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Championship Play-Offs 2026 The Race for the Premier League

The 2025/26 Championship season is over, the top two have booked their seats in the top flight, and now the most dramatic two weeks in English football begin. Four teams – Hull City, Millwall, Middlesbrough and Southampton – will fight across two-legged semi-finals and a Wembley showdown for the final ticket to the Premier League. With promotion worth in excess of £100 million in TV revenue and parachute payments, the Championship Play-Off Final has long been called “the richest game in football” – and the 2026 edition could be its most compelling yet.

You can secure Championship Play-Off tickets for every match through our trusted marketplace, with prices starting from just £75.

How the Championship Play-Offs work

After 46 league games, the teams finishing in 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th place enter a knockout play-off to decide the third and final promotion spot. The format is straightforward:

  • 3rd vs 6th and 4th vs 5th meet over two legs.
  • The lower-ranked team hosts the first leg; the higher-ranked side has home advantage in the second leg.
  • Aggregate score decides the tie. The away-goals rule does not apply – if scores are level after 180 minutes, extra time and penalties follow.
  • The two semi-final winners meet at Wembley Stadium in a one-off final.

It is a format that has produced some of English football’s most unforgettable nights, and clubs like Aston Villa, Fulham, Brentford, Nottingham Forest and most recently Sunderland have all used the play-off route as a springboard to Premier League survival and beyond.

The 2026 Championship Play-Off semi-finals

The semi-final fixtures are confirmed and on sale now. Here is the full schedule:

Hull City vs Millwall – First leg

Friday 8 May 2026, 20:00 · MKM Stadium, Hull

Get your Hull City vs Millwall tickets from £75.

Middlesbrough vs Southampton – First leg

Saturday 9 May 2026, 12:30 · Riverside Stadium, Middlesbrough

Get your Middlesbrough vs Southampton tickets from £100.

Millwall vs Hull City – Second leg

Monday 11 May 2026, 20:00 · The Den, London

Get your Millwall vs Hull City tickets from £190.

Southampton vs Middlesbrough – Second leg

Tuesday 12 May 2026, 20:00 · St Mary’s Stadium, Southampton

Get your Southampton vs Middlesbrough tickets from £90.

The Championship Play-Off Final at Wembley

The two semi-final winners will meet at Wembley Stadium on Saturday 23 May 2026 in front of around 90,000 fans. The winner takes the third and final promotion spot to the Premier League; the loser goes back into the Championship for another year – with all the financial weight that decision carries.

Demand for the showpiece is always extraordinary. You can already grab Championship Play-Off Final tickets on our marketplace ahead of the semi-final outcome.

Meet the four contenders

Hull City

The Tigers head into the play-offs with a chance to end a nine-year exile from the Premier League. After Liam Rosenior was replaced earlier in the season by Sergej Jakirović, Hull rallied late to grab third place and the home advantage in the second leg. They are one of the more direct sides in the division, and a packed MKM Stadium will fancy their chances against Millwall in the opener.

Browse all Hull City Championship Play-Off tickets.

Millwall

For a long time, it looked like Millwall might pull off automatic promotion, but they were edged out by Ipswich Town by a single point on the final day. The Lions have never reached the Premier League era top flight, with their last and only top-division spell ending in 1990. They were the strongest away side in the Championship this season – a useful trait when the first leg is on the road. Top scorer and creator Femi Azeez is the player Hull will fear most.

Browse all Millwall Championship Play-Off tickets.

Middlesbrough

Boro spent large parts of the season looking like automatic promotion candidates before a late-season wobble of 11 dropped points from winning positions saw them slide into fourth. Under head coach Kim Hellberg, appointed in November after Rob Edwards left for Wolves, Middlesbrough have become the most possession-dominant team in the division. The Riverside is a notoriously difficult ground for visitors in May.

Browse all Middlesbrough Championship Play-Off tickets.

Southampton

The Saints are arguably the form team of the four. Since Tonda Eckert took over in November, no team in the Championship has collected more points. Southampton also pushed Manchester City close in an FA Cup semi-final, suggesting their squad still has Premier League quality despite their relegation. With Léo Scienza in scintillating form behind the strikers, Southampton are many neutrals’ favourites for promotion at the second attempt.

Browse all Southampton Championship Play-Off tickets.

What history tells us

Statistically, the third-placed team has both reached the final and been promoted via the play-offs more often than any other position since the league was rebranded as the Championship in 2004/05 – a small but encouraging note for Hull City. The flip side: in recent years, momentum has often counted for more than league position, with sides peaking at the right time (Sunderland in 2025, Luton Town in 2023) edging dramatic finals.

What is certain is that one of these four clubs will, by the end of May, be planning a Premier League season with the financial windfall it brings – and the other three will be back in the Championship grind for 2026/27.

Where to buy Championship Play-Off tickets 2026

Every match in the 2026 Championship Play-Offs is on sale right now, including the Championship Play-Off Final at Wembley. With a 150% money-back guarantee, secure checkout and over 20,000 verified Trustpilot reviews, LiveFootballTickets is the trusted choice for play-off football.

View the full overview and book on our Championship Play-Off 2026 tickets page.

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