One of the most common questions we get is: "How exactly do you decide who wins?" It's a fair question — when real money is on the line, you deserve to know exactly how the process works from start to finish. This article walks through the entire cycle: how rankings are determined, what happens when the month ends, and how prize money reaches your PayPal account.
The Monthly Cycle
Every prize pool on Potly.Win runs on a monthly cycle. The leaderboard resets on the 1st of each month at midnight UTC. From that moment, every game session you play contributes to your standing for the new month. Your highest score across all your sessions is the one that counts — not your average, not your most recent, just your personal best for that period.
This means you can play as many times as you want without risk. A bad game won't hurt your ranking. Only improvement matters.
How Rankings Are Determined
Rankings are straightforward: the player with the highest score sits at the top. But what happens when two players have the same score? Ties are broken by who achieved that score first. If you and another player both score 47 on Wing Rush, and you did it on March 5th while they did it on March 12th, you rank higher.
This tie-breaking rule rewards both skill and consistency. It encourages players to push for high scores early in the month rather than waiting until the final days. But it also means a late-month player can still overtake you by posting a higher score — timing only matters when scores are equal.
Important: Only verified, non-flagged scores count toward rankings. If a session triggers our anti-cheat system and gets flagged, it's held for review and won't appear on the leaderboard until it's been approved.
What Happens When the Month Ends
When the clock hits midnight UTC on the 1st, the leaderboard for the previous month is locked. No more scores can be submitted for that period. At this point, the platform identifies the top 3 players for each game and generates payout records.
Each winner receives an email notification letting them know they placed and what their prize amount is. The email includes their final ranking, the prize pool total, and their share of the split.
The Prize Split
The prize pool for each game is split among the top 3 players:
- 1st Place: 50% of the prize pool
- 2nd Place: 30% of the prize pool
- 3rd Place: 20% of the prize pool
The prize pool itself is 80% of the total ad revenue generated by that game during the month. The remaining 20% covers platform operations. You can read more about how this works in How Ad-Funded Prize Pools Work.
How Payouts Are Processed
Payouts are sent to the PayPal email address linked to your account. This is why it's important to add your PayPal email in your account settings before the month ends — if there's no PayPal on file, we can't send your winnings.
After the month closes and winners are determined, payouts are processed manually. We review each payout, verify the amounts, and send the funds via PayPal. Once the payment is sent, you'll receive a confirmation email with the transaction details.
The entire process typically completes within the first week of the new month. We don't hold funds or delay payments — once the leaderboard is finalized and verified, payouts go out as quickly as possible.
What If I Have Questions About My Payout?
Your account settings page shows your complete winnings history, including every payout you've received, the amount, the month it was for, and the placement you earned. If something doesn't look right, reach out to us through the contact page and we'll sort it out.
We also maintain a full audit trail of every payout generated and processed, so there's always a clear record on both sides.
Start Competing
The leaderboard resets every month, which means there's always a fresh opportunity. Whether you're a returning competitor or a brand new player, the playing field levels out on the 1st. All you need is a verified account, a linked PayPal, and the skill to climb the board.