Blitzball is an aquatic ball sport played in Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy X-2. It is Spira's favorite and most dominant sport, allowing fans to take their minds off the ever present threat of Sin.
Blitzball is a sport over 1000 years old. After Zanarkand's destruction a millennium ago, and after Sin's emergence, blitzball became Spira's only form of entertainment. The ancient gesture used by blitzball spectators to cheer on their team was adopted by Yevon and became known as a religious gesture.
By the time of Final Fantasy X blitzball is embraced by the Yevon faith, despite Bevelle not having its own team in the league; Maesters of Yevon are known to attend important blitzball tournaments, and the blitzball stadium in Luca is one of the few examples of machina that is not labelled forbidden. Two years following Sin's defeat and the ensuing Eternal Calm, blitzball is still among the most popular sports in the world, although it has a new rival in Sphere Break.
The objective of the game is for the player and their team to kick the blitzball - a dimpled ball about thirty centimeters in diameter - into the opposing team's goal, while the opposing team simultaneously defends their goal and attempts to steal the blitzball in order to make an attempt at the player's goal.
Blitzball is held in open-air water sphere stadium, designed in a traditional amphitheatre style. Once the sphere is filled, a pair of triangular goals are suspended at opposing points within the sphere's diameter (usually at the north and south horizontal points).
Each game lasts for two five-minute periods. The team with the highest score at the end of the second period wins. If the two teams should remain tied during regular League season or Exhibition play, the game ends in a tie. Inversely, if the two teams are tied at the conclusion of Tournament play, the game proceeds to Overtime. Overtime consists of continuous 5 minute rounds in Golden Goal format.
