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]
| Group | Winners | Runners-up | Third place | Fourth place | TBD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | |||||
| B |
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]
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).
| 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 |
| 22 May 2026 20:20 | TBD | v | TBD | BCF Arena, Fribourg |
| 30 May 2026 14:20 | TBD | v | TBD | Swiss Life Arena, Zürich |
| 30 May 2026 18:20 | TBD | v | TBD | Swiss Life Arena, Zürich |
| 31 May 2026 15:20 | LSF1 | v | LSF2 | Swiss Life Arena, Zürich |
| 31 May 2026 20:20 | WSF1 | v | WSF2 | Swiss Life Arena, Zürich |