Splatoon 3: How to Join a Tournament Manager Private Battle

Prepare Splatoon 3, the app and online access

To join a Splatoon 3 Tournament Manager event, Nintendo requires the game, online-play save data for your Nintendo Account, an active Nintendo Switch Online membership and the Nintendo Switch app on a compatible smart device. Team captains and other members have different registration steps. The first player to register a team automatically becomes its captain. [1]

Captain: open the event link and enter a team

Open the tournament link on the smart device to launch SplatNet 3 in the Nintendo Switch app. Review the tournament information, select Enter a Tournament and then Enter Tournament. Register a new team by entering its name and confirming, or choose an existing team. After entry, invite teammates with an invite link or a direct invitation to players who have been on a team with you before. [1]

Steps

1. As captain, open the event link, enter the tournament with a new or existing team and share the team invitation with the other players. [1]

Team member: accept the captain’s team invite

Other players open the captain’s invite link on their smart device and select Join in SplatNet 3. A direct invitation instead appears as a notification in the Nintendo Switch app and can be viewed within Tournament Manager. This joins the team; the captain still handles check-in when the event begins. [1]

Steps

1. Open the captain’s link, or the direct-invite notification, and select Join. [1]

Captain: check in only when everyone is ready

At each match, the captain checks in through Tournament Manager in SplatNet 3 after confirming the members are ready. A Private Battle room appears only after both teams check in. If it is missing, confirm that both captains completed that step instead of repeatedly making unrelated private rooms. [1]

Steps

1. Have the captain check in for the match and wait for the other team’s check-in before searching for the generated room. [1]

Join the generated Tournament Room from the Lobby

In the Splatoon 3 Lobby, press L, navigate to the Friends tab with L or R and select the Tournament Room. Press A to join and again to confirm. The team higher on the bracket becomes the room host, who can confirm or adjust settings and start once players and spectators are present. After the required battles, the captain reports the match results in SplatNet 3. [1]

Steps

1. Lobby → L → Friends tab → Tournament Room → A, then A again to confirm entry. [1]