ARC WORLD TOUR 2025-2026 FINALS Tournament Format Announced

The tournament format and schedule have been announced for the "ARC WORLD TOUR 2025-2026 FINALS" for Guilty Gear -Strive-, to be held at KINTEX in Seoul, South Korea, in March 2026.

It was also announced that a special live event by vocalist NAOKI, who is responsible for the theme songs of GUILTY GEAR -STRIVE- and others, will take place on Sunday, March 22. Tickets can be purchased here .

Tournament Schedule

• March 20 (Fri): First Stage
• March 21 (Sat): Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ)
• March 22 (Sun): Knockout Stage

Tournament Format

• First Stage
  • Participants: 16 qualified players.
  • Format: The 16 players will be divided into 4 groups of 4 players each, and a round-robin format will be held.
  • Group Selection: Players will select their preferred group in order, starting from the top-ranked players on the AWT ranking.
  • Advancement to Knockout Stage:
    • Group 1st Place (4 players) will advance to the Winners Bracket of the Knockout Stage.
    • 2 players will advance to the Losers Bracket from the 4 Group 2nd Place finishers through a tie-breaker round.
• Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ)
  • The top 2 players will advance to the Losers Bracket of the Knockout Stage.
• Knockout Stage
  • Double Elimination tournament consisting of 6 players from the First Stage and 2 players from the LCQ.

First Stage Participants