How the 2026 CFL playoffs would look using next year’s format

Photo courtesy: Steven Chang/B.C. Lions

In the spring, the CFL announced it would expand its playoff format to feature four rounds and eight teams beginning in 2027.

A page on the league’s website outlines the new structure as a series of frequently asked questions. Assuming we’ve interpreted them correctly, this is how this year’s playoffs would look using next year’s format.

For the purposes of this article, we have taken the liberty of randomly generating winners for each game with a coin flip. This way, we can cover the full playoff bracket all the way to the Grey Cup.

Round One: Division Showdowns and Play-In Games

East Division Showdown — Toronto at Montreal
1 vs. 2 in the East Division

This game will pit the top two teams in the East Division against one another in a non-elimination game. Some critics would argue that a non-elimination playoff game is not a playoff game, but the league has officially declared this a playoff game, so that means it’s technically a playoff game.

The winner of this contest will earn a bye to the third round of the playoffs, while the loser will host a playoff game in round two (more on that in a moment).

Coin flip winner: Montreal

West Division Showdown — B.C. at Edmonton
1 vs. 2 in the West Division

This matchup is exactly the same as the one outlined above, only it features the top two teams in the West Division instead of the East Division.

It should be noted that is the second and final postseason game based on divisions. After this, the divisions get thrown out and no longer factor into seeding.

Coin flip winner: B.C.

Play-In Game No. 1 — Hamilton at Saskatchewan
5 vs. 8 regardless of division

With only one team falling short of the playoffs (in this case, Ottawa), the four remaining teams are seeded regardless of division for the Play-In Games. The winners advance to the second round of the playoffs, while the losers are eliminated.

Saskatchewan is the highest-remaining seed, and so it gets to host the lowest-remaining seed. Notice that Toronto qualified for the East Division Showdown at 9-9, while the Roughriders are stuck playing an elimination game at 10-8. Even under the CFL’s new playoff format, the seeding could arguably still be considered unfair.

Coin flip winner: Saskatchewan

Play-In Game No. 2 — Calgary at Winnipeg
6 vs. 7 regardless of division

This is the other Play-In Game between the two remaining teams.

In this case, Winnipeg hosts as the No. 6 seed, while Calgary visits as the No. 7 seed. Just like the game above, the winning team advances to round two of the playoffs, while the losers are out of the running.

Coin flip winner: Calgary

Round Two: Elimination Games

Elimination Game No. 1 — Calgary at Edmonton
Lowest-seeded Play-In Game winner vs. Highest-seeded Division Showdown loser

Edmonton lost its first “playoff” game, and so the team is forced to play again this week. As the highest-seeded loser from the Division Showdowns, the club gets to host the lowest-seeded winner from the Play-In Games.

This matchup, like all the other games from here on out, are elimination games. The winners advance, while the losers go home.

Coin flip winner: Calgary

Elimination Game No. 2 — Saskatchewan at Toronto
Highest-seeded Play-In Game winner vs. Lowest-seeded Division Showdown loser

As the lowest-seeded Division Showdown loser, Toronto is tasked with hosting the highest-seeded Play-In Game winner. In this case, an 11-8 team is visiting a 9-10 team.

One could argue that Saskatchewan should get to host this game based on their superior regular-season record, but that’s not the case. If a team loses a Division Showdown, they get to host in round two no matter what.

Coin flip winner: Toronto

Round Three: Grey Cup Semi-Finals

Grey Cup Semi-Final No. 1 — Calgary at Montreal
Lowest-seeded Elimination Game winner vs. Highest-seeded Division Showdown winner

Montreal advanced to this game after winning in round one and earning a bye in round two. As the top seed in the entire league, they get to host the lowest-remaining seed.

As illustrated by this matchup (and the next), interdivisional games in the Grey Cup Semi-Finals could be quite common.

Coin flip winner: Calgary

Grey Cup Semi-Final No. 2 — Toronto at B.C.
Highest-seeded Elimination Game winner vs. Lowest-seeded Division Showdown winner

Despite starting the playoffs on the road, B.C. is now at home this round. If a team wins a Division Showdown, they are guaranteed to host in round three, even though it’s possible for their opponent to have a better regular-season record.

Coin flip winner: Toronto

Grey Cup

Grey Cup — Toronto at Calgary
Final two remaining teams

We now have our championship game! Calgary and Toronto are the two remaining teams, and so they get to play the 113th Grey Cup at McMahon Stadium in Calgary.

Traditionally, the West Division representative would be the home team for a Grey Cup played in a West Division market. However, this changed last year, as the home designation now rotates annually between the West Division and East Division winners unless the actual home team makes it to the game, in which case they host no matter what.

Of course, it seems the league will have to figure out a new rule now that the divisions play a relatively small role in determining who reaches the Grey Cup.

Since there are no further playoff rounds, we will not do a coin flip to determine the winner of this hypothetical matchup. We’ll let you debate who would win amongst yourselves.