2026 IIHF World Championship playoff round
The playoff round of the 2026 IIHF World Championship will be held from 28 to 31 May 2026. The top four of each preliminary group qualify for the playoff round.[1]
Qualified teams
| Group | Winners | Runners-up | Third place | Fourth place | TBD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | |||||
| B |
Qualified teams' seedings
Quarter-finalists are paired according to their positions in the groups: the first-place team in each preliminary-round group plays the fourth-place team of the other group, while the second-place team plays the third-place team of the other group.[2]
Semi-finalists are paired according to their seeding after the preliminary round, which is determined by the following criteria. The best-ranked semi-finalist plays against the lowest-ranked semi-finalist, while the second-best ranked semi-finalist plays the third-best ranked semi-finalist.[2]
| Rank | Team | Grp | Pos | Pts | GD | GF | Seed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TBD | A | 1 | |||||
| TBD | B | 1 | |||||
| TBD | A | 2 | |||||
| TBD | B | 2 | |||||
| TBD | A | 3 | |||||
| TBD | B | 3 | |||||
| TBD | A | 4 | |||||
| TBD | B | 4 |
Classification rules: 1) position in the group; 2) number of points; 3) goal difference; 4) number of goals scored for; 5) seeding number entering the tournament.[2]
Bracket
There will be a re-seeding after the quarterfinals.[2]
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
| 28 May | ||||||||||
1A | ||||||||||
| 30 May | ||||||||||
4B | ||||||||||
| 28 May | ||||||||||
1B | ||||||||||
| 31 May | ||||||||||
4A | ||||||||||
| 28 May | ||||||||||
2A | ||||||||||
| 30 May | ||||||||||
3B | ||||||||||
| 28 May | ||||||||||
| Third place | ||||||||||
2B | ||||||||||
| 31 May | ||||||||||
3A | ||||||||||
All times are local (UTC+2).
Quarterfinals
| 28 May 2026 16:20 | TBD | v | TBD | Swiss Life Arena, Zürich |
| 28 May 2026 16:20 | TBD | v | TBD | BCF Arena, Fribourg |
| 28 May 2026 20:20 | TBD | v | TBD | Swiss Life Arena, Zürich |
| 28 May 2026 20:20 | TBD | v | TBD | BCF Arena, Fribourg |
Semifinals
| 30 May 2026 15:20 | TBD | v | TBD | Swiss Life Arena, Zürich |
| 30 May 2026 20:00 | TBD | v | TBD | Swiss Life Arena, Zürich |
Bronze medal game
| 31 May 2026 15:30 | LSF1 | v | LSF2 | Swiss Life Arena, Zürich |
Gold medal game
| 31 May 2026 20:20 | WSF1 | v | WSF2 | Swiss Life Arena, Zürich |
References
- ^ "The Game Schedule for the 2026 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship is here!". iihf.com. Retrieved 19 August 2025.
- ^ a b c d "Tournament Format". iihf.com. Retrieved 15 May 2025.