Embark Studios announced the TGM26 Online Series, which replaces the recent Regional Fame Index (RFI) implementation to help teams qualify for TGM26, which is now confirmed to once again take place at Dreamhack Stockholm from November 27-29th. Regarding RFI, it has been confirmed on the stream today that points have been fully reset.
After the success of TGM25, the 2026 season enhances competitive play into a global system with a total prize pool of $200,000 (including TGM26). Sign-ups for the TGM26 Online Series open today, April 16, on FACEIT .
The Open Global Circuit
The TGM26 Online Series is a region-based competitive season hosted on FACEIT, which will be held across TGM25's 3 regions: AMERICAS, EMEA, and APAC. The circuit consists of four competitive cycles per region, and teams will earn points to fight for a spot at TGM26. In this competitive cycle, we will still see both Open and Closed qualifications for TGM26, as we did last year.
The Prize Pool
The 2026 season boasts a $200,000 prize pool, DOUBLE the prize pool of what we had last year. The prize pool is distributed across the entire season, with $150,000 allocated to TGM26 and $50,000 distributed across the Online Series cycles.
The Online Series Format
Each Online Series cycle is structured across three stages: the Swiss Stage, which is open entry, Top 16 move on to "The Promotion", and then Top 8 move on to "Show Day". Let's break down each stage a little more in detail.
The Swiss Stage supports up to 256 teams that compete in 3v3 Final Round Matches. The Promotion stage will consist of Cashout tournaments, where only the top eight will advance further. And finally, Show Day, the final eight teams compete in fully produced and broadcast matches, earning points and prize money based on their placement. "All Top 8 stages are officially broadcast with hosts and casters on THE FINALS' main channels, bringing the best teams into the spotlight throughout the season"...just wanna throw my name in the ring here for casting...
Points accumulate across all four cycles, determining each team's final standing on the regional leaderboard.
So you've earned your points, how do you get to the Major? Well, at the end of the full Online Series, the 1st place team from each region will get to go straight to the major. 2nd-5th place earn direct entry into Closed Qualifiers. 6th-9th place receives advantages in Open Qualifiers.
The Grand Major 2026
TGM26 will once again be held live at DreamHack Stockholm with a new format. You can expect to see 16 teams from around the world, 3 days of live competition (one more than last year) from November 27 to November 29th. The new 3-day structure includes The Promotion stage to help narrow the field. Day 3 is the debut of a new format named "The Throne, a King-of-the-Hill final where five teams battle to earn three crowns and become world champions." The Throne essentially works like this: five teams will enter grand finals, and the top 4 will play in a cashout game. The top two from that cashout match will move to a final round match, and the winner will be put on the throne. The team that loses that first final round will then move to another cashout match, joined by the 5th place team, and the process repeats to see who will be challenging the team currently occupying "The Throne" in a best-of-three final round. Win that series, earn a crown, and stay on The Throne. The series will then go to a cashout and final round again to select a new challenger, and the process repeats until a team has three crowns. Images of both "The Promotion" and "The Throne" formats are below:
The season officially kicks off in May, with APAC kicking off on May 30th. The full schedule will be released sometime next week on THE FINALS Esports website once it relaunches. For more information, visit reachthefinals.com and follow THE FINALS on social media.