Editing World cup (section)

==Differences between world cup and world championships==
Some [[sports governing body|sports governing bodies]] prefer the title "[[world championship]]" or a related term; some even organize both a world cup and a world championship with different rules. Usually, such competitions take one of two forms: a short periodic competition or a year-long series of meetings, but more frequently many sports have both a [[World Cup (disambiguation)|World Cup]] (usually consisting of multiple events in a season), and a [[world championship]] (usually a single event). Some examples are in the following table.
{| class="wikitable" style="width:65%; font-size:90%; text-align:center;"
|-
!Sport !! World Cup !!World Championships
|-
|[[Alpine skiing]] || [[FIS Alpine Ski World Cup]] || [[FIS Alpine World Ski Championships]]
|-
|[[Archery]] || [[Archery World Cup]] || [[World Archery Championships]]
|-
|[[Artistic gymnastics]] || [[Artistic Gymnastics World Cup]] || [[World Artistic Gymnastics Championships]]
|-
|[[Biathlon]] || [[Biathlon World Cup]] || [[Biathlon World Championships]]
|-
|[[Sport of athletics|Athletics]] || [[Athletics World Cup]] || [[World Athletics Championships]]
|-
|[[Cross-country skiing (sport)|Cross-country skiing]] || [[FIS Cross-Country World Cup]] || [[FIS Nordic World Ski Championships]]
|-
|[[Curling]] || [[Curling World Cup]] || [[World Curling Championships]]
|-
|[[Cricket]]
|[[Cricket World Cup]], [[Men's T20 World Cup|T20 World Cup]]
|[[ICC World Test Championship|World Test Championship]]
|-
|[[Cycle sport|Cycling]] || [[UCI Road World Cup]] || [[UCI World Championships]]
|-
|[[Diving (sport)|Diving]] || [[FINA Diving World Cup]] || [[FINA World Aquatics Championships]]
|-
|[[Fencing]] || [[Fencing World Cup]] || [[Fencing World Championships]]
|-
|[[Freestyle skiing]] || [[FIS Freestyle Ski World Cup]] || [[FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships]]
|-
|[[Luge]] || [[Luge World Cup]] || [[FIL World Luge Championships]]
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|[[Nordic combined]] || [[FIS Nordic Combined World Cup]] || [[FIS Nordic World Ski Championships]]
|-
|[[Rhythmic gymnastics]] || [[Rhythmic Gymnastics World Cup]] || [[World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships]]
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|[[Ski jumping]] || [[FIS Ski Jumping World Cup]] || [[FIS Nordic World Ski Championships]]
|-
|[[Speed skating]] || [[ISU Speed Skating World Cup]] || [[World Speed Skating Championships]]
|-
|[[Volleyball]] || [[FIVB Volleyball World Cup (disambiguation)|FIVB Volleyball World Cup]] || [[FIVB Volleyball World Championship (disambiguation)|FIVB Volleyball World Championship]]
|} 

A periodic world cup or world championship usually takes the form of a [[Tournament#Knockout tournaments|knockout tournament]] (possibly with an initial group stage). This is held over a number of days or weeks, with the entrants eventually being whittled down to two, and the tournament culminating in a '''world cup final'''. The winner(s) take the title of World Champion(s) and hold it until the next time the event is held (usually one, two, or four years later). This format is most common in [[team sport|team sports]]. In individual sports however, holding the title can vary in terms of duration, as it is dependent on the timing of the next scheduled individual contest between the defending champion and a challenger.