Matchup and Tug-of-war

Matchup noun - A competitive encounter between individuals or groups carried on for amusement, exercise, or in pursuit of a prize.

Tug-of-war and matchup are semantically related in contest topic. In some cases you can use "Tug-of-war" instead a noun "Matchup", when it comes to topics like competition.

Tug-of-war noun - An earnest effort for superiority or victory over another.

Matchup and tug-of-war are semantically related in contest topic. You can use "Matchup" instead a noun phrase "Tug-of-war", if it concerns topics such as competition.