @teenybee . I think the issue is that there is no way of knowing, in this case, what it actually takes to get to the live finals since non of us can see the other leaderboards. So we could not know how much we needed to score. In past years 4.5 million would have been enough, if I remember correctly players with this score were selected in either 2023 or 2024.
Also I do recall we were debating the meaning of that confusing paragraph which @Alienscar quoted towards the end of the tournament here in the community. At the time I thought the stand-by player would be an eleventh person chosen to attend LA for free but to then only participate in the event if one of the 10 finalists didn't show up, as was the case in 2024 when apparently there were only 9 players present at the live finals. A little further down the Terms and Conditions there is mention of this "stand-by" player and a mention that they may not actually take place in the event. I mean this paragraph:
6.9.5. Acknowledge that being a Standby In-Game Winner:
(i) does not guarantee entry to the Live Final venue or participation in the Live Final; and
(ii) does not entitle them to any Prize.
But I do think that Alienscar is right in the fact I won't get an answer and probably everyone is bound by an NDA.
My personal hunch is that this was another messed up event. The contact forms went out a lot later than expected and than we were advised by admin in this community. We also know from posts from the winner that he was waiting unusually long to be contacted by King and there was an extension to the official deadline of when the winners would be notified. This leads me to suspect that King messed up and ran out to time to do the vetting properly, meaning that once they'd established the first placed player was not eligible there simply wasn't enough time to go down the rankings. Besides they apparently had not sent out any contact forms to anyone but those who came first, and perhaps those who came second.
I am happy to leave the speculations and attend to my garden now. This thread should belong to the winners, all of whom deservedly got their places. If we are all still here a year from now then we can mention this and warn about it.
This community did a great job in 2025 to find and publish all ten final leaderboards and to produce the tournament winner! Hooray to the finalists and the winner Tiago! 🎉😃🎉
It never struck me before how completely unfair that rule is, but now it’s personal.
It depends on your point of view @teenybee. Most of the anger/frustration towards the All Stars comes from misconception. The All Stars has never been a classic round-robin knockout competition but because King has knockout rounds and 'finals' most people have convinced themselves that it is. That is, the All Stars isn't about whittling down millions of players to a final ten it is about whittling down millions of players to allow King to pick their ten finalists.
It never struck me before how completely unfair that rule is, but now it’s personal. Let’s say @christinewupp had finished second on her leaderboard and would have won if the 1st place player hadn’t cheated. Instead of being automatically promoted to first place with the exclusion of that player, she loses out just because someone on another board scored more highly. That seems all wrong.
To be drawn against and beaten by a stronger player is unlucky: to be drawn against a cheat and not get their spot when they’re excluded is unjust. Yes, I know. Them’s the rules. But they’re just wrong.
Please could someone clarify why no player from MY leaderboard made it to LA!
I very much doubt anyone that works for King will answer your question @christinewupp as it wouldn't surprise me if they have had to sign an NDA as well.
Logically and in accordance with King's T&Cs the reason no one from your leaderboard was picked is because that is how the All Stars works.
King is fairly clear on this. Once a first placed player on a leaderboard is ineligible for the final King is entitled to pick the runner up from any of the other leaderboards.
I suppose the only unknown is why your first placed player didn't make it to LA.
Pertinent bits of T&Cs
5.5. Win Conditions: …King reserves the right, acting reasonably and subject to section 6.9 below, to select Participants from Stage 6 to be an In-Game Winner (as defined below), in each case for reasons such as but not limited to if Participants are unavailable to participate in the Tournament and/or the Live Final, more Participants are needed to take part in the Live Final (for example, if we disqualify Participants due to breaches of these All Stars Rules), or a Participant does not meet the criteria as outlined in sections 3.2.1 or 6.3.
6.9 Standby In-Game Winner: At our sole discretion, we may select up to one standby player (the “Standby In-Game Winner”) from the pool of Participants who placed second in their respective Tournament Leaderboards during Stage 6 (Final Knockouts Round 3). The selection will be based on the highest and valid numerical score among all second-place scores across all Stage 6 Tournament Leaderboards. If for any reason we are unable to select from second-place scores, acting reasonably, King may select a Standby In-Game Winner from other ranks, starting from third place onwards.
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