The Blood Bowl 3 World Championship returns in 2025 with a revamped format and more opportunities than ever for players to prove themselves on the pitch. Whether you’re aiming for the top or cheering from the sidelines, here’s what to expect from this year’s supreme tournament.
FORMAT
The 2025 World Championship structure is a bit different than last year, with the addition of the Play-In Phase.
PHASE 1: PLAY-IN
64 coaches will qualify throughout the season for the Play-In phase. This stage uses a 3-round Swiss format, where a 2-win record (2-0 or 2-1) secures progression. At the end of the Play-In, 32 coaches will move on to the Group Stage.
PHASE 2: GROUP STAGE
The 32 Play-In winners join 32 directly qualified coaches in the Group Stage. Each group will contain four coaches, two from direct qualifications and two from the Play-In. Every coach will play three matches within their group, and the top two from each group will advance to the Knockout Stage.
PHASE 3: KNOCKOUT STAGE
The 32 advancing coaches will face off in a single-elimination bracket. Each confrontation will consist of two matches, with a third tiebreaker match played if necessary.
This final phase continues until only one coach remains, and a new World Champion is crowned!
CALENDAR
QUALIFYING DEADLINES
Qualifier Deadline – September 9th
Check-in & Roster Creation – September 12th to 16th
Play-In Matches
Match 1 – From September 23rd to September 30th
Match 2 – From September 30th to October 7th
Match 3 – From October 7th to October 14th
GROup-STAGE Matches
Group stage draw – October 15th
Match 1 – From October 16th to October 23rd
Match 2 – From October 23rd to October 30th
Match 3 – From October 30th to November 6th
Tiebreakers – From November 6th to November 9th
KNOCK-OUT Stage
Draw – November 9th
Round 1 – From November 10th to November 20th
Round 2 – From November 20th to November 30th
Quarter finals – December 5th
Semi finals – December 6th
Final & 3rd place Match – December 7th
The final weekend (December 5th to 7th) will see the last 8 coaches face each other, with all matches broadcasted on the official Nacon Twitch channel.
QUALIFICATION PATH
The 2025 season offers 96 tickets in total:
- 32 Direct Qualification Tickets
- 64 Play-In Tickets
These are distributed across Official Competitions, including Official Ladders, Champions Cups, Official Playoffs, Arena Finals and Super League Invitationals, and supported community competitions.
The 2024 World Champion automatically receives a direct ticket to the Group Stage to defend their title.
