Charlotte FC enters reimagined soccer event called ‘TST.’ The grand prize? $1 million
You’ve probably already heard of “TBT” — the innovative basketball tournament where teams gather and compete for a winner-take-all grand prize of $1 million.
If you’re a Charlotte FC fan, you’ll soon hear of “TST,” too.
Charlotte FC will field a team in the inaugural running of The Soccer Tournament, the club announced Thursday. It will be a 7-on-7 tournament at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary from June 1-4.
CLTFC is the first Major League Soccer club to enter the competition.
“We’re thrilled to be part of the inaugural TST tournament, which showcases our Club in an innovative, new environment,” Charlotte FC president Joe LaBue said in the release. “TST is a great addition for soccer in the Carolinas, and we’re excited to be involved in another opportunity to showcase the growth of the game in our region.”
Ten other teams have publicly announced their participation in TST’s inaugural field. Among them: Welsh club Wrexham AFC (owned by Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney), English Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers FC, and Team Dempsey (run by former U.S. Men’s National Team star, Clint Dempsey).
If Charlotte FC’s team wins the tournament, all winnings will be donated to the AW5 Family Fund, the official GoFundMe established following the sudden and tragic death of CLTFC defender Anton Walkes in January.
News about the roster of Charlotte’s TST team will be shared in the coming months, the team said.
About The Soccer Tournament, or ‘TST’
The Basketball Tournament, better known as TBT, is an annual tournament that began in 2014. It’s advertised as a “reimagined” version of pro basketball and has garnered a lot publicity since its inception — in large part because of a rule the tournament created called the “Elam Ending.” The rule essentially makes it so every contest ends on a game-winner.
There will be a similar rule on the soccer version of this year’s contest: Every game must end on a goal.
Per TST’s rule book: “Upon conclusion of the two 20-minute halves, the teams shall enter an untimed period whereas the official winner will be determined by the first team to reach a predefined target score. The Target Score will be defined as one more goal than the leading team’s goal tally after two halves.”
In other words, if Team A has six goals and Team B has four goals after the first two 20-minute halves, The Target Score will be set at seven goals — and whoever gets to seven first wins.
Also per the rule book: “If teams have the same score after two 20-minute halves, the official winner will be declared by the next team to score.”
And what happens if offense is sparse after those first two 20-minute halves? The tournament has a plan for that, too.
“During Target Score Time, if a goal is not scored in the first 10 minutes, one player from each team will come off resulting in a 6v6 game,” the rule book states. “Then, every incremental five minutes after that, another player will come off to result in 4v4, 3v3, 2v2, 1v1 until the targeted number of goals are met to end the game and declare a winner.”
The 12th and final team slot will be auctioned off in March, per the release. You can sign up for the ticket waitlist via TST’s website.
This story was originally published March 9, 2023 at 9:00 AM with the headline "Charlotte FC enters reimagined soccer event called ‘TST.’ The grand prize? $1 million."
