You finished your round, your entry is paid, and the result just sits there waiting. Players across cash-game apps describe it as waiting forever for results. Here's what Skillz, operated by Firy Inc (NYSE: FIRY, formerly SKLZ), actually documents about pending games, and what to do while you wait.
Your result is pending because most Skillz cash matches are asynchronous: you have played, but no opponent has played the same match yet. Skillz says most matches find an opponent "fairly quickly," sometimes "up to a few days." If none turns up within 7 days, Skillz says the match is "automatically canceled" and your entry fee "refunded."
Disclosure: Atay Games makes games that run on Skillz. Skillz runs matching, player support and the rules for cash matches, so this guide quotes Skillz's own documents.
What does the policy actually say?
Skillz's help article "Why are some of my games pending or canceled?" (ID 204372915, updated January 25, 2023) says a match with no opponent after 7 days is "automatically canceled" and the "cash or Z entry fee will be refunded." Skillz's User Terms (May 22, 2025) say fees are "non-refundable" and "no refunds are given" unless law requires.
Here's the exact wording, from Skillz's "Players" help section for standalone games like ours.
| Document | ID or section | Last updated (as published) | Retrieved | Exact words |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Skillz help: "Why are some of my games pending or canceled?" | 204372915 | Page Jan 25, 2023; text Jul 2, 2022 | Sep 23, 2026 | "Most matches will find opponents fairly quickly, but sometimes this can take up to a few days." / "If for some reason we can't find a worthy opponent for you within 7 days, the tournament will be automatically canceled and your cash or Z entry fee will be refunded. You will never be charged an entry fee for a game that is not completed!" |
| Skillz help: "How does Skillz player matching work?" | 211525983 | Page Jul 2, 2026; text Dec 2, 2025 | Sep 23, 2026 | "Other times, a game can remain “pending” (unmatched) for some time after the Host has submitted their score. This is more common in newer games and in high stakes matches. If we’re unable to find a Challenger within 7 days, we will automatically cancel and refund the Host’s match." |
| Skillz help: pending article, early cancellations | 204372915 | As above | Sep 23, 2026 | "These types of cancellations are usually caused by a bracket tournament not filling up in time, another player not accepting your Rematch Challenge, or by the Skillz team directly when a new game update is released." |
| Skillz User Terms | §8.1 Fees | "Updated as of May 22, 2025" | Sep 23, 2026 | "All Fees are stated in U.S. Dollars, must be prepaid and are non-refundable." |
| Skillz User Terms | §8.8 Refund Policy | Same | Sep 23, 2026 | "Unless otherwise required by law, no refunds are given." |
Put simply, Skillz's help center describes an automatic cancel-and-refund after 7 days. Its User Terms, which are the contract, say fees are non-refundable unless the law says otherwise. So treat the 7-day rule as Skillz's stated practice, not a guarantee, and keep your Match ID.
It isn't a stale rule. The matching article, last edited December 2025, repeats it, and in July 2026 Skillz restated it for its separate Skillz Arena app (ID 50570975252500).
How long can a match result stay pending?
Skillz gives no fixed wait. Its help center says most matches find opponents "fairly quickly," some take "up to a few days," and pending is "more common in newer games and in high stakes matches." Bracket prizes pay "once the full tournament has been completed," and Skillz says synchronous games can never be “pending.”
There's no published average wait for Skillz pending games. We haven't measured wait times in our own games either, so we won't guess. The format you entered decides what your result is waiting for. If a Host in your skill band was already waiting when you entered, you're the Challenger, and Skillz says the results are "shown instantly."
| Format | What the result waits for | Skillz source |
|---|---|---|
| Head-to-head, asynchronous (most Skillz matches) | One challenger in your skill band to play the same match. Canceled and refunded if none comes within 7 days, per Skillz. | Help 211525983; 204372915 |
| Four-player tournament | A full field: "more players are needed to fill in these games" | Developer docs, Tournaments and Gameplay Parameters |
| Bracket tournament | The whole bracket. Paid "once the full tournament has been completed," even if you're knocked out early. Brackets that don't fill in time can be canceled. | Help 115001139223; 204372915 |
| Tie in head-to-head | A new tie-breaker match: "Tie-breaker matches will continue until a winner has been determined." | Help 115001117666 |
| Synchronous (real-time) game | Nothing: both players play at once. Leaving the app mid-match can still get it aborted. | Help 211525983; 8778934866580 |
Live events work differently. Skillz describes them as "a timed competition against multiple players" (Skillz help 115001139243). It doesn't say when event prizes post, and neither will we.
What should you do right now?
Open the match in your game history, copy its Match ID, and note the date you played. Skillz says it cancels and refunds a match that finds no opponent within 7 days. If the match is still pending after that, or no refund appears in your balance history, contact Skillz Player Support in the app and include the Match ID.
Labels vary by game and app version, so these steps follow Skillz's help center.
- Check which "pending" you have. A match result, a withdrawal and an "Aborted" match are three different problems. The table in the balance section below sorts them.
- Find the match. Skillz's help center starts at the History tab on the home page of your Skillz game. Finished games sit under Completed: tap See More and select the match to see "your score, opponent’s score, the date of the game, the entry fee, and Match ID" (help 204372945). A pending match may not be listed there yet: a review of one of our games said pending matches showed as "in progress."
- Copy the Match ID. Skillz puts it "in the bottom right-hand side of the results screen, under Date." Tap the numbers once to copy them.
- Check your balance history. Skillz's path is the main menu, then Account, then Account Balance, with filters for cash, bonus cash and more (help 204372965). Find the entry line now and look for a refund line later.
- Note the date and time you played. Skillz's clock is "within 7 days."
- Don't chase it. Re-entering to "see if it goes through" can just add another pending match. Play only with money you won't need to withdraw soon.
- Past 7 days, still pending or no refund line? Contact Skillz Player Support in the app. Skillz says: "tap the menu icon in the bottom right corner of the screen. Then tap Contact Support." Choose a category and "add the match ID if applicable" (help 203685879). It also lists a help-center form and support@skillz.com, and says "we do not offer phone services at this time."
Ticket template: copy, fill in, send
Subject: Match still pending after 7 days: [game name], Match ID [number] Username: [your Skillz username] Account email: [email on your Skillz account] Game: [game name] Match ID: [paste] Date and time played: [date, time, your time zone] Entry fee: [amount], paid in [cash / bonus cash / Z] What I see: the match still shows as pending or in progress, and my balance history shows [the entry line / no refund line]. Screenshots attached. Device: [model, iOS or Android version, app version] Request: Your help article 204372915 says unmatched matches are canceled and refunded after 7 days. Could you check this match's status?
Our draft, not a Skillz form. For gameplay issues Skillz asks for "the game name, what occurred, your device and operating system" (help 203685879). Keep it polite and factual.
Why does this happen?
Most Skillz matches are asynchronous. If no one in your skill band is waiting, you play first as the "Host," and your score waits for a "Challenger." Skillz says a game can stay pending "for some time after the Host has submitted their score," and its developer docs say four-player and bracket tournaments need more players to fill.
Skillz's documentation for game developers calls this format "Play and Compare": "If a match isn’t immediately found, Skillz will hold on to that player’s score and wait for another player with matching skill to enter the same tournament." That's what "waiting for an opponent" means. For the pairing mechanics, see how pairing and same-board play work.
Is someone picked to beat your score after the fact? No. Skillz says it "will never match two games that have already finished and have a score," because skill is assessed before a game is played. Pending is a queue position, not a verdict.
What Happens After You Enter an Asynchronous Match
Why does yours wait longer? Skillz says pending is "more common in newer games and in high stakes matches." Its developer docs add that four-player and bracket tournaments suit "games with large player populations."
We've seen this in our own reviews. In July 2025, a player told us on the App Store that two games played hours earlier still showed as "in progress" because nobody else was playing, and they were still out the entry fee. That's fair criticism, and it's the quiet-game problem Skillz describes.
Pending also isn't "Aborted." That label follows a crash, a disconnect, backgrounding or a long pause. Skillz says: "The opposing player is automatically awarded with winning the match and any corresponding prizes." If that's your label, see what to do when your game crashed mid-match.
What happens to your balance while a match is pending?
Skillz's User Terms say entry fees "must be prepaid." A pending match is also not a pending withdrawal. A match waits for an opponent to play; a withdrawal waits for Skillz to process it. Skillz says you can't deposit more while a withdrawal is pending, and that the withdrawal screen shows how much of your balance is eligible.
Player reports describe the fee leaving your balance when you enter. A December 2025 App Store review of another Skillz-powered card game said that with several games pending, you don't always see a "live balance," and funds move up and down as games complete. That's player-reported, not documented.
Bonus cash is the gray area. Skillz says you "typically pay the entry fee with 90% real cash and 10% Bonus Cash," and a win returns the entry "the same way you paid in" (help 203685769). The pending article only says your "cash or Z entry fee will be refunded." It doesn't say how the bonus-cash share comes back. Here's how the bonus-cash share of an entry works.
What about withdrawing? Skillz says deposits "must be played in matches before they’re eligible for withdrawal" (help 203685739). It doesn't say whether a pending or refunded entry counts as played, so trust the withdrawal screen over your own math.
| What you see | What it means | What Skillz says | Where to go |
|---|---|---|---|
| Match played, no result yet | No opponent has finished the same match | Canceled and refunded if unmatched within 7 days (204372915) | This page |
| Withdrawal requested, not arrived | Withdrawal still processing | "We tell our players to expect their withdrawals in 4-6 weeks"; each is processed manually; no deposits while one is pending (203685739) | If it's your withdrawal that's stuck; the step-by-step cash-out guide |
| Match marked "Aborted" | You crashed, disconnected or left the app mid-match | "The opposing player is automatically awarded with winning the match" (8778934866580) | The crashed-match guide |
How do you stop it happening again?
No setting switches pending results off, but Skillz names what makes them likelier: pending is "more common in newer games and in high stakes matches," and its developer docs say four-player and bracket tournaments need bigger player pools. Lower-stakes head-to-head entries in established games fit Skillz's own explanation best.
- Play lower stakes when you want a quick result. Skillz says pending is more common "in high stakes matches."
- Favor established games. Pending is more common "in newer games." Our catalog has newer titles too: Gin Rummy Cash launched on the App Store in March 2025. That's a release date, not a measured wait.
- Pick head-to-head over four-player or brackets if you need the result soon. Brackets pay only when the whole bracket finishes.
- Synchronous games never pend, but you must stay in the app for the whole match, or it can be aborted.
- Keep money you'll need soon out of paid entries.
When should you contact support, and what can't anyone promise?
Contact Skillz Player Support if a match is still pending more than 7 days after you played, if a canceled match shows no refund in your balance history, or if a posted result looks wrong. Attach the Match ID. Nobody can promise the outcome: Skillz's terms say "no refunds are given" unless the law requires them.
A match marked "Aborted" is a different problem with its own steps. For a pending one, here's the honest limit: the 7-day refund is what Skillz's help center says it does.
The Terms say fees "must be prepaid and are non-refundable" (§8.1) and "no refunds are given" unless the law requires (§8.8). No one, including us, can promise a refund, a reversed result, or a response time. Skillz decides each case under its terms.
Don't sit on it for months. Section 8.2 says: "You must tell us within 120 days after an error first appears on your bill for an investigation of the charge to occur promptly." That's the contract's wording, not legal advice.
A platform with no support channel at all would be a different red flag. Skillz documents three: in-app support, a help-center form and email.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does Skillz take to show match results?
It depends on whether an opponent has played your match. Skillz says most matches find opponents "fairly quickly," some take "up to a few days," and waits are more common in newer games and high-stakes matches. If no opponent is found within 7 days, Skillz says it cancels and refunds the match.
Do you get your entry fee back if a Skillz match stays pending?
Skillz's help center says that if no opponent is found within 7 days, "the tournament will be automatically canceled and your cash or Z entry fee will be refunded." Its terms also say fees are non-refundable unless the law requires, so keep your Match ID and check your balance history.
Why was my pending Skillz match canceled early?
Skillz says early cancellations are usually caused by "a bracket tournament not filling up in time, another player not accepting your Rematch Challenge, or by the Skillz team directly when a new game update is released." It says this keeps both players under the same conditions.
Is a pending match the same as a pending withdrawal?
No. A pending match is waiting for an opponent to play. A pending withdrawal is money you asked to take out that is still being processed. Skillz says it processes withdrawals manually, and that while a withdrawal is pending you can't deposit more funds.
Does Skillz choose my opponent after seeing my score?
No. Skillz says it "will never match two games that have already finished and have a score," because skill is assessed before a game is played. Your challenger is matched by skill band first, then plays the same match conditions you had.
Can a synchronous Skillz game be pending?
No. Skillz says synchronous games "require two players to play at once," so they can never be “pending.” You need to stay in the app for the whole match, though: Skillz says a match can be marked aborted if it's backgrounded, paused too long or disconnected.
Sources
- Skillz help center (Players), Why are some of my games pending or canceled?, article 204372915 (page updated January 25, 2023; text last edited July 2, 2022), retrieved 2026-09-23, support.skillz.com
- Skillz help center (Players), How does Skillz player matching work?, article 211525983 (page updated July 2, 2026; text last edited December 2, 2025), retrieved 2026-09-23, support.skillz.com
- Skillz help center (Skillz Arena), Why are some of my games pending or canceled?, article 50570975252500 (updated July 5, 2026; cited as corroboration only), retrieved 2026-09-23, support.skillz.com
- Skillz help center, How do bracketed tournaments work? When do they pay out?, article 115001139223 (page updated September 20, 2022), retrieved 2026-09-23, support.skillz.com
- Skillz help center, What happens if I tie with my opponent in a Head to Head match?, article 115001117666 (page updated February 3, 2023), retrieved 2026-09-23, support.skillz.com
- Skillz help center, How do live events work?, article 115001139243 (updated October 22, 2024), retrieved 2026-09-23, support.skillz.com
- Skillz help center (Players), How to Access Your Game History and Locate Your Match ID, article 204372945 (updated February 9, 2025), retrieved 2026-09-23, support.skillz.com
- Skillz help center (Players), How can I view my balance history?, article 204372965 (page updated November 1, 2023), retrieved 2026-09-23, support.skillz.com
- Skillz help center, How can I contact you?, article 203685879 (page updated October 18, 2024), retrieved 2026-09-23, support.skillz.com
- Skillz help center, How does Bonus Cash work, and how can I get more of it?, article 203685769 (page updated July 2, 2026), retrieved 2026-09-23, support.skillz.com
- Skillz help center, How do withdrawals work? Will I receive my withdrawal via check or online? Can I cancel my withdrawal?, article 203685739 (page updated August 5, 2026), retrieved 2026-09-23, support.skillz.com
- Skillz help center (Players), What is an Aborted match?, article 8778934866580 (page updated August 1, 2026; text last edited August 23, 2022), retrieved 2026-09-23, support.skillz.com
- Skillz, User Terms and Conditions of Service ("Updated as of May 22, 2025"), sections 8.1 Fees, 8.2 Billing, 8.4 Bonus Funds and 8.8 Refund Policy, retrieved 2026-09-23, skillz.com/legal
- Skillz developer documentation, Tournaments and Gameplay Parameters (Play and Compare; Multiple Player and Bracket tournaments; no page date shown), retrieved 2026-09-23, docs.skillz.com
- Apple App Store, customer reviews (player reports, paraphrased, reviewers not named): a July 21, 2025 review of one of Atay's own games and a December 14, 2025 review of another Skillz-powered card game, read 2026-09-23.
- Apple, iTunes Search API lookup for Gin Rummy Cash (release date March 20, 2025), retrieved 2026-09-23, apps.apple.com
About this guide. General information, not legal or financial advice. Policy quotes come from Skillz's public help center, developer docs and User Terms as checked on September 23, 2026, and Skillz can change them. We haven't measured pending times in our games. Review excerpts are player reports, not data. Paid entries can be lost, real-money play is 18+ (Skillz User Terms §1.3.1), and availability depends on where you live. If gaming stops being fun, help is available from the National Council on Problem Gambling at ncpgambling.org or 1-800-522-4700.
Still Waiting on a Result?
Keep your Match ID handy, check your balance history after day 7, and write to Skillz Player Support in the app if nothing has changed. More plain-English help is on the blog.
More Player Guides
