diff --git a/app/components/scoring/MatchSchedule.tsx b/app/components/scoring/MatchSchedule.tsx
index b6da163..ed6edf2 100644
--- a/app/components/scoring/MatchSchedule.tsx
+++ b/app/components/scoring/MatchSchedule.tsx
@@ -89,10 +89,14 @@ function MatchRow({ match }: { match: MatchWithRelations }) {
   );
 }
 
+// Groups by matchday number when available, or by UTC calendar date (YYYY-MM-DD) for date-based sports.
+// UTC date keys ensure consistent grouping regardless of the viewer's timezone.
 function groupByMatchday(matches: MatchWithRelations[]) {
   const groups = new Map<string, MatchWithRelations[]>();
   for (const m of matches) {
-    const key = m.matchday != null ? `Matchday ${m.matchday}` : formatDate(m.scheduledAt)?.split(",")[0] ?? "TBD";
+    const key = m.matchday != null
+      ? `Matchday ${m.matchday}`
+      : m.scheduledAt?.toISOString().slice(0, 10) ?? "TBD";
     if (!groups.has(key)) groups.set(key, []);
     groups.get(key)!.push(m);
   }
@@ -108,35 +112,21 @@ export function MatchSchedule({ matches, title = "Schedule" }: MatchScheduleProp
     );
   }
 
-  const hasMatchdays = matches.some((m) => m.matchday != null);
-  const grouped = hasMatchdays ? groupByMatchday(matches) : null;
-
-  if (grouped) {
-    return (
-      <div className="space-y-4">
-        {title && <h3 className="text-lg font-semibold">{title}</h3>}
-        {[...grouped.entries()].map(([label, group]) => (
-          <div key={label} className="rounded-lg border border-border overflow-hidden">
-            <div className="px-4 py-2 bg-muted/30 text-sm font-medium text-muted-foreground">
-              {label}
-            </div>
-            {group.map((m) => (
-              <MatchRow key={m.id} match={m} />
-            ))}
-          </div>
-        ))}
-      </div>
-    );
-  }
+  const grouped = groupByMatchday(matches);
 
   return (
     <div className="space-y-4">
       {title && <h3 className="text-lg font-semibold">{title}</h3>}
-      <div className="rounded-lg border border-border overflow-hidden">
-        {matches.map((m) => (
-          <MatchRow key={m.id} match={m} />
-        ))}
-      </div>
+      {[...grouped.entries()].map(([label, group]) => (
+        <div key={label} className="rounded-lg border border-border overflow-hidden">
+          <div className="px-4 py-2 bg-muted/30 text-sm font-medium text-muted-foreground">
+            {label}
+          </div>
+          {group.map((m) => (
+            <MatchRow key={m.id} match={m} />
+          ))}
+        </div>
+      ))}
     </div>
   );
 }
diff --git a/app/routes/admin.sports-seasons.$id.events.$eventId.bracket.server.ts b/app/routes/admin.sports-seasons.$id.events.$eventId.bracket.server.ts
index 7a10943..1dab669 100644
--- a/app/routes/admin.sports-seasons.$id.events.$eventId.bracket.server.ts
+++ b/app/routes/admin.sports-seasons.$id.events.$eventId.bracket.server.ts
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@ import {
   processMatchResult,
   recalculateAffectedLeagues,
   recalculateStandings,
+  autoCompleteRoundIfDone,
 } from "~/models/scoring-calculator";
 import { updateProbabilitiesAfterResult } from "~/services/probability-updater";
 import { getBracketTemplate, ALL_16_SEEDS, type BracketRegion } from "~/lib/bracket-templates";
@@ -211,39 +212,6 @@ export async function action({ request, params }: Route.ActionArgs) {
     }
   }
 
-  /**
-   * Auto-complete a round when every match in it is marked complete.
-   * Updates scoringEvents.playoffRound and calls processPlayoffEvent so that
-   * round placements are recorded and probabilities are refreshed.
-   * This replaces the manual "Complete Round" button.
-   *
-   * skipRecalculate=true because the caller already sent a Discord notification
-   * scoped to the current batch of matches — we don't want a second one that
-   * would show all previously-completed matches in the event.
-   */
-  async function autoCompleteRoundIfDone(
-    eventId: string,
-    round: string,
-    sportsSeasonId: string,
-    db: ReturnType<typeof database>
-  ): Promise<void> {
-    const allMatches = await findPlayoffMatchesByEventId(eventId);
-    const roundMatches = allMatches.filter((m) => m.round === round);
-    if (roundMatches.length === 0) return;
-    const allDone = roundMatches.every((m) => m.isComplete);
-    if (!allDone) return;
-
-    await db
-      .update(schema.scoringEvents)
-      .set({ playoffRound: round, updatedAt: new Date() })
-      .where(eq(schema.scoringEvents.id, eventId));
-
-    // skipProbabilities=true: callers (set-winner / set-round-winners) already ran
-    // updateProbabilitiesAfterResult before reaching here, so re-running would be wasted.
-    await processPlayoffEvent(eventId, db, { skipRecalculate: true, skipProbabilities: true });
-    logger.log(`[AutoComplete] Round "${round}" auto-completed for event ${eventId}`);
-  }
-
   if (intent === "set-winner") {
     const matchId = formData.get("matchId");
     const winnerId = formData.get("winnerId");
diff --git a/app/routes/admin.sports-seasons.$id.events.$eventId.cs2-setup.tsx b/app/routes/admin.sports-seasons.$id.events.$eventId.cs2-setup.tsx
index 4ba21d1..ed9e90b 100644
--- a/app/routes/admin.sports-seasons.$id.events.$eventId.cs2-setup.tsx
+++ b/app/routes/admin.sports-seasons.$id.events.$eventId.cs2-setup.tsx
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ import {
   clearCs2StageAssignments,
 } from '~/models/cs2-major-stage';
 import { findSeasonMatchesByScoringEventId } from '~/models/season-match';
+import { syncMatches } from '~/services/match-sync';
 import { Button } from '~/components/ui/button';
 import {
   Card,
@@ -100,6 +101,17 @@ export async function action({ request, params }: Route.ActionArgs) {
     return { success: true, message: `Marked ${eliminations.length} eliminations.` };
   }
 
+  if (intent === 'sync-matches') {
+    try {
+      const result = await syncMatches(params.id);
+      const total = result.swissCreated + result.swissUpdated;
+      const summary = `Synced: ${total} Swiss match(es), ${result.playoffUpdated} playoff match(es).`;
+      return { success: true, message: summary };
+    } catch (err) {
+      return { success: false, message: err instanceof Error ? err.message : 'Sync failed.' };
+    }
+  }
+
   return { success: false, message: 'Unknown action.' };
 }
 
@@ -336,7 +348,8 @@ export default function AdminCs2Setup() {
         <CardHeader>
           <CardTitle className="flex items-center justify-between">
             Swiss Rounds
-            <syncFetcher.Form method="post" action="/admin/jobs/sync-matches">
+            <syncFetcher.Form method="post">
+              <input type="hidden" name="intent" value="sync-matches" />
               <Button
                 type="submit"
                 variant="outline"
diff --git a/app/routes/admin/jobs.sync-matches.ts b/app/routes/admin/jobs.sync-matches.ts
index 3d4dee0..23c7870 100644
--- a/app/routes/admin/jobs.sync-matches.ts
+++ b/app/routes/admin/jobs.sync-matches.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import { isNotNull } from "drizzle-orm";
+import { and, eq, isNotNull } from "drizzle-orm";
 import { database } from "~/database/context";
 import * as schema from "~/database/schema";
 import { requireCronSecret } from "~/lib/cron-auth";
@@ -9,7 +9,10 @@ export async function action({ request }: { request: Request }) {
 
   const db = database();
   const seasons = await db.query.sportsSeasons.findMany({
-    where: isNotNull(schema.sportsSeasons.externalSeasonId),
+    where: and(
+      isNotNull(schema.sportsSeasons.externalSeasonId),
+      eq(schema.sportsSeasons.status, "active")
+    ),
     with: { sport: true },
   });
 
diff --git a/app/routes/sports-seasons.$sportsSeasonId.tournament.tsx b/app/routes/sports-seasons.$sportsSeasonId.tournament.tsx
index 5e546f0..aa02b49 100644
--- a/app/routes/sports-seasons.$sportsSeasonId.tournament.tsx
+++ b/app/routes/sports-seasons.$sportsSeasonId.tournament.tsx
@@ -62,8 +62,9 @@ export async function loader({ params }: Route.LoaderArgs) {
     }
   }
 
-  const hasLiveMatches = seasonMatches.some((m) => m.status === "in_progress")
-    || playoffMatches.some((m) => !m.isComplete);
+  const hasLiveMatches =
+    seasonMatches.some((m) => m.status === "in_progress") ||
+    playoffMatches.some((m) => !m.isComplete && (m.participant1Id != null || m.participant2Id != null));
 
   return {
     sportsSeason,
diff --git a/app/services/match-sync/__tests__/espn-schedule.test.ts b/app/services/match-sync/__tests__/espn-schedule.test.ts
index 7945c44..034159d 100644
--- a/app/services/match-sync/__tests__/espn-schedule.test.ts
+++ b/app/services/match-sync/__tests__/espn-schedule.test.ts
@@ -168,4 +168,69 @@ describe("EspnScheduleAdapter", () => {
     expect(m.startedAt).toBeInstanceOf(Date);
     expect(m.completedAt).toBeNull();
   });
+
+  it("preserves score of 0 — does not coerce falsy string to null", async () => {
+    const response = {
+      events: [
+        {
+          id: "777",
+          date: "2025-04-05T18:00:00Z",
+          competitions: [
+            {
+              competitors: [
+                { id: "10", team: { id: "10", displayName: "Team A" }, score: "0", homeAway: "home" as const, winner: false },
+                { id: "11", team: { id: "11", displayName: "Team B" }, score: "3", homeAway: "away" as const, winner: true },
+              ],
+              status: { type: { name: "STATUS_FINAL", completed: true } },
+              matchday: null,
+            },
+          ],
+        },
+      ],
+    };
+    vi.mocked(fetch).mockResolvedValueOnce({ ok: true, json: async () => response } as Response);
+
+    const [m] = await new EspnScheduleAdapter("baseball/mlb").fetchMatches("2025");
+    expect(m.team1Score).toBe(0);
+    expect(m.team2Score).toBe(3);
+  });
+
+  it("returns null (not NaN) for non-numeric score strings", async () => {
+    const response = {
+      events: [
+        {
+          id: "778",
+          date: "2025-04-06T18:00:00Z",
+          competitions: [
+            {
+              competitors: [
+                { id: "10", team: { id: "10", displayName: "Team A" }, score: "F/OT", homeAway: "home" as const, winner: true },
+                { id: "11", team: { id: "11", displayName: "Team B" }, score: "TBD", homeAway: "away" as const, winner: false },
+              ],
+              status: { type: { name: "STATUS_FINAL", completed: true } },
+              matchday: null,
+            },
+          ],
+        },
+      ],
+    };
+    vi.mocked(fetch).mockResolvedValueOnce({ ok: true, json: async () => response } as Response);
+
+    const [m] = await new EspnScheduleAdapter("baseball/mlb").fetchMatches("2025");
+    expect(m.team1Score).toBeNull();
+    expect(m.team2Score).toBeNull();
+  });
+
+  it("appends seasontype param to URL when seasonType is provided", async () => {
+    vi.mocked(fetch).mockResolvedValueOnce({
+      ok: true,
+      json: async () => ({ events: [] }),
+    } as Response);
+
+    await new EspnScheduleAdapter("baseball/mlb", 3).fetchMatches("2025");
+
+    expect(fetch).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      expect.stringContaining("seasontype=3")
+    );
+  });
 });
diff --git a/app/services/match-sync/espn-schedule.ts b/app/services/match-sync/espn-schedule.ts
index 6956d8a..72771b2 100644
--- a/app/services/match-sync/espn-schedule.ts
+++ b/app/services/match-sync/espn-schedule.ts
@@ -28,17 +28,24 @@ function mapStatus(name: string | undefined, completed: boolean | undefined): Ma
   return "scheduled";
 }
 
+function parseScore(s: string | undefined): number | null {
+  if (s == null || s === "") return null;
+  const n = parseInt(s, 10);
+  return Number.isFinite(n) ? n : null;
+}
+
 export class EspnScheduleAdapter implements MatchSyncAdapter {
   readonly supportsLiveScores = false;
-  private readonly sport: string; // e.g. "baseball/mlb", "basketball/nba"
 
-  constructor(sport: string) {
-    this.sport = sport;
-  }
+  // sport: e.g. "baseball/mlb", "basketball/nba"
+  // seasonType: ESPN season type (1=preseason, 2=regular, 3=postseason). Pass 3 for bracket sports
+  //             to avoid the scoreboard limit silently truncating regular-season games.
+  constructor(private readonly sport: string, private readonly seasonType?: number) {}
 
   // externalSeasonId is "YYYY" year string for ESPN sports
   async fetchMatches(externalSeasonId: string): Promise<MatchRecord[]> {
-    const url = `https://site.api.espn.com/apis/site/v2/sports/${this.sport}/scoreboard?limit=1000&dates=${externalSeasonId}`;
+    const seasonTypeParam = this.seasonType != null ? `&seasontype=${this.seasonType}` : "";
+    const url = `https://site.api.espn.com/apis/site/v2/sports/${this.sport}/scoreboard?limit=1000&dates=${externalSeasonId}${seasonTypeParam}`;
     const resp = await fetch(url);
     if (!resp.ok) {
       const body = await resp.text();
@@ -60,8 +67,8 @@ export class EspnScheduleAdapter implements MatchSyncAdapter {
       const statusType = comp.status?.type;
       const status = mapStatus(statusType?.name, statusType?.completed);
 
-      const homeScore = home.score ? parseInt(home.score, 10) : null;
-      const awayScore = away.score ? parseInt(away.score, 10) : null;
+      const homeScore = parseScore(home.score);
+      const awayScore = parseScore(away.score);
       const winnerExternalId = home.winner ? home.team.id : away.winner ? away.team.id : null;
 
       matches.push({
diff --git a/app/services/match-sync/index.ts b/app/services/match-sync/index.ts
index b641f64..b8ac3c8 100644
--- a/app/services/match-sync/index.ts
+++ b/app/services/match-sync/index.ts
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ import { eq, isNull, or } from "drizzle-orm";
 import * as schema from "~/database/schema";
 import { findParticipantsBySportsSeasonId, updateParticipant } from "~/models/season-participant";
 import { upsertSeasonMatchBulk, upsertMatchSubGame } from "~/models/season-match";
-import { setMatchWinner, updatePlayoffMatch, advanceWinnerTemplate, findPlayoffMatchesByEventId } from "~/models/playoff-match";
+import { setMatchWinner, updatePlayoffMatch, advanceWinnerTemplate, findPlayoffMatchesByEventId, doesLoserAdvance } from "~/models/playoff-match";
 import { processMatchResult, autoCompleteRoundIfDone } from "~/models/scoring-calculator";
 import { findMatchingTeamName } from "~/lib/normalize-team-name";
 import { getBracketTemplate } from "~/lib/bracket-templates";
@@ -17,15 +17,15 @@ function getMatchSyncAdapter(simulatorType: string): MatchSyncAdapter {
     case "cs2_major_qualifying_points":
       return new PandaScoreMatchSyncAdapter();
     case "mlb_bracket":
-      return new EspnScheduleAdapter("baseball/mlb");
+      return new EspnScheduleAdapter("baseball/mlb", 3);
     case "nba_bracket":
-      return new EspnScheduleAdapter("basketball/nba");
+      return new EspnScheduleAdapter("basketball/nba", 3);
     case "mls_bracket":
-      return new EspnScheduleAdapter("soccer/mls");
+      return new EspnScheduleAdapter("soccer/mls", 3);
     case "wnba_bracket":
-      return new EspnScheduleAdapter("basketball/wnba");
+      return new EspnScheduleAdapter("basketball/wnba", 3);
     case "nhl_bracket":
-      return new EspnScheduleAdapter("hockey/nhl");
+      return new EspnScheduleAdapter("hockey/nhl", 3);
     default:
       throw new Error(
         `No match sync adapter available for simulator type "${simulatorType}". ` +
@@ -169,6 +169,10 @@ export async function syncMatches(sportsSeasonId: string): Promise<MatchSyncResu
   }
 
   // --- Bracket matches → playoff_matches ---
+  if (bracketMatches.length > 0 && scoringEvents.length === 0) {
+    logger.warn(`[match-sync] ${bracketMatches.length} bracket match(es) found but no scoring events exist for season ${sportsSeasonId} — bracket sync skipped`);
+  }
+
   if (bracketMatches.length > 0) {
     for (const event of scoringEvents) {
       const existingPlayoffMatches = await findPlayoffMatchesByEventId(event.id);
@@ -244,7 +248,9 @@ export async function syncMatches(sportsSeasonId: string): Promise<MatchSyncResu
             eventId: event.id,
             eventName: event.name ?? undefined,
             matchId: playoffMatch.id,
-            loserAdvances: false,
+            loserAdvances: event.bracketTemplateId
+              ? doesLoserAdvance(playoffMatch.round, playoffMatch.matchNumber, event.bracketTemplateId)
+              : false,
           });
 
           await autoCompleteRoundIfDone(event.id, playoffMatch.round, sportsSeasonId, db);