diff --git a/src/app/pages/tournaments/tournaments.component.html b/src/app/pages/tournaments/tournaments.component.html
index 6ce1fe6..b611ae9 100644
--- a/src/app/pages/tournaments/tournaments.component.html
+++ b/src/app/pages/tournaments/tournaments.component.html
@@ -192,12 +192,12 @@
       <span class="dialog-brand">Join with a bot</span>
       <button type="button" class="dialog-close" (click)="closeJoinDialog()">×</button>
     </div>
-    <p class="join-hint">Select one of your bots to enter this tournament. Its token will be rotated to authenticate the join.</p>
+    <p class="join-hint">Select an official (engine-backed) bot to enter this tournament. These are the bots that actually play their moves.</p>
 
     @if (botsLoading) {
       <div class="dialog-loading"><span class="pulse"></span>Loading bots…</div>
     } @else if (userBots.length === 0) {
-      <p class="join-empty">You have no bots yet. Go to <strong>Bots</strong> in the nav to create one first.</p>
+      <p class="join-empty">No official bots are available. The official-bots engine service must be running to register them.</p>
     } @else {
       <div class="bot-pick-list">
         @for (bot of userBots; track bot.id) {
diff --git a/src/app/pages/tournaments/tournaments.component.ts b/src/app/pages/tournaments/tournaments.component.ts
index adfbd83..cd60d7b 100644
--- a/src/app/pages/tournaments/tournaments.component.ts
+++ b/src/app/pages/tournaments/tournaments.component.ts
@@ -158,7 +158,7 @@ export class TournamentsComponent implements OnInit {
     this.joinDialogTournamentId = tournamentId;
     this.joinError = null;
     this.botsLoading = true;
-    this.botService.list()
+    this.botService.listOfficial()
       .pipe(takeUntilDestroyed(this.destroyRef))
       .subscribe({
         next: bots => { this.userBots = bots; this.botsLoading = false; },
@@ -176,30 +176,22 @@ export class TournamentsComponent implements OnInit {
     if (!this.joinDialogTournamentId || this.joiningBotId) return;
     this.joiningBotId = bot.id;
     this.joinError = null;
-    this.botService.rotateToken(bot.id).subscribe({
-      next: token => {
-        this.tournamentService.joinWithBotToken(this.joinDialogTournamentId!, token).subscribe({
-          next: () => {
-            this.joiningBotId = null;
-            const tid = this.joinDialogTournamentId!;
-            this.closeJoinDialog();
-            this.tournamentService.get(tid)
-              .pipe(takeUntilDestroyed(this.destroyRef))
-              .subscribe(updated => {
-                this.created = this.created.map(x => x.id === tid ? updated : x);
-                this.started = this.started.map(x => x.id === tid ? updated : x);
-                if (this.selectedTournament?.id === tid) this.selectedTournament = updated;
-              });
-          },
-          error: err => {
-            this.joiningBotId = null;
-            this.joinError = err.error?.message ?? err.error?.error ?? 'Failed to join tournament.';
-          }
-        });
-      },
-      error: () => {
+    this.tournamentService.join(this.joinDialogTournamentId, bot.id, bot.name).subscribe({
+      next: () => {
         this.joiningBotId = null;
-        this.joinError = 'Failed to get bot token.';
+        const tid = this.joinDialogTournamentId!;
+        this.closeJoinDialog();
+        this.tournamentService.get(tid)
+          .pipe(takeUntilDestroyed(this.destroyRef))
+          .subscribe(updated => {
+            this.created = this.created.map(x => x.id === tid ? updated : x);
+            this.started = this.started.map(x => x.id === tid ? updated : x);
+            if (this.selectedTournament?.id === tid) this.selectedTournament = updated;
+          });
+      },
+      error: err => {
+        this.joiningBotId = null;
+        this.joinError = err.error?.message ?? err.error?.error ?? 'Failed to join tournament.';
       }
     });
   }
diff --git a/src/app/services/bot.service.ts b/src/app/services/bot.service.ts
index fa77c29..47b04f8 100644
--- a/src/app/services/bot.service.ts
+++ b/src/app/services/bot.service.ts
@@ -7,11 +7,16 @@ import { Bot, BotWithToken } from '../models/bot.models';
 export class BotService {
   private readonly http = inject(HttpClient);
   private readonly base = '/api/account/bots';
+  private readonly officialBase = '/api/account/official-bots';
 
   list(): Observable<Bot[]> {
     return this.http.get<Bot[]>(this.base);
   }
 
+  listOfficial(): Observable<Bot[]> {
+    return this.http.get<Bot[]>(this.officialBase);
+  }
+
   create(name: string): Observable<BotWithToken> {
     return this.http.post<BotWithToken>(this.base, { name });
   }
diff --git a/src/app/services/tournament.service.ts b/src/app/services/tournament.service.ts
index 493d400..289a27d 100644
--- a/src/app/services/tournament.service.ts
+++ b/src/app/services/tournament.service.ts
@@ -40,10 +40,8 @@ export class TournamentService {
     return this.http.post<Tournament>(`${this.base}/${id}/start`, null);
   }
 
-  joinWithBotToken(id: string, botToken: string): Observable<void> {
-    return this.http.post<void>(`${this.base}/${id}/join`, null, {
-      headers: new HttpHeaders({ Authorization: `Bearer ${botToken}` })
-    });
+  join(id: string, botId: string, botName: string): Observable<void> {
+    return this.http.post<void>(`${this.base}/${id}/join`, { botId, botName });
   }
 
   roundPairings(id: string, round: number): Observable<RoundPairings> {