Championship Play Offs 2027: Six-Team Format Explained

By English Matchday Editorial Team · Updated 31 October 2026

The Championship play offs are changing. From the 2026-27 season, six clubs will fight for the final promotion place to the Premier League, up from four. The EFL confirmed the expansion on 5 March 2026 after a vote by its clubs. Here is how the old system worked, what the new one looks like, and what we still need to wait for.

How do the Championship play offs work now?

Until the end of 2025-26, the play offs involved the clubs that finished third to sixth in the Championship table. The top two teams were promoted automatically, so the play offs decided the third promotion place.

The semi-finals were played over two legs. Third place met sixth, and fourth met fifth. The higher-ranked side in each tie hosted the second leg. In addition, the aggregate score decided the winner, and the away goals rule no longer applied. If the scores were level after the second leg, the teams played 30 minutes of extra time, then penalties if needed.

The two semi-final winners then met in a single match at Wembley. The winner joined the Premier League, while the loser stayed in the Championship. Hull City won the most recent final, beating Middlesbrough 1-0 in 2026, according to Wikipedia’s play-off history.

What is the new six-team Championship play-off format?

The new format adds two more teams and one extra round: the clubs finishing third to eighth now take part, and first and second still go up automatically. This is the layout reported by Sky Sports after the EFL announcement:

• Eliminators: fifth plays eighth, and sixth plays seventh. Each tie is a single match at the home of the higher-placed club.
• Semi-finals: the two eliminator winners face the clubs that finished third and fourth. The semi-finals stay two-legged, with the second leg at the home of the higher-placed side.
• Final: a single match at Wembley, as before.

Reports also say that third place will face the lowest-ranked eliminator winner. If that holds, it rewards a strong regular season with a more favourable semi-final.

When do the six-team play offs start?

The first six-team play offs will take place at the end of the 2026-27 season. The Championship campaign is scheduled to run from 14 August 2026 to 1 May 2027, according to Wikipedia’s season page, so expect the eliminators in early May 2027. We have not confirmed exact dates yet, and we will add them here once the EFL publishes them.

Why did the EFL expand the Championship play offs?

The EFL says more clubs will have a genuine chance of promotion. Chief executive Trevor Birch said the change would give more clubs and supporters that chance, as reported by Sky Sports. As a result, a club in seventh or eighth place can stay in the race for longer.

In practice, a club that finishes eighth now has a route to the Premier League through three knockout rounds. Either way, the race for the places between third and eighth matters more than before.

Who won the Championship play offs last time?

Hull City won the 2026 final, beating Middlesbrough 1-0 at Wembley, which earned them a place in the Premier League. Millwall and Southampton were the two clubs beaten in the semi-finals, according to Wikipedia’s play-off history.

That run shows why the format rewards a strong finish. Hull had to win a two-legged semi-final, and then a one-off final at Wembley. The new eliminator round adds one more high-stakes match before that stage.

How are Championship places decided if clubs finish level?

If clubs finish on the same points, the table is separated by goal difference first, then goals scored. After that, head-to-head results, number of wins and away goals come into play. These tie-break rules are listed on Wikipedia’s 2026-27 Championship page, which also notes that a play-off match is only used if it is needed to decide promotion or relegation.

This matters more under the new format. With six places up for grabs, a single goal of difference can decide whether a club finishes eighth and plays in an eliminator, or ninth and misses out. As a result, goal difference becomes a quiet but important part of the race from the first weeks of the season.

What does the change mean for clubs and supporters?

For clubs, a wider net means the season stays alive for longer. A club in eighth place at Christmas is no longer out of the picture, so fewer matches in the spring are played with nothing at stake. For supporters, that should mean more meaningful fixtures between January and May.

On the other hand, the clubs that finish third and fourth now have a clear reward. They skip the eliminators and go straight to the semi-finals. That makes the battle for the top four, and not only the top two, worth watching closely on our league tables page.

Which clubs are in the play-off places right now?

You can see the current top eight in the table below, which updates through the day. Clubs in positions three to eight are in the zone for the six-team play offs, while the top two are heading for automatic promotion.

Championship top eight right now

#	Club	P	W	D	L	GD	Pts
1	Middlesbrough	13	8	4	1	+13	28
2	Swansea	13	8	2	3	+7	26
3	Wolves	13	7	3	3	+7	24
4	West Brom	13	7	3	3	+5	24
5	Southampton	13	8	3	2	+15	23
6	Birmingham	13	6	5	2	+10	23
7	Stoke City	13	7	2	4	+4	23
8	West Ham	13	6	4	3	+15	22

What do we still need to confirm?

Some details of the new format were still being finalised when the change was announced. In particular, Sky Sports noted that the exact semi-final pairings could be adjusted, because the main regulation change only covered the move from four to six teams. For that reason, we treat the pairings above as the expected format, and we will update this guide once the EFL publishes the final rules.

We have not been able to read the EFL’s own statement of 5 March 2026 directly, so this guide relies on the two published reports linked above. For the latest on the standings, see our Championship hub, the Championship top scorers table, the full league tables and the fixtures page.

What do people ask about the Championship play offs?

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