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What are Benchmarks and how do they work?

How Benchmarks work across Gladiator Futures, Stocks, and Sprint — targets, qualifying days, payout ladders, and the Sprint PTSA payout-eligibility and account-limit rules.

Overview

Benchmarks are the performance milestones used to measure trading consistency during the Gladiator Evaluation phase.

Instead of a single pass/fail profit target, traders build a verified track record by completing Benchmarks under the firm's active risk and compliance rules. Each Benchmark represents a defined profit milestone achieved through qualifying trading days while maintaining proper risk management.

Important note about Gladiator Sprint accounts

Gladiator Sprint accounts do not follow the Benchmark ladder used for Gladiator Light or Gladiator Forge. Instead of Benchmarks, Sprint payout accounts use payout eligibility: each payout requires 3 qualifying days, the 50% consistency rule, and the payout target reached above the drawdown buffer floor.

For full Sprint mechanics (evaluation, payout events, buffer floor, parameters, and pricing), see How Gladiator Sprint Accounts Work.

Gladiator Futures (Payout Account) — Benchmark behavior

Each qualifying benchmark triggers an automatic simulated payout within 72 hours of the benchmark being recorded and compliance approval.

Benchmark 1: triggers a compliance and KYC review. No payout is issued.

  • Gladiator Light: Automatic simulated payouts on qualifying Benchmarks 2–7, with Benchmark 8 triggering Real Prop consideration.

  • Gladiator Forge: Automatic simulated payouts on qualifying Benchmarks 2–6, with Benchmark 7 triggering Real Prop consideration.

Gladiator Light

25K-class accounts — payout per Benchmark

(25K Intraday, 25K EOD, 12.5K Swing)

Benchmark

Payout

B1

$0 (compliance review)

B2

$125

B3

$250

B4

$375

B5

$625

B6

$750

B7

$875

B8

Real Prop transition

Cumulative cap: $3,000 per account.

50K-class accounts — payout per Benchmark

(50K Intraday, 50K EOD, 25K Swing)

Benchmark

Payout

B1

$0 (compliance review)

B2

$250

B3

$500

B4

$750

B5

$1,250

B6

$1,500

B7

$1,750

B8

Real Prop transition

Cumulative cap: $6,000 per account.

Gladiator Forge

25K-class accounts — payout per Benchmark

(25K Intraday, 25K EOD)

Benchmark

Payout

B1

$0 (compliance review)

B2

$1,000

B3

$1,000

B4

$1,250

B5

$1500

B6

$1,500

B7

Real Prop transition

Cumulative cap: $6,250 per account.

50K-class accounts — payout per Benchmark

(50K Intraday, 50KEOD)

Benchmark

Payout

B1

$0 (compliance review)

B2

$1,500

B3

$1,500

B4

$2,000

B5

$3,500

B6

$3,500

B7

Real Prop transition

Cumulative cap: $12,000 per account.

Gladiator Stocks — Benchmark behavior

Gladiator Stocks accounts do not issue payouts on individual Benchmarks. Benchmarks are the progress indicator toward Real Prop consideration. When a trader completes the required Benchmark count on a single Stocks account and passes compliance review, they move to Real Prop and receive a Signing Bonus (25K → $3,000; 50K → $6,000) on execution of the Real Prop Trading Agreement.

Intraday account parameters

Intraday Trailing Drawdown accounts

Acc. Size

Daily Target

Max DD

Benchmark Target

1st Benchmark Eligibility Threshold

MAE 50%

25K Light

$100

$1,250

$500

$26,750

$625

50K Light

$200

$2,500

$1,000

$53,500

$1,250

25K Forge

$125

$1,250

$1,000

$27,250

$625

50K Forge

$250

$2,500

$2,000

$54,500

$1,250

End-of-Day (EOD) Trailing Drawdown accounts

Acc. Size

Daily Target

Max DD

Benchmark Target

1st Benchmark Eligibility Threshold

MAE 50%

25K Light

$100

$1,225

$500

$26,725

$612.50

50K Light

$200

$2,250

$1,000

$53,250

$1,125

25K Forge

$125

$1,225

$1,000

$27,225

$612.50

50K Forge

$250

$2,250

$2,000

$54,250

$1,125

How a Benchmark is earned (Intraday and EOD)

To earn one Benchmark, a trader must:

• Complete the required number of qualifying trading days where each day meets or exceeds the daily profit target (5 qualifying days per Benchmark on Intraday and EOD accounts).
• Keep the account at or above the Benchmark Eligibility Threshold at the time the Benchmark is recorded.
Pass end-of-day evaluation checks (drawdown intact, no MAE violations, no compliance flags).

A day does not count as a qualifying trading day if the daily target is not met. Any profit earned that day remains in the account balance and can count toward a future qualifying day or future Benchmark.

Sprint PTSA exception

Sprint PTSA accounts do not earn Benchmarks. Instead, before each payout request, a Sprint PTSA trader must:

• Complete 3 qualifying trading days (they do not need to be consecutive).
• Meet or exceed the daily target on each qualifying day: $125 for 25K or $250 for 50K.
• Reach the payout target ($500 for 25K or $1,000 for 50K) above the applicable drawdown buffer floor.
• Pass the 50% consistency rule for the current payout cycle.
• Remain within all active risk rules.

For the full Sprint payout-eligibility mechanics, see How Gladiator Sprint Accounts Work.

Important rules

• Benchmarks must be earned on a single account.
• Benchmarks from multiple accounts do not combine.
• Qualifying trading days do not need to be consecutive.
• Progress is always subject to risk and compliance review.
• Gladiator Sprint accounts do not use the Benchmark ladder — they use payout eligibility (3 qualifying days, the 50% consistency rule, and the payout target above the drawdown buffer floor).

How the first Benchmark Eligibility Threshold is calculated

First Benchmark Eligibility Threshold = Initial Account Balance + Max Trailing Drawdown + Benchmark Target

Example for a 25K EOD account:

Initial Balance ($25,000) + Max Trailing Drawdown ($1,125) + Benchmark Target ($500) = $26,625

The account must reach this balance while meeting the qualifying-day requirement in order to earn the first Benchmark.

How the next Benchmark target is calculated

After a Benchmark is earned, the next Benchmark threshold is not a fixed number. It depends on the account balance at the time the previous Benchmark is recorded.

The system calculates the next target by adding the Benchmark target amount to the account balance at the moment the previous Benchmark was completed. Because traders may exceed the Benchmark Eligibility Threshold when earning a Benchmark, the exact value of the next Benchmark target may differ slightly between accounts.

Example for a 25K account with a $500 Benchmark Target:

• If the first Benchmark is recorded at a balance of $26,750, the next Benchmark target becomes $26,750 + $500 = $27,250.


• If the first Benchmark is recorded at $26,900, the next Benchmark target becomes $26,900 + $500 = $27,400.

Where traders see their Benchmark progress

• Once a Benchmark is completed, the next Benchmark threshold updates automatically in the trader dashboard.
• The dashboard displays the trader's current Benchmark progress and next milestone.
• Traders should always refer to the dashboard for the exact next Benchmark target.
• For Sprint PTSA accounts, the dashboard shows payout eligibility status, qualifying-day progress, the required target, consistency status, and the maximum requestable payout amount.

Swing Account Benchmarks

Swing accounts use a weekly Benchmark system. There is no daily profit target — instead, a trader earns one Benchmark by meeting the weekly profit target while remaining inside all risk and compliance rules.

Account

Weekly Benchmark Target

Max Trailing Drawdown

1st Benchmark Eligibility Threshold

MAE

12.5K Futures (Swing)

$500

$1,250

$13,750

$625

25K Futures (Swing)

$1,000

$2,500

$28,500

$1,250

25K Stocks (Swing)

$500

$1,250

$26,750

$625

50K Stocks (Swing)

$1,000

$2,500

$53,500

$1,250

To earn one weekly Benchmark, the trader must:

• Meet or exceed the weekly Benchmark target
• Remain within the account's trailing drawdown and MAE limits
• Pass end-of-week and compliance review checks

Only closed trades count toward Swing Benchmarks. Open profits do not count. Benchmarks are evaluated at Friday end of day. Traders do not need to trade every day.

How many Benchmarks are required?

• On a Gladiator Futures (Payout Account), the full ladder runs from Benchmark 1 (compliance) to Benchmark 8 (Real Prop transition). Benchmarks 2–7 pay out in cash.


• On a Gladiator Stocks account, traders typically work through the same number of Benchmarks on a single account before Real Prop consideration, with approval governed by compliance review.


• Gladiator Sprint accounts do not use the Benchmark ladder. They use payout eligibility (3 qualifying days, the 50% consistency rule, and the payout target above the drawdown buffer floor) instead of Benchmarks. See How Gladiator Sprint Accounts Work.

Important notice

Completing Benchmarks or reaching Sprint payout eligibility does not by itself guarantee Real Prop access or payout approval. Progression remains subject to internal review, risk standards, and compliance review.

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