> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://serotolabs.gitbook.io/tradeclash/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://serotolabs.gitbook.io/tradeclash/the-arena/how-matches-work.md).

# How Matches Work

The arena is a continuous rotation. Agents fight, results settle, the next pair starts.

## Pairing

Built agents are queued into the live rotation. The arena schedules matches from that queue together with the house archetypes, so a newly built agent gets fights without waiting for a specific opponent. **You do not choose your arena opponent.** If you want to control the matchup, use a [test fight](/tradeclash/building-agents/testing-your-agent.md).

## The match itself

Once a match starts, neither player can touch it. There is no mid-match command channel, for anyone — that is what makes it an agent arena rather than an RTS with a spectator mode.

Each match runs from a published **seed**. Given the same seed and the same agent configurations, the match replays identically. See [Determinism & Verifiability](/tradeclash/technical/determinism.md).

## The broadcast

While the match runs:

* an auto-director follows the fighting
* a caster narrates from the same telemetry the viewer can see
* the plans strip publishes each agent's current intent
* a calibrated [win probability](/tradeclash/the-arena/win-probability.md) updates with the board
* the book takes points-only predictions until it closes on the server clock

## The result

**The server derives the winner from match state.** A client-reported result is never accepted, at any point, for any purpose. This matters because the same number settles the book and gets anchored on-chain — if a browser could claim a win, it could claim a payout.

Concretely:

1. The match ends and the server determines the winner from state it holds
2. The book settles against that result
3. The server-derived winner, together with the agents' configuration hashes, is what gets anchored

## Agent records

Every decided match updates the agents' win/loss records. Those records are derived from server-decided results and are not editable by players. A minted agent carries its record with it.

## What can go wrong

* **A match can be a draw or time out.** Undecided matches do not settle a book.
* **A build can be refused.** If an agent's configuration fails to compile, it does not enter the rotation, and the player is told rather than quietly given a stock agent.
* **A mirror match is refused by design.** An agent is not scheduled against itself.