Four seasons. Hundreds of matches. More time zones than any of us can do the math on. Players from all over the world spent 2026 playing the Alpha Clash Online League, and 32 of them punched their ticket. Now we find out who's the best of them.

This December, the Alpha Clash Online World Championships crowns our first ever Online World Champion. One bracket. One belt. Zero second chances.

The Field

The Top 8 non-qualified finishers from each of Online League Seasons 1 through 4 earned their seats. Seeding comes from each player's best season finish, so anyone who kept participating after qualifying got rewarded for it. Ties were broken by cumulative points, then cumulative match win percentage, then opponents' match win percentage in their best season.

Here's how the bracket shakes out:

2026 Alpha Clash Online World Championships bracket

The Format

It's a 32-player single elimination bracket. Every match is best-of-3.

Each round gives players four full 24-hour days to get their match played, so whether you're in Manila, Manchester or Milwaukee, there's a window that works. Every round begins at 3:00 PM PT (6:00 PM ET, 7:00 AM PHT the following day).

  • Round of 32: Monday, November 30 - Friday, December 4
  • Round of 16: Friday, December 4 - Tuesday, December 8
  • Quarterfinals: Tuesday, December 8 - Saturday, December 12
  • Semifinals: Saturday, December 12 - Wednesday, December 16
  • Finals: Wednesday, December 16 - Sunday, December 20

Matches are played on TCG Arena by default, or any other method both players agree on. A winner must be declared in every match. If one player can't schedule or finish, that player forfeits and their opponent moves on. If neither player can find a time, both are out.

The event plays on the current Rules and Ban & Errata list, which stays in effect through December 31, 2026. The recent Seasons announcement doesn't touch Online Worlds.

Open Decklists

The Online World Championships is an open decklist event.

Every qualifier submits up to three decklists before the event begins. Those lists go public on Saturday, November 28, two days before Round 1. Everybody sees everybody's decks, just like a standard Alpha Clash tournament top cut.

Qualifiers are receiving instructions for submitting their lists now.

How it plays out:

  • At the start of each match, you present your Contender as normal, choosing one of your submitted lists.
  • You play that deck for every game within that match.
  • Between matches and rounds, you can switch to any of your other submitted lists.
  • You can sideboard as normal between games within a match

The Event Card: Forced Rest

You didn't think we'd hold a World Championship without an Event card, did you?

Forced Rest starts in play under each player's control at the start of every game, and it gains Safeguard for the duration of the event.

Forced Rest event card

Vanilla cards just got a gym membership, and every Contender in the field is one Engage away from a nap. Build accordingly.

Prizing

  • Champion: 8 Booster Boxes, World Championship Belt, World Championships Promo Card, 25,000 XP
  • Runner-up: 4 Booster Boxes, World Championships Promo Card, 10,000 XP
  • Semifinalists (3rd-4th): 2 Booster Boxes, World Championships Promo Card, 5,000 XP
  • Quarterfinalists (5th-8th): 1 Booster Box, World Championships Promo Card, 2,500 XP
  • 9th-16th: World Championships Promo Card, 1,000 XP
  • 17th-32nd: World Championships Promo Card, 500 XP

Rules and Judges

Online League rules carry over. Matches are self-reported, and both players are responsible for submitting the result. Play fair, play clean, and if something gets weird, judges are available in the Alpha Clash Discord Judge channel to answer questions.

See You in December

To all 32 qualifiers: you earned this. To everyone else: grab a seat, pull up the lists on November 28 and start making your picks. By December 20, somebody's walking away with a belt and the first Online World Champion title in Alpha Clash history.

Who's it going to be?