$1000 for EQ Academy Winner October 2026

To celebrate 1 million EQ Academy plays, the top of the October 2026 leaderboard wins US$1,000. Last updated: 16 September 2026.

1. The promoter

1.1 The promoter is Mastering The Mix Ltd (company number 09092534), 3rd Floor, 86-90 Paul Street, London EC2A 4NE, United Kingdom ("we", "us", "our"). Questions about this competition: tom@masteringthemix.com.

1.2 By taking part, you agree to these terms.

2. Dates

2.1 The competition runs from 00:00 UK time (BST) on 1 October 2026 to 23:59 UK time (GMT) on 31 October 2026 (the "Competition Period"). UK clocks go back one hour on 25 October 2026.

2.2 Only EQ Academy scores recorded on our servers during the Competition Period count.

3. Who can take part

3.1 You must be 18 or over when you take part.

3.2 The competition is open worldwide, except to residents of Belarus, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, Syria, and the Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions of Ukraine, and of any other country or territory where UK sanctions law would prevent us paying you or where this competition is prohibited or restricted by law. It is void where prohibited.

3.3 You cannot win if you are an employee, contractor or agent of Mastering The Mix Ltd, a person paid or asked by us to promote this competition, or a member of the immediate family or household of any of these people.

3.4 EQ Academy is free for Mastering The Mix newsletter subscribers. To take part you need an EQ Academy account linked to a valid email address that belongs to you. You can unsubscribe from our newsletter at any time without losing your EQ Academy access or your place in this competition.

3.5 One person, one account. You must play on your own account yourself. Multiple accounts, shared accounts, and accounts registered with someone else's details will be disqualified.

3.6 No purchase is necessary. Buying any of our products does not improve your chances of winning.

4. How to take part and how scores work

4.1 There is nothing extra to do to enter. Download EQ Academy, sign in and play Journey levels during the Competition Period.

4.2 Everyone's October score starts from zero at the start of the Competition Period. It is made up of: (a) points for each Journey level you pass, with higher levels worth more points; (b) your average mastery score across all your level passes in October; and (c) a bonus based on the number of days you play in October.

4.3 Every pass of a Journey level during the Competition Period earns points, including levels you have passed before when your best score has increased. Each level's target is random every time, so every pass is a fresh test.

4.4 Scores are calculated automatically by EQ Academy, using the same scoring for every player.

4.5 We are not responsible for scores that fail to record because of internet connection problems, device faults or anything else outside our reasonable control.

5. Prizes

5.1 1st place: US$1,000, paid by PayPal.

5.2 2nd place: a licence for the Bestseller Bundle, containing the plugins listed at masteringthemix.com/products/bestseller-bundle on 1 October 2026.

5.3 3rd place: a licence for the EQ Excellence Bundle, containing the plugins listed at masteringthemix.com/products/eq-excellence-bundle on 1 October 2026.

5.4 One prize per person. Prizes cannot be transferred. There is no cash alternative to the plugin prizes. We will only substitute a prize if it becomes unavailable for reasons outside our control, and any substitute will be of equal or greater value.

5.5 Plugin licences are subject to our standard end-user licence terms.

6. How winners are decided

6.1 This is a competition of skill. There is no judging and no random draw. The winners are the three eligible players with the highest October leaderboard scores at the end of the Competition Period, after removing anyone who is ineligible or disqualified. If a player is removed, everyone below them moves up.

6.2 Our record of the October leaderboard at the end of the Competition Period, adjusted under clause 7, is final.

6.3 If two or more eligible players tie for 1st place, the US$1,000 is split equally between them, and the next highest-scoring eligible players take 2nd and 3rd place. If players tie for 2nd or 3rd place, each tied player receives that place's prize.

6.4 If you live in Canada, you must correctly answer a mathematical skill-testing question, without help, before you receive a prize.

7. Verification and fair play

7.1 Before awarding any prize, we may ask a provisional winner to confirm their full name, age and country of residence, to show identification confirming these, and to join a short video call with screen sharing while playing EQ Academy, so we can confirm the account and scores are theirs. We only keep this information for as long as we need it.

7.2 If a provisional winner does not reply within 14 days of our first email, does not complete verification within that time, or is not eligible, they lose the prize and it passes to the next eligible player.

7.3 We will disqualify a player and remove their scores if we reasonably believe they have used bots, scripts, macros, automation or modified software, or played in a pattern that is not humanly possible; tampered with EQ Academy, its data or its communication with our servers; exploited a bug or glitch to gain scores; had someone else play for them; used more than one account; or otherwise acted dishonestly or unfairly. We will make this decision reasonably and in good faith, based on the evidence available.

7.4 If a bug affects scores, we may correct or remove the affected scores in the same way for every player.

8. Notification and payment

8.1 We will email provisional winners at the address linked to their EQ Academy account by 7 November 2026, and send reminders if we don't hear back.

8.2 The cash prize is paid in US dollars to a PayPal account in the winner's own name. We pay our PayPal sending fees. Currency conversion and any fees charged by the winner's own PayPal account or bank are the winner's responsibility.

8.3 If PayPal cannot pay the winner in their country, we may, at our choice, pay the same amount by bank transfer instead. If no lawful payment method is available, the prize passes to the next eligible player.

8.4 We will deliver all prizes by 30 November 2026, as long as winners have replied and completed any verification in time.

8.5 Winners are responsible for any tax due on their prize where they live.

8.6 We may withhold or delay a prize where the law requires it, including sanctions law.

9. Technical problems and changes

9.1 If a technical failure, error or other event outside our reasonable control seriously affects the leaderboard, we will decide the winners using the most reliable leaderboard data available. If that is not possible, we may extend the Competition Period and will explain the change on this page.

9.2 We will only change these terms in exceptional circumstances outside our control, and will publish any change on this page.

10. Announcing the winners

10.1 To show the prizes were properly awarded, we will publish, or provide on request, each winner's surname, country and EQ Academy username. If you win and object to this, tell us when you reply to our email. If you object, we may still have to share these details with the Advertising Standards Authority if it asks.

10.2 We will only use a winner's photo, voice, quotes or video in publicity if they agree separately.

11. Your personal data

11.1 We use the personal data connected with this competition only to run it, check eligibility, deliver prizes and meet our legal obligations, as described in our privacy policy at masteringthemix.com/policies/privacy-policy.

12. Liability

12.1 Nothing in these terms limits our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, for fraud, or for anything else that cannot be limited by law. Nothing in these terms affects your statutory rights.

12.2 Subject to clause 12.1, we are not liable for any loss arising from your participation in this competition, except where it is caused by our breach of these terms.

13. General

13.1 This competition is not sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, PayPal, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube or any other platform.

13.2 These terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales. If you live outside the UK, you keep any protection given to you by the mandatory laws of your country.