King Pro League Grand Finals 2026

🎮 Tournament Format & Structure

🛡️ Challenge Stage (Guangzhou)

• Structure & Seeding:

  • Teams are split into 2 groups based on annual Circuit Points:

    • Master Group: Seeds 1st to 6th.

    • Elite Group: Seeds 7th to 12th.

  • Teams play a cross-group Single Round-Robin in a Best-of-5 (Bo5) series with Global Ban/Pick.

• Special Rule (Master Group):

  • Masters Rotation Rule: Teams must field all 7 members of their roster across each Bo5 series.

  • When a team reaches match point, they are strictly required to substitute in any remaining players who have not yet participated in that series.

• Stage Advancement & Elimination:

  • Master Group:

    • Top 4 teams advance to the Knockout Stage.

    • 5th and 6th place teams advance to the Play-In Stage.

  • Elite Group:

    • Group winner advances to the Knockout Stage.

    • 2nd to 5th place teams advance to the Play-In Stage.

    • Bottom-ranked team is eliminated.

• Side Selection: Game 1 side selection is decided by a coin toss; subsequent games give side selection to the loser of the previous game.

⚔️ Play-In Stage (Guangzhou Gymnasium)

• Participants: The 6 advancing teams from the Challenge Stage.

• Structure: Single-elimination matches. Higher-seeded teams (Master Group prioritized over Elite Group) choose their opponents.

• Advancement: The 3 match winners advance to the Knockout Stage.

• Match Format: Played as a single Best-of-7 (Bo7) using Global Ban/Pick with an Ultimate Battle final game.

• Side Selection: Game 1 side selection is awarded to the higher-ranked seed; subsequent games go to the loser of the previous game.

🏆 Knockout Stage (Changsha)

• Participants: 8 teams in an 8-team Double-Elimination Bracket, with all teams starting in the Upper Bracket Quarterfinals.

• Seeding & Pairings:

  • A random draw determines Quarterfinal matchups.

  • The top 2 Master Group teams are separated into opposite halves of the bracket.

• Match Format: All matches are played as a Best-of-7 (Bo7) using Global Ban/Pick with an Ultimate Battle final game.

• Side Selection: Game 1 side selection is decided by a coin toss; subsequent games go to the loser of the previous game.

🥇 Grand Finals (Chengdu Phoenix Hill Gymnasium)

• Match Format: Played as a Best-of-7 (Bo7) using Global Ban/Pick with an Ultimate Battle final game.

• Side Selection: Game 1 side selection is awarded to the Upper Bracket Finals winner; subsequent games go to the loser of the previous game.