PMGC 2026 Schedule, Format, Groups, Teams and Roadmap to Istanbul
PMGC 2026 runs from 26 November to 13 December 2026 in Istanbul, Türkiye. 39 teams play for a US$3,000,000 prize pool. The Gauntlet opens the event on 26 and 27 November. Group Green plays on 29 and 30 November, Group Red on 2 and 3 December, and Last Chance on 5 and 6 December. The 16-team Grand Finals close the season from 11 to 13 December.
Last updated: 13 November 2026. This version includes the group draw that PUBG MOBILE Esports published on 12 November.
PMGC 2026 at a glance
Item | Detail |
Full name | 2026 PUBG MOBILE Global Championship |
Organisers | KRAFTON and Level Infinite |
Dates | 26 November to 13 December 2026 |
Venue | Turkcell Basketball Development Center, Istanbul |
Teams | 39 |
Prize pool | US$3,000,000 |
Stages | The Gauntlet, Group Stage, Last Chance, Grand Finals |
Indian team | Team SouL (The Gauntlet) |
Key takeaways
The league stage runs from 26 November to 6 December. The Grand Finals follow after a four-day break.
The group draw placed 11 seeded teams in each group. Five Gauntlet teams join each group later.
Six Gauntlet teams skip the groups and go straight to the Grand Finals.
Only 16 of the 39 teams reach the final weekend. ULF Esports already holds one of those seats as the host invite.
Team SouL must finish in the top six of The Gauntlet to avoid the Group Stage.
What is the PMGC 2026 schedule?
The event has four stages across 18 days. The table below uses the dates on the official group draw graphic and the dates on Liquipedia. Earlier listings showed a Gauntlet on 23 to 25 November. Those dates are now out of date.
Stage | Dates | Teams | Matches | What happens next |
The Gauntlet | 26 to 27 November | 16 | 12 | Top 6 to Grand Finals, 7th to 16th to Group Stage |
Group Green | 29 to 30 November | 16 | 12 | Top 3 to Grand Finals, 4th to 11th to Last Chance |
Group Red | 2 to 3 December | 16 | 12 | Top 3 to Grand Finals, 4th to 11th to Last Chance |
Last Chance | 5 to 6 December | 16 | 12 | Top 3 to Grand Finals |
Grand Finals | 11 to 13 December | 16 | 18 (see note) | Champion decided |
One number is not settled. pubgmpedia lists 18 Grand Finals matches. Sportskeeda reports a maximum of 19. We will change the table when PUBG MOBILE Esports publishes the final rulebook.
The rest days matter for teams that play more than one stage. A Gauntlet team that drops to Group Green has one free day before it plays again. A Gauntlet team that drops to Group Red has four.
What do the PMGC 2026 groups look like after the draw?
PUBG MOBILE Esports published the draw on 12 November. Each group has 11 seeded teams and five open places. Teams that finish 7th to 16th in The Gauntlet fill those places by their Gauntlet rank.
Group Green (29 to 30 November) | Group Red (2 to 3 December) |
Nigma Galaxy | R8 Esports |
AlULA Club | Geekay Esports |
Team Flash | Bigetron by Vitality |
eArena | BUF Esports |
BRX MSM Esports | Selibon |
Horaa Esports | Trained to Kill |
FURIA | Alpha7 Esports |
OLD NOT | GOAT Team |
Weibo Gaming | LGD Gaming |
DRX | Dplus KIA |
Boars Gaming | Valor (shown with VARREL branding) |
Gauntlet 7th | Gauntlet 8th |
Gauntlet 10th | Gauntlet 9th |
Gauntlet 11th | Gauntlet 12th |
Gauntlet 14th | Gauntlet 13th |
Gauntlet 15th | Gauntlet 16th |
Group Green holds the two Nepal and Brazil seeds apart from their national rivals. Horaa Esports and FURIA are in Green, while Trained to Kill and Alpha7 Esports are in Red. The two Saudi clubs R8 Esports and Geekay Esports share Group Red, and AlULA Club is alone in Green. The two Korean seeds are also split, with DRX in Green and Dplus KIA in Red.
The official draw post is embedded below.
How does the PMGC 2026 format work?
The format has three routes to the Grand Finals, and each route gives a fixed number of seats.
The Gauntlet. 16 teams play 12 matches in two days. The top six go directly to the Grand Finals. No team is eliminated here. The other 10 teams move to the Group Stage.
Group Stage. 32 teams play in two groups of 16. That is 22 seeded teams and 10 teams from The Gauntlet. Each group plays 12 matches in two days. The top three in each group go to the Grand Finals. Teams placed 4th to 11th go to Last Chance. The bottom five in each group leave the event.
Last Chance. 16 teams play 12 matches for three Grand Finals seats. The other 13 teams are eliminated.
Grand Finals. 16 teams play for the title. The field has the host invite ULF Esports, six teams from The Gauntlet, six from the Group Stage and three from Last Chance.
The Gauntlet has the best odds on paper. Six of 16 teams reach the final weekend from there, which is 37.5 percent. In a group, three of 16 teams qualify directly, which is 18.75 percent. That gap is the reward for the teams with the most PMGC Points in the season.
Which teams play in The Gauntlet?
The 16 Gauntlet teams are AK Gold Esports, Sharper Esports, 4Thrives Esports, The MongolZ, Aurora Gaming, 4K Esports, İKURD, S2G Esports, Gaming Stars Esports, Hustler Crew, Wolves Esports, RoW Esports, 18 Esports, All Gamers, Team SouL and NS RedForce.
Two of them won global events this year. S2G Esports won the PUBG MOBILE World Cup in August. Wolves Esports won PMGO Season 2 in Lahore in October. Our report on that final is here: PMGO 2026 Season 2 results. The World Cup standings are in our PMWC 2026 results page.
Which Indian team is in PMGC 2026?
Team SouL is the only confirmed Indian team. It earned the place by winning BMSD 2026. The full result is in our BMSD 2026 results and points table.
Team SouL starts in The Gauntlet. A top-six finish on 27 November sends the team to the Grand Finals with two weeks to prepare. A finish from 7th to 16th sends it to a group, and the Gauntlet rank decides which one. For example, 7th place goes to Group Green and 8th place goes to Group Red.
Indian viewers have a second event on the same weekend. The LAN Grand Finals of the Chennai Esports Global Championship also run from 11 to 13 December. Team SouL does not appear in the 2026 points table of that event. Our live table is here: CEGC 2026 points table and schedule.
What is the PUBG MOBILE Esports roadmap that leads to PMGC 2026?
PMGC is the last of four global events in 2026. PMGO Season 1 was played in Jakarta. The PUBG MOBILE World Cup followed in Paris in August as part of the Esports World Cup. PMGO Season 2 was played in Lahore in October. Teams collected PMGC Points across national leagues, regional finals and these global events. The points decided who received a Gauntlet place and who received a Group Stage place.
PUBG MOBILE Esports explains the season structure in its official 2026 roadmap video.
What is the PMGC 2026 prize pool?
The prize pool is US$3,000,000. That is the same headline figure as the World Cup and six times the US$500,000 pool of each PMGO season. The organisers have not published the placement split. We will add the table when it is official.
Where can you watch PMGC 2026?
Platform | Channel |
YouTube | PUBG MOBILE Esports (@PUBGMOBILEEsports) |
@esportspubgmobile | |
Twitch, Facebook, TikTok | Official PUBG MOBILE Esports channels |
Regional streams | Local language channels for each region |
Links: PUBG MOBILE Esports on YouTube and PUBG MOBILE Esports on Instagram. Match start times were not on the draw graphic. Check the official channels on each match day.
For other events this month, see our list of ongoing esports tournaments.
PMGC 2026 FAQ
When does PMGC 2026 start and end?
PMGC 2026 starts on 26 November 2026 with The Gauntlet and ends on 13 December 2026 with the last day of the Grand Finals. All stages are played offline in Istanbul, Türkiye.
How many teams play in PMGC 2026?
39 teams play in PMGC 2026. 16 start in The Gauntlet, 22 start in the Group Stage, and the host invite ULF Esports starts in the Grand Finals.
What is the PMGC 2026 prize pool?
The PMGC 2026 prize pool is US$3,000,000. The organisers have not published the split by placement at the time of writing.
Which Indian team is in PMGC 2026?
Team SouL is the only confirmed Indian team. It qualified by winning BMSD 2026 and starts in The Gauntlet on 26 November.
When are the PMGC 2026 Grand Finals?
The Grand Finals run from 11 to 13 December 2026 at the Turkcell Basketball Development Center in Istanbul, with 16 teams.
Where can I watch PMGC 2026?
PMGC 2026 is broadcast on the official PUBG MOBILE Esports channels on YouTube, Twitch, Facebook and TikTok, with regional language streams on local channels.
Sources
Liquipedia PUBG Mobile, PMGC 2026 page (stage dates)
Sportskeeda and pubgmpedia format reports, 12 November 2026
PUBG MOBILE Esports press releases on PMWC 2026 and PMGO 2026 Season 2
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