This is the WBO's tournament-ready write-up of how Beyblade X is played and judged, built to mirror Takara Tomy's own B4 rulebook while adding the judging detail needed to run an event fairly. It covers legal decks and gear, how a match is set up and scored, the full turn-by-turn flow of a single battle, and the penalty and restart logic a judge applies when something goes wrong. A closing set of optional variants lets organizers reshape scoring, deck reveal, and a couple of Infinity Stadium timing quirks for their own events.
3,994WBO events tagged with this format in our archive
8outright bans, 2 limits or conditions
2stadiums allowed
The numbers
Deck size
3 Beys
Default match target
4 points (4-Point Match)
Bey-selection time limit
about 1 minute
Launch-range height above stadium cover
5 cm / 2 inches
Maximum launch tilt
70 degrees
Adjustments allowed per battle
1
Launcher-failure restart requests allowed per match
1
Failed judge checks before match loss
2
Xtreme Finish
3 points
Over Finish / Burst Finish
2 points each
Spin Finish / penalty point
1 point each
Illegal-touch penalty
3 points to opponent, battle forfeited
Optional 3-second reverse countdown
3 seconds
How you score
Finish
Points
Note
Xtreme Finish
3
Starts once the opposing Bey enters the Xtreme zone and is scored once it can no longer make it back to the battle zone.
Over Finish
2
Starts once the opposing Bey enters an over zone and is scored once it can no longer make it back to the battle zone.
Burst Finish
2
Both starts and scores the instant the opposing Bey comes apart while still in the battle zone.
Spin Finish
1
Both starts and scores the instant the opposing Bey quits rotating in its own spin direction while still in the battle zone.
Penalty point
1
Awarded when a blader already sitting on a pending penalty commits a second launch error.
Illegal touch during result confirmation
3
A blader who touches a Bey or the stadium before the judge confirms the result loses the battle outright and hands the opponent 3 points; the battle is not replayed.
Match types
Type
How it works
First to
4-Point Match
The default WBO/B4 match length.
4
5-Point Match
A longer single-set match.
5
7-Point Match
The longest single-set match listed.
7
Best of 3 [4-Point] Match
Each set is played to 4 points; a blader must take two sets to win the match. Whoever lost the prior set picks their launch position for the next one, and both bladers may reshuffle their deck order between sets.
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Stadiums
Stadium
Maker
Status
Note
Xtreme Stadium
Takara Tomy (also sold by Hasbro as the Tournament Beystadium)
legal
The stadium this rulebook is written around; it defines the battle, over, and Xtreme zones referenced throughout.
Infinity Stadium
Takara Tomy
alternate
Supported with extra rulings layered on top of the base rules, including an optional skip of the launch-position draw and special handling for a Bey traveling between two over/Xtreme pockets.
Building and launching
Beyblades and parts
A deck is exactly 3 Beys; within one deck no named part may repeat, except basic (non-metal) lock chips, which can repeat freely.
The two metal lock chips, Valkyrie and Emperor, may each appear once per deck.
Sameness is judged by name, not appearance: recolors and different production molds of one part count as the same part, and re-releases such as the Jurassic World TyrannoBeat count as the same part as the original.
Retools (parts built on another part's mold, such as Optimus Primal off SharkEdge) count as distinct parts from what they're based on, even when they look alike.
Lightning L-Drago's Rapid-Hit Type and Upper Type blades count as one part for deck-building and can't both go in a single deck, though they're treated as separate parts when just swapping in a replacement for a broken piece.
Parts can never move between the three Beys in a deck once the match is underway.
A few parts, like the BulletGriffon blade and the Operate bit, build the ratchet's job into the part itself and so skip a separate ratchet; BulletGriffon itself is two pieces — an upper Bullet/Rocket and a lower main-body Griffon.
During a battle, after both Beys are shown, either blader may make one adjustment per battle: reorienting a ratchet or bit, or flipping a mode-change part, even if that means taking the Bey apart.
Ratchets and similar multi-piece parts may be taken apart and rebuilt, and pieces from different parts can be recombined, as long as the rebuilt part performs identically to a retail unit and every piece is unmodified and factory-made.
Cosmetic markings are allowed only in specific small zones per part type (lock chip top-center, blade launcher hooks and gear-chip top, ratchet underside away from the bit, bit shaft top) and only in marker or thin paint — no clear coat.
Custom or non-Takara-Tomy stickers may only go on a gear chip or a basic CX lock chip, never on metal lock chips, and never layered on another sticker unless that sticker came factory-applied.
Launchers
Two launcher families exist: string launchers, driven by a built-in string, and winder launchers, driven by a separate external winder.
Any WBX-line winder works with any winder launcher.
A launcher can only fire a Bey whose spin direction matches the launcher's own (left launchers need left-spin Beys, and so on).
Winders cannot be altered in any way, and only one launcher grip may be mounted at a time.
Launchers, grips, and accessories may carry paint or stickers purely for looks, as long as none of it changes performance or shows offensive imagery.
Non-Takara-Tomy grips and add-ons are allowed for comfort, accessibility, or looks, but may never touch performance, run on power, relay information, block the opponent's launch, dangle near the stadium, sit on loosely, or hand a blader a real edge in play, as judged by the judge.
Bans, limits and conditions
Part or practice
Rule
Note
MN / Metal Needle bit
banned
Dropped because its metal point repeatedly damages stadiums; an optional rule exists to bring it back for events that choose to.
Parts from earlier Beyblade generations
banned
Only Beyblade X-line parts and launchers from Takara Tomy or Hasbro are tournament-legal.
Equipment modification beyond what's spelled out
banned
Any change that isn't explicitly allowed is out, and even an allowed-looking change is still banned if it risks damage or an unfair edge.
Parts requiring destructive disassembly (e.g. riveted pieces)
banned
These cannot legally be taken apart at all.
Extremely worn or defective parts
banned
Includes manufacturing defects and wear well beyond normal play, such as a sharp bit gone flat; a judge makes the call, with a wear diagram given specifically for rubber (RA-type) bits.
Two copies of Lightning L-Drago (Rapid-Hit and Upper Type) in one deck
banned
They count as the same part for deck-building purposes.
Clear coat on painted parts
banned
Small marker/thin-paint touch-ups are fine in the designated zones, but no clear coat, anywhere.
Winder modification
banned
No alteration of any kind is permitted on winders.
Painted blades
conditional
Banned under the base ruleset, but legal under the optional rule 'Painted blades allowed', which still forbids paint on contact surfaces and forbids dyeing plastic parts or either of the two metal lock chips, Valkyrie or Emperor.
Repeated equipment used past normal play
limited
Normal play is capped at battling in a retail stadium against at most 2 other Beys; wear from anything rougher voids a part's legality.
A match, step by step
Match Start: both bladers and the judge arrive at the stadium; once started, no outside help and no leaving without the judge's OK.
Select Position: a coin flip or similar random method picks who chooses left or right side, decided without any discussion between the bladers.
Select Beys: each blader privately finalizes their Bey(s) and deck order within about 1 minute, then tells the judge.
Judge Check: the judge inspects every Bey (and launchers, on request) for legality; two failed checks in one match is an instant loss, and once cleared the chosen Beys and starting deck order are locked in.
Present Beys: both bladers show the full top and bottom of the Bey they're using that battle, with one optional adjustment allowed afterward per side.
Ready for Launch: both Beys are loaded and held inside the legal launch position and launch-range window until the judge calls 'ready set'.
Launch: the judge counts down and both Beys fire on 'go shoot' / 'let it rip', touching the stadium before touching each other.
Resolve Battle: play continues until one or both Beys are finished (stopped, burst, or unable to get back to the battle zone).
Battle Result: the judge confirms who scored a finish and the points earned; touching equipment before that confirmation costs the battle.
After the Battle: unless the match is already won, the pair repeats this battle sequence for the next Bey in the battle-type order, or restarts immediately if a restart condition applies.
Penalties
A launch error (out-of-range, early, late, missing the stadium, flipped, hitting the cover first, or touching the stadium while launching) earns the offender a pending penalty, and play resumes at the launch step.
A second launch error while a pending penalty is already active hands the opponent 1 point and clears the penalty.
Touching a Bey or the stadium before the judge confirms a result is an instant battle loss plus 3 points to the opponent.
Failing the equipment judge check twice in the same match is an instant match loss.
Cheating discovered at judge check, refusing a judge-ordered adjustment, or intentionally interfering with an opponent's launch all lead to disqualification.
A launch method the judge finds keeps causing restarts must be changed on request or the blader is disqualified.
Disruptive behavior toward a judge's ruling leads to disqualification, and disqualification during an event forfeits any placement or prizing and can carry into a suspension from future events.
Optional rules an organiser may add
Rule
Effect
Registered deck list
Bladers pre-register a fixed 3-Bey list per stage and must play exactly those builds; a broken part can only be swapped for an identical copy, or the match is forfeited.
Registered side deck
Alongside a registered deck list, adds up to 2 spare Beys with no internal duplicate parts, usable as long as whatever deck is actually played that match stays duplicate-free.
Own finish
An Xtreme or over finish scored against a Bey your own Bey never touched counts as an own finish worth 1 point, and the battle restarts instead of ending normally.
Out-of-bounds finish
A Bey that exits through the launch area and can't return counts as a finish worth 1 or 2 points (organizer's choice) instead of forcing a restart.
Painted blades allowed
Permits paint on blades outside contact surfaces and dye on disassemblable metal blade parts, but never on plastic parts or metal lock chips.
Reveal and reorder
After judge check, both decks are shown in full to each other before either blader sets their starting deck order.
Swap positions after battle
Bladers switch launch sides after every battle in a set (skipped on a counter-battle rematch).
Loser selects position after battle
The loser of each battle picks the launch position for the next one (skipped on a counter-battle rematch).
No disassembled components
Bans any part taken apart in a way the manufacturer didn't intend, such as pulling screws or splitting a ratchet.
MN bit unbanned
Lifts the base ruleset's ban on the Metal Needle bit.
Adjust before presenting
Moves the one allowed Bey adjustment to before the Bey is shown to the opponent, removing the post-presentation adjustment window.
No reverse (Infinity Stadium only)
An Xtreme/over finish locks in the moment most of the Bey has crossed into that zone, and the connecting pocket walls count as battle zone so passing through them triggers nothing.
Once a Bey enters an Xtreme or over zone the judge counts 3 seconds; if it hasn't returned to the battle zone by then, the finish is scored.
Words the rulebook uses
Battle zone
The whole playable interior of the stadium apart from the over zones and the Xtreme zone.
Over zone
One of two pockets at the front corners of the stadium; entering one starts an Over Finish.
Xtreme zone
The pocket at the front center of the stadium; entering it starts an Xtreme Finish.
Finished (Bey)
A Bey that has stopped spinning, burst, or can no longer make it back to the battle zone.
Burst
Any part of a Bey fully separating from the rest of it; a part that pops loose but stays partly attached hasn't burst.
Pending penalty
A flag placed on a blader after a launch error; a second error while it's active gives the opponent a point.
Mid-air collision
The two Beys touching each other before both have touched the stadium at least once, forcing a restart.
Set
A round won by reaching the target point count; used as the building block of a Best of 3 [4-Point] Match.
Counter Battle
A WBO-designed battle type where the loser of each battle chooses to force a rematch or a counter, the latter letting each side hand-pick their next Bey.
BulletGriffon
A ratchet-integrated two-piece blade (upper Bullet/Rocket, lower Griffon) whose Bey is only ever finished through what happens to the Griffon half; Bullet detaching doesn't count as a burst.
Section by section, in our words
The document's outline
About Beyblade
Two bladers launch spinning Beys into a stadium, and the last one still spinning in the battle zone wins that battle.
A Bey is done for once it stops turning, comes apart, or can't get back into the battle zone.
The winner of a battle earns points that scale with how and where the loss happened.
Winning enough battles to reach a point target (4 by default) wins the whole match.
Game Equipment
A legal Bey needs a blade, ratchet, and bit, with CX and CX Expand blades needing their full 3 or 4-piece part sets respectively.
A deck holds exactly 3 Beys with no repeated named part, apart from basic lock chips (unlimited) and the two metal lock chips (one each).
Sameness runs by part name: recolors, mold revisions, and later versions of a part all count as one part, while retools built on another mold count as their own distinct part.
Launchers split into string-driven and winder-driven types, and a launcher only works with a Bey of matching spin direction.
Battles happen in the Xtreme Stadium (or Hasbro's Tournament Beystadium), with the Infinity Stadium supported through added rulings; the stadium's interior splits into the battle zone plus two over zones and one Xtreme zone.
Battle Types
1on1 Battle: each blader commits to a single Bey for the whole match.
3on3 Battle: each blader orders a 3-Bey deck and cycles through it battle by battle, secretly reordering after all three have been used once.
Counter Battle (a WBO design): decks are fully revealed up front, and after every battle the loser picks whether the next one is an unchanged rematch or a counter where each side hand-selects their next Bey.
Match Types
4-Point, 5-Point, and 7-Point Matches are single sets played to that many points.
Best of 3 [4-Point] Match plays multiple 4-point sets, and a blader needs two set wins to take the match, with position and deck order open to change between sets.
A match breaks down into battles (which decide a winner) feeding points (awarded per battle) feeding sets (won once the point target is hit, never exceeded).
Match Setup
Match Start: the match begins once both bladers and the judge are present, and outside help or leaving the area needs the judge's permission from then on.
Select Position: a random, judge-run method picks who calls their launch side first, decided with zero discussion between the two bladers.
Select Beys: bladers privately lock in their Bey(s) and starting deck order, generally within about a minute.
Judge Check: the judge inspects every Bey for legality, and equipment can be rejected and resubmitted once before a second failure costs the match; once cleared, the starting lineup is locked.
Battle
Present Beys: both sides show their Bey fully, with one optional post-presentation adjustment (orientation or mode change) allowed per battle.
Ready for Launch and Launch Range: Beys must stay within a defined launch position and a range capped at roughly 5 cm above the stadium cover and no more than 70 degrees of tilt.
Launch: firing happens on the judge's 'go shoot'/'let it rip' cue, and launch errors, failed launches, interference, or mid-air collisions all force a restart rather than a loss.
Requesting a restart: a blader can call for one immediately after launching, but only for opponent interference, outside obstruction, or a launcher malfunction (the last limited to once per match).
Resolve Battle and Battle Result: the battle runs until a Bey is finished by stopping, bursting, or being unable to return, and the finish type sets the points; touching equipment before the judge confirms the result forfeits the battle plus 3 points.
BulletGriffon Beys are judged only on the lower Griffon part — Bullet/Rocket popping off on top doesn't count as a burst and can't itself be finished, though if it flies out of the stadium somewhere other than the Xtreme or over zone and can't come back, the battle restarts.
Restart Battle: a long list of conditions (errors, draws, broken parts, a broken stadium, and more) send the same matchup back to the launch step unchanged.
About Judges
Every sanctioned match must have a judge overseeing rules compliance and reporting the result.
Rules questions can be asked any time except mid-battle, and disputes about a call must be raised before the next battle starts.
Some events record footage or offer a head-judge appeal path, but the judge's call on a battle or match is final and must be accepted.
Blader Conduct
Show up on time with legal gear, and treat opponents, staff, and the venue with respect.
Don't knowingly bend the rules, and check with a judge whenever something's unclear.
Recording is allowed only with judge permission, kept out of the judge's and opponent's way, and run as one uninterrupted clip; judges won't use spectator or blader footage to make calls and can revoke recording rights anytime.
Disqualification can happen for any reason at the organizer's or judge's discretion, costs the current match and any prizing, and can extend to a ban from future events; a wrongly-issued DQ can be challenged through a tournament issue report.
Equipment Regulations
Only Takara Tomy/Hasbro Beyblade X gear is legal, older-generation parts are out, and unlisted modifications are forbidden even if they look harmless.
Bey parts: tiny marker/thin-paint markings are allowed in fixed spots per part type, the factory stickers go where the product instructions show, and custom stickers are restricted to the gear chip or basic lock chips.
Worn, damaged, or defective parts are illegal once wear crosses from normal use into dramatic shape or performance change, with a specific wear chart given for rubber bits.
Launcher regulations: winders and winder launchers mix freely within their own families, winders can't be modified at all, and non-factory grips/accessories are fine only if they stay purely cosmetic, unpowered, silent, and safe.
Banned Parts: the MN (Metal Needle) bit is banned outright because it damages stadiums.
Optional Rules
Optional rules override any base rule they conflict with, and they're the only base-rule changes WBO Ranked League events may use.
Deck-building variants: Registered deck list locks in fixed builds per stage, and Registered side deck adds a small pool of duplicate-free spares alongside it.
Scoring variants: Own finish (1 point plus a restart for touch-free Xtreme/over finishes) and Out-of-bounds finish (1-2 points instead of a restart for a launch-area exit).
Cosmetic and setup variants: Painted blades allowed, Reveal and reorder, Swap positions after battle, Loser selects position after battle, No disassembled components, MN bit unbanned, and Adjust before presenting.
Infinity Stadium-only variants: No reverse (finish locks in once most of the Bey crosses the zone line) and 3-second reverse countdown (finish scores if the Bey hasn't returned within 3 seconds).
Notes on this digest
The source page links out to a separate 'WBO Vs. B4 Rules: What's Different?' thread that explains where this write-up diverges from Takara Tomy's own B4 rulebook, but that thread's content isn't included in the captured text.
The rulebook's illustrations (stadium components/zones, launch positions, launch range, and the rubber-bit wear examples) are referenced as figures in the source but weren't available in this plain-text capture, so their visual detail isn't reflected here beyond the accompanying prose.
