Division
In Hattrick series system, the number of divisions, or league levels, depends on the number of users of that specific country.
The Pyramid
A team is first created in a national league, then is assigned to a manager. When you take control of a team it is in one of the two lowest divisions of the national league. Now it's time for you to show your magic and you start your climb upwards.
Every country has a top series, the tier division, which is you target. Immediately below there are four division series, the second division, and then sixteen more series under this, the third division. Every level further from the top is 4 times as big as the one above.
From division 6 on, divisions are divided in odd and even: even divisions double in number, but odd divisions are the same than division above. In other words, from division 6 down, divisions will alternating have the same and double size.
Bigger countries (more than 168 users) may have more leagues, according to the scheme in table below.
| Division (League level) |
Number of series | Teams per division | Total possible users | . / \ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 8 | 8 | /=8=\ |
| 2 | 4 | 32 | 40 | /= 40 =\ |
| 3 | 16 | 128 | 168 | /==168==\ |
| /=== x 4 ===\ | ||||
| 4 | 64 | 512 | 680 | /==== 680 ===\ |
| 5 | 256 | 2 048 | 2 728 | /==== 2 728 ====\ |
| 6 | 1024 | 8 192 | 10 920 | /===== 10 920 =====\ |
| /==== odd and even ====\ | ||||
| 7 | 1024 | 8 192 | 19 112 | /======= 19 112 ========\ |
| 8 | 2048 | 16 384 | 35 496 | /======== 35 496 =========\ |
| 9 | 2048 | 16 384 | 51 880 | /========= 51 880 ==========\ |
| 10 | 4096 | 32 768 | 84 648 | /========== 84 648 ===========\ |
| 11+ | 4096 | + 32 768 | ... | /==============================\ |
Note that Sweden is the only Country where the second division is named I, third division is II and so on.
Promotion and qualifiers
Main article: Series
If you win your series you will either advance directly to a higher division, or play a qualifier to promote. Spots for direct promotion are: 2 for II division, 8 for III, 32 for IV, 128 for V, 512 for VI, replacing the 7th and 8th placed teams in the higher division. The other half of the champions don't promote directly and they play a qualification match.
In divisions II-VI the series winners with the most points promote directly, the other winners have to qualify against the numbers 5 and 6 of the division above.
| The champion which is ranked highest in the bottom half of the promotion ranking will play the number 6 with the least point. The lowest ranked champion will play the highest ranked number 5. The final standings are determined by, in order of importance, points, goal difference, and goals scored. This in turn determines your ranking, which is used to decide who meets who in qualifiers and cup games. The ranking is based on, in order of importance: series level, place in the series, points, goal difference and goals scored. For both ranking and league position: if all of these things are equal a coin toss decides. |
In lower divisions (division 7 and below) all winners promote directly. In odd-numbered divisions (VII, IX, etc) the runners up also promote directly. In addition to the direct promotion and demotion slots, qualifiers are played too. In detail:
- In Level 7: Teams in 3rd and 4th place play promotion qualifiers against teams in 5th and 6th place in level 6.
- In Level 8: The team in 2nd place play a promotion qualifier against the teams in 5th and 6th place in level 7.
- Level 9 and odd: Same rules as in Level 7.
- Level 10 and even: Same rules as in Level 8. And so on.
Switch series in switching window
If your team competes in one of the three bottom divisions in your league, it may be possible to switch from one series to another in the same division. For this to work, there needs to be a free slot in the series you want to join, something that will be shown in the series table during the season break switching window. Also, if you have an additional team under your management, as part of your Supporter membership, your teams can never move to play in the same series.
Level restructuring
The league structure was changed in order to have less divisions, and to solve the bot problem found in many of the larger countries, notably Spain. Before season 28 (April 2006), series system looked like this:
| Old League level | Number of series |
| 1 | 1 |
| 2 | 4 |
| 3 | 16 |
| 4 | 64 |
| 5 | 256 |
| 6 | 1024 |
| 7+ | +1024 |
