Day 3 was the last dance for some of the players. Four LB decider matches, two per group, decided the final names who are now joining the UB winners in today’s playoffs.

Last Dance

Top two in each match advance to the playoffs. Bottom two are eliminated from EWC 2026.

Bren survives a scare, Richie clutches a double finalist situation

Bren started as expected with a dominant performance, but crumbled once we entered Poland and let Nayko right back into the competition. He was able to close it out regardless of the small hiccup. After that, Richie was able to catch up to Nayko in a double finalist situation and beat him for second place.

GranaDy back to Day 1 form, Massa clutches the fight for second

GranaDy was back to the pace that defined his Day 1 performance. Steady from the start and stretching the lead map after map. The real fight was for second: Massa and Whizzy hit finalist at the exact same moment and Massa came up clutch to seal it, an unfortunate turn of events for Whizzy after missing last apex on Germany a round before.

The N64 run ends as Josh1248 closes it out

The N64 controller story that carried through Days 1 and 2 comes to an end. Josh1248 was visibly the better player throughout and was able to close it out in great fashion. Otaaaq secures second behind him. Wosile and LinkMax are eliminated from EWC 2026.

Match of the day: Pac and Pusztitopako go to the wire

Absolute unit. Match of the day. Pac dominated the first two maps with a clear lead, then zeroed out twice on Germany and watched the whole thing evaporate. After the first rotation of maps, it was surprisingly Pusztitopako on top, with the best players separated by only three points. Thomas was able to find his form again on Poland to close it out, leaving Pusztitopako and Mudda to fight for second. The Hungarian wonderkid clutched it, delivering the biggest upset of EWC so far – eliminating Mudda straight to bedge.

The Playoffs Bracket

16 players. Four quarterfinal lobbies. Top two from each cross into the semifinals, top two from each semifinal cross into the Grand Final.

Playoffs are single elimination from here, but the lobbies stay the same, four players battling it out. The seeding crosses the winners and runners-up between lobbies on the way to the semifinals. Here’s how the bracket looks before the most important day in Trackmania esports history:

The cross-seeding sets up two loaded semifinal lobbies. The first semifinal will be built from the top finisher of QF1 and QF2, plus the runner-up of QF3 and QF4. The second semifinal mirrors it the other way around.

Worth watching heading in: Neon carries his five world record performance from Day 2 straight into a quarterfinal with CarlJr, the man who beat him to first that day, probably the most stacked lobby of the quarterfinals, featuring French star Otaaaq and the King of Birmingham Pac. Gwen’s perfect Day 2 run puts him in a lobby with Bren, Massa, and Epos. eLconn21, unbeaten across both his Day 1 and Day 2 matches, draws a quarterfinal with Josh1248, Mime, and Pusztitopako.

That’s Day 3 and the group stage concluded. Sixteen players remain and the playoffs are set.