Tournament System at the 2026 World Championship in Ostrava: How the medals will be decided

Men: Two performance groups and a path to the title

The men’s tournament is divided into two six-team performance groups.

Group A (Elite):

Czechia, Canada, USA, Slovakia, Switzerland, Finland

Group B:

Germany, Austria, France, Great Britain, Cayman Islands, India

In the group stage, each team will play a round-robin format within its group. After that, the tournament splits into two playoff paths.

All six teams from Group A and the top two teams from Group B advance to the main playoff bracket. The quarterfinal matchups are set as follows:

• 1A vs 2B

• 2A vs 1B

• 3A vs 6A

• 4A vs 5A

The remaining four teams from Group B will compete in their own placement bracket:

• 3B vs 6B

• 4B vs 5B

In the A Pool semifinals, the highest-ranked quarterfinal winner faces the lowest-ranked winner, while the remaining two teams meet in the other semifinal. The losing quarterfinalists will play for 5th place.

Teams in the B Pool continue competing for final standings as well, ensuring that every team plays a full and competitive schedule. The system determines not only the world champion, but also the complete ranking of all participating teams.

Women: One group and direct playoff battles

The women’s tournament will be played in a single group of six teams:

Czechia, Canada, USA, Slovakia, Switzerland, Great Britain

Each team plays a round-robin schedule. The group stage is followed by playoffs:

• semifinals: 1 vs 4 and 2 vs 3

• 5th place game: 5 vs 6

• bronze medal game and final

Every point in the group stage is crucial for playoff positioning.

Game format: Fast and dynamic ball hockey

All group stage games are played in a 3×15-minute format, 5-on-5. If tied, games go to a 5-minute overtime (4-on-4), followed by a shootout if necessary. In the playoffs, overtime is extended to 10 minutes (5-on-5). The men’s and women’s finals feature continuous sudden-death overtime, played in 15-minute periods until a game-winning goal is scored.

The tournament system in Ostrava is designed to keep every team competitive until the final day. With performance-based groups, structured playoffs, and placement games, fans can expect a packed schedule full of high-quality matchups. This format guarantees thrilling moments, intense battles, and a fair determination of the new world champions.