Mystery boxes
Case battles
A case battle is two or more people opening the same boxes at the same time, with the biggest total taking everything. The odds are no better than opening alone. The swings are much bigger. Below is what the battles on each site actually pay, measured from their own bet feeds rather than from what they say.
We have recorded 86,286 battle wins across the sites on this page. The biggest was $447k, a 2021 Huracán STO on HypeDrop out of a $104 box.
What battles really pay
These two sites publish every bet, wins and losses. That means we can divide what came out by what went in and get a real payout rate. Nobody else in this category gives you that number, including the sites themselves.
| Site | Battle bets | Staked | Paid out | Comes back | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Upgrader.com | 14,334 | $483k | $435k | 90.0% | Open → |
| Cases.gg | 306,939 | $3.8M | $2.9M | 76.6% | Open → |
Read that column as the average. It does not mean you get that share back on a given battle. In a battle you usually get nothing at all, because second place pays zero.
Battles we can watch but not price
These sites broadcast their wins but not their losses. We can show you what came out and how often, and we deliberately do not print a payout rate for them, because any number from a winners-only feed flatters the site.
Card battles, not case battles
The word case comes from CS2 skins, where the format started. If what you actually want is trading cards, Pullbox runs the same thing over Pokémon, Magic and One Piece boxes, and calls its tournament version a Brawl. We could not price its battles because it publishes no feed we can read, but we did work five of its boxes out by hand and four of them return about 88%.
How a case battle actually works
You pick the boxes and the number of rounds, then wait for someone to join, or join a battle already waiting. Everyone pays for their own copy of the same boxes.
The site opens round one for every player at once, then round two, and so on. Your total is the value of everything you pulled across all rounds.
Highest total takes every item from every player. Second place takes nothing, which is the part people underestimate. Most sites also run a crazy mode where the lowest total wins instead, and team formats like 2v2 where two totals are added together.
The odds on each box do not change. A battle is the same open with a winner-takes-all wrapper around it.
Questions
+What is a case battle?
Two or more players open the same boxes at the same time, and whoever pulls the most total value wins everything. You each pay for your own boxes, so a two player battle over a $10 box costs each of you $10, and the winner walks away with both sets of items. It is the same open you would do alone, with the result decided by comparison instead of by what you personally pulled.
+How do case battles work, step by step?
You create a battle or join one that is waiting. You pick the boxes and how many rounds. Everyone pays in. The site opens the same box for every player at the same moment, round by round, and adds up what each person pulled. Highest total takes the lot. Most sites also run a crazy mode, where the LOWEST total wins instead, and team modes like 2v2.
+Do case battles have better odds than opening alone?
No. The odds on each box are exactly the same whether you open it alone or in a battle. What changes is the spread of outcomes: you either take everything or you take nothing, instead of keeping whatever you pulled. Battles make the swings bigger, not the payout better.
+What is the real payout on case battles?
On the two sites whose complete bet feeds we can read, the numbers are in the table above and they are measured from every bet including the losses. Nothing else we track publishes a full feed, so for the other sites we can only show the wins they broadcast, which always look better than reality.
+Are case battles rigged?
Not on the sites here, as far as we can check. Each publishes the chance on every item and a provably fair system that lets you verify a result after the fact. The reason a battle feels rigged is the format: most rounds you lose everything you staked, because second place gets nothing.
+Are case battles worth it?
As entertainment, that is your call. As a way to make money, no. Every site keeps a cut of everything staked, and the battle format adds nothing back. Look at the payout column, treat the difference as the price of the game, and never stake more than you would spend on a night out.
+What is the difference between a case battle and a box battle?
Nothing, they are the same thing with different names. Sites that came out of the CS2 skin world call them case battles. Sites built around trading cards and physical goods call them box battles. Pullbox calls its tournament version a Brawl. The mechanic is identical.
+Can I do case battles for free?
Not a real one, because everyone has to pay in for there to be a pot. Some sites give a free box on sign up with a code, and Pullbox runs a daily free box and a coin drop, but a free battle against paying players is not a thing anyone offers.
Payout figures are summed from each site's own bet feed and refresh through the day. PackSpy earns a commission if you sign up through a link on this page, and it never changes what we write. 18+.