Lock In for the Biggest Rainbow Six Collegiate Season Yet!
6 settembre 2026We're officially entering Year 4 of Rainbow Six Collegiate, and this time we've rebuilt the competition from the ground up. Ubisoft and Rally Cry are proud to keep backing the players, teams, and student leaders who make this community what it is.
This season is about spending less time on paperwork and more time in-game. Pairings are automatic, the season is longer, the leaderboard finally reads at a glance, and our Event Support program returns with a limited-run collegiate challenge badge you can only earn by running an event on your campus.
The '26-'27 Season runs in two halves. The '26 Fall Competition starts September 23rd and everything below covers it. The '27 Spring Competition follows in the new year, with dates to come.
Register now to be part of the action!
contents
What's New?
College Event Support
Season Dates
Tournament Format
Prize Pool
Registration Information
The Road Ahead
what's new?
No More Opting In — The Declaration of Willingness, the ladder queue, and the Join button are gone. If your team is registered, you get paired automatically every match week.
Pairings on a Fixed Schedule — Both of the week's matchups drop together every Wednesday at 12 PM PT. No more pairing windows to catch.
A Longer Season — Six weeks and 12 matches, up from five weeks and 10.
Points Are Gone — The leaderboard is now total match wins. An Overtime win counts the same as a Regular Time win, so there's no penalty for taking one the long way.
One Deadline for Everything — Reschedule, play, and report by Tuesday at 12 PM PT. Score reporting has moved off Monday.
New LCQ Requirement — You now need at least 6 Regular Season matches played to enter the Last Chance Qualifier. Forfeits and BYEs do not count toward that number, and there is no catch-up week to make it up.
Break Week — No pairings and no matches from October 26th to November 1st. Enjoy Halloween.
Exclusive Challenge Badge — A limited-run collegiate badge in three finishes, available through the Event Support program.
A New Home — Everything now lives at r6collegiate.rallycry.gg. Update your bookmarks.
college event support
Calling all student clubs and communities! Apply on the Rally Cry platform for the chance to receive a support package for your next campus event. This program exists to back the student leaders putting on unforgettable gaming experiences, whether you've run a dozen events or you're about to run your first.
Everything in the kit is new this year.
Headlining it is something you can't buy: a limited-run Rainbow Six Collegiate challenge badge. 63.5mm, raised metal, front and back, struck in three finishes. They aren't for sale, and they aren't getting reprinted.
Around it sits a fully redesigned event kit. New lanyards and lanyard badges for your players and staff. New desk mats for people to take home. New tablecloths and banners to turn a room of folding tables into something that actually looks like an event.
fall season dates
August 25th: Registration Opens
November 4th: Registration Closes
September 23rd – November 7th: Regular Season
October 26th – November 1st: Break Week
November 14th – November 15th: Last Chance Qualifier
November 21st – November 22nd: Playoffs
tournament format
Eligibility: All players must reside in North America or Mexico, attend an accredited North American or Mexican College or University, have a clean player record with no outstanding bans, and follow the Code of Conduct to participate.
The Regular Season runs six weeks of Swiss rounds. The top 6 teams advance directly to the Playoffs. Teams that miss the cut but competed through the season enter the Last Chance Qualifier, where two more Playoff spots are decided. The Playoffs are a fixed eight-team single elimination bracket, with the Finals streamed live.
regular season
Format: Six weekly rounds of Swiss matches, two matches per week, in a Bo1 format.
Dates: September 23rd – November 7th, with a break week October 26th – November 1st.
Pairings: Released every Wednesday at 12 PM PT. Both of the week's matchups appear at once. Registered teams are paired automatically.
Match Times: Saturdays at 12 PM PT and 2 PM PT by default.
Deadline: Reschedule, play, and report by the following Tuesday at 12 PM PT.
Standings: Total match wins. An Overtime win counts the same as a Regular Time win.
Tiebreakers, in order: Head-to-Head, Total Round Win Percentage, Buchholz, Total Round Defense, and a 1v1 Skirmish (first to 6 round wins) as the final decider. Report exact round counts — two of these run on them.
Advancement: The top 6 qualify for the Playoffs. There is no minimum matches played requirement for the top 6.
last chance qualifier
Eligibility: Teams must have played at least 6 Regular Season matches. Forfeits and BYEs do not count toward that total.
Format: Double elimination, Bo1.
Dates: November 14th – November 15th.
Advancement: The top 2 teams advance to the Playoffs.
Returning teams, read this one twice: last season the LCQ was open to every team, including those that never played a Regular Season match. That is no longer the case. Six matches played, or you're not in.
playoffs
Format: Eight teams — the top 6 from the Regular Season plus the top 2 from the LCQ — in a single elimination bracket.
Dates: November 21st – November 22nd.
Broadcast: Live at twitch.tv/r6esportsna
prize pool
- Total Prize Pool: $10,000, split evenly across the two competitions. $5,000 for '26 Fall, and $5,000 for '27 Spring.
'26 Fall
1st place: $2,000 (40%)
2nd place: $1,000 (20%)
3rd & 4th place: $500 each (10% each, 20% total)
5th to 8th place: $250 each (5% each, 20% total)
And something that isn't money
Every championship roster takes home five golden Rainbow Six Collegiate badges, one for each player. Five per competition. Ten in existence across the entire season.
They are not in any support package. They are not for sale. There is no other way to get one.
registration information
Registration is open now and closes November 4th. Head to r6collegiate.rallycry.gg to lock in your roster. Roster size: 5 players minimum, 8 maximum.
Roster roles: Captains, Participants, Substitutes, and Coaches. Coaches don't count toward the eight-player limit, but must be officially moved into a player slot before they can play.
Questions: join the Discord at discord.gg/G9V5yydYwa and ask in #r6c-general.
the road ahead
This season doesn't end on campus.
'27 Spring Competition — The second half of the season, with dates to come in the new year.
UCC '27 — The ultimate Rainbow Six Collegiate experience gains its second edition.
NA Open Cup, Salt Lake City — R6C Event Support will be on the ground this October. If you're going, come find us.
ELEMENT '27 — The road from this season leads here.
And there's something further out we're not ready to talk about yet… Keep an eye on this space. But it smells… Major.
stay in touch!
Don't miss anything about Rainbow Six Esports by following us on X at @R6esports and @Rainbow6Game, also on Instagram, TikTok and on our website.
