NATS 2026 · Championship format

Four-roundSwiss

Start Friday with the four-match play-in, then return Saturday to seed the 16-team field, run four guaranteed Swiss rounds, and finish with a complete single-elimination bracket.

Run the format

Opening drawFixed by seed
0116
Fever iconFeverPlay-in winner?
FRIPlay-inSATSwiss ×4SATR16SATFinal

The full championship

From Friday bubble to Saturday champion.

  1. 01
    Play in for four spots

    Seeds 13–20 play high-v-low for the last Pro places.

  2. 02
    Set seeds 1–16

    Direct qualifiers hold 1–12; play-in winners take 13–16.

  3. 03
    Play four Swiss rounds

    Pair by record, best seed against lowest, no repeat if possible.

  4. 04
    Run the full bracket

    Swiss ranks 1–16 into a seeded, single-elimination finish.

Friday · Play-in

Eight teams. Four Pro spots.

Seeds 13–20 play one high-v-low match. Each winner takes the championship seed attached to that match and advances into Saturday’s 16-team field.

0 / 4 spots setChoose one winner from each match to unlock Swiss.
Play-in 01Winner becomes #13
Play-in 02Winner becomes #14
Play-in 03Winner becomes #15
Play-in 04Winner becomes #16

Saturday · 16-team field

The fixed opening draw

Seeds 1–12 qualify directly. The four Friday play-in winners fill 13–16, then the opening Swiss line mirrors 1-v-16 through 8-v-9.

Waiting on 4 play-in winners
Finish the Friday play-in first

Four selected winners will land here as seeds 13–16.

Saturday · Four-round Swiss

Swiss unlocks with a 16-team field

Set all four play-in winners to build the opening round.