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
[edit | edit source]| Group | Winners | Runners-up | Third place | Fourth place | TBD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | |||||
| B |
Qualified teams' seedings
[edit | edit source]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
[edit | edit source]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
[edit | edit source]| 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
[edit | edit source]| 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
[edit | edit source]| 31 May 2026 15:30 | LSF1 | v | LSF2 | Swiss Life Arena, Zürich |
Gold medal game
[edit | edit source]| 31 May 2026 20:20 | WSF1 | v | WSF2 | Swiss Life Arena, Zürich |