[CN] BSC26: Mainland China Format Overview

BSC is back in the Mainland China region, and if 2025 taught us anything it’s that we can’t sleep on the subregions! With a new format on the path to Brawl Cup and LCQ, let’s take a look at how BSC26: CN ML will work!

Format Overview

For the first time since 2021, China will have Monthly Finals! Contrary to years past, BSC CN ML returned in 2026 with a modified form of the international format involving Monthly Finals and a points system. Competition will take place across five seasons of Monthly Qualifiers and Finals, and the year will end with the Regional Finals hosted in July. One main difference from the international format is that CN ML qualifiers are unseeded and do not award teams points, making Monthly Finals even more important with only two chances to earn a spot at Brawl Cup.

Since 2022, China has adopted a regional format involving two stages: the “Elimination Round” and the “Chinese Mainland Finals.” This year, BSC26’s CN ML format serves as a hybrid between the global system and the CN Finals, with points from applicable Monthly Finals replacing the elimination round, while still hosting the CN Finals at the end of the CN ML calendar to determine the teams that will represent the region at the Last Chance Qualifier. 

Spring Split: The Road to Brawl Cup Berlin

As opposed to the international regions, China will only host two Monthly Finals during their Spring Split, one less than the three in EA, EMEA, NA, and SA. This is both due to time constraints and to allow qualified teams adequate time to secure their visas for the event, a long process that will take time for most players. China will be treated as a major region at Brawl Cup and will send two representatives to Berlin, as opposed to the single teams from SESA and South America West representing subregions. 

With regional BSC points, a prize pool of $100,000, and coveted post-season slots up for grabs, the Chinese teams will be looking to make a splash in Germany not just for themselves, but for their region overall, as they have no direct spots to the World Finals. Last year, Toxic Lotus made headlines as the first Chinese team to place in the top four at an international event, winning close matches over regional first seeds LOUD and Tribe Gaming, before suffering close losses to SK Gaming and ZETA DIVISION in playoffs. It is currently unknown whether the points allocated to Brawl Cup will apply to China’s regional league, given the differences to the international format, and it remains to be seen once the tournament ruleset issued by BLAST is updated ahead of the event. 

With the first Monthly Final completed, here are the regional standings for CN:

Ace Xero and Toxic Lotus lead the region in the race for Berlin.

As we already recapped here, CN’s first Monthly Final was claimed by underdog team Ace Xero, who lost more sets against TIG Revival and United TOC in their first matches of the day than they did Toxic Lotus in the grand finals. With only one more Monthly Final between the teams and a ticket to Brawl Cup, AXR have put themselves in prime position to qualify as long as they make it into the top 8 teams for March, while the second spot is up for grabs to a team that can make a deep run this month. 

Summer Split: The Path to LCQ

As teams prepare for Berlin, China will actually kick off its Summer Split early in April to account for the tight visa timelines. The April Monthly Finals will kick off on April 18th with the global 1.5x points modifier also being applied during China’s second split. Teams will compete across the April, May, and June competition seasons to earn points on the regional leaderboards. At the end of the regular season, the top four teams will qualify to the Regional Finals by points. 

With two Last Chance Qualifier spots on the line, the remaining four teams will battle it out at China’s offline (LAN) Regional Finals. While location and dates are not confirmed, it is known that the event will once again take place in July, well before the end of the global regions’ regular seasons. The event will be a double elimination bracket and ultimately the top 2 teams will qualify to LCQ, dates and location also to be determined. 

China is shaping up to be an exciting region in 2026 after Toxic Lotus’ Cinderella runs of 2025 and the increased competition in the region. With TL’s dynasty finally usurped by Ace Xero, can the return of Monthly Finals and more consistent regional competition motivate new blood from Mainland China to make their way to the top? We’ll find out this year, with their first test at Brawl Cup Berlin in May. 

While there is no official English broadcast for the region, the February Monthly Finals can be re-watched on Bilibili, with subsequent Monthly Finals being streamed on the same platform. It is expected that there will likely be a semi-official English Broadcast for the LAN finals in July in a watchparty style.