Season 3 Key Updates
Qualification Pathway
Next season’s FC Pro World Championship will see a redistribution of seats which will result in twice as many players qualifying through the World Championship Play-Ins. This will put the number of direct league qualifications at 16 and the FC Pro Open at 8.
FC Pro World Rankings
The FC Pro World Rankings will also see a change, with different regions providing a different number of points that reflect the activity in the region. These changes will apply to all competitions from the FC Pro 26 season. Full details will be available on the FC Pro World Rankings page.
FC Pro Open Ladder & Global Qualifier
Our biggest changes come in the Path to the FC Pro Open with major changes to how you will participate in FC Pro Open Ladder and a brand new, in-person way to qualify for the FC Pro Open Global Qualifier. Read on to find out more.
Path to FC Pro Open
FC Pro Open is a competition that challenges you to show what you have by working up the ranks in FC and earning your spot on the big stage alongside the giants of the game. This year, we’re excited about two significant changes with our FC Pro Open Ladder and FC Pro Open Global Qualifier to make this the most accessible FC Pro Open yet.
1. FC Pro Open Ladder
Dates: September 22nd to October 1st, 2025
Our first update is a big one: We are very excited to announce that FC Pro registration and FC Pro Open Ladder will be available directly from the game this year. If you reach Division 4 on PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X|S, you will be able to play in FC Pro Open Ladder anytime, every day from September 22nd to October 1st.
This will be a brand new game mode within EA SPORTS FC 26 that will make getting involved in FC Pro easier than ever before. The FC Pro tab will be visible when an FC Pro Live Event is available from the new Ultimate Team Play Menu. Only once you achieve Division 4 in Rivals will you be able to access it. Here, you’ll compete against the best of the best to earn exclusive cosmetics to celebrate your accomplishments and onward qualification to FC Pro competition. Please note that only PlayStation 5 competitors will be eligible to move on to FC Pro Open Regional Qualifiers. Both PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S competitors will be eligible for in-game rewards.
You do not need to register first on any external website. The entire process, including all matchmaking, will be handled in-game just like playing in Rivals or Champions. Players will be ranked based on their Elo rating – a number that changes based on the result of their matches and the relative skill of their opponent.
The following number of players from the leaderboard will move on to the next stage of competition from each region based on the best Elo rating they achieve during the ladder period:
Africa - Top 64
Asia North - Top 32
Asia South - Top 32
Europe West - Top 256
Europe East - Top 256
Latin America North - Top 64
Latin America South - Top 256
Middle East - Top 256
North America - Top 64
Oceania - Top 32
2. FC Pro Open Regional Qualifier
Dates: October 11th to 12th, 2025
Those who finish at the top of their respective regions in the FC Pro Open Ladder will compete in an online competition to determine who will move on to the FC Pro Open Global Qualifier. FC Pro Open Regional Qualifiers will follow a swiss stage followed by a double elimination knockout stage to determine who will get the trip to our first in-person, broadcast tournament of the season. Like previous seasons, our tournament platform partner will run this stage with registration and logistics handled on their website.
A total of 48 players will move on to the next stage of competition:
Africa - Top 2
Asia North - Top 2
Asia South - Top 2
Europe West - Top 12
Europe East - Top 12
Latin America North - Top 2
Latin America South - Top 6
Middle East - Top 6
North America - Top 2
Oceania - Top 2
All competitors who qualify to the Global Qualifier will have their travel covered by EA.
3. FC Pro Open Global Qualifier
Dates: October 31st to November 2nd, 2025
We are excited to share that this season’s FC Pro Open Global Qualifier will take place at DreamHack Atlanta and for folks who don’t qualify through the Regional Qualifiers, there will be an additional opportunity to qualify for the Global Qualifier through a Last Chance Qualifier.
This event will consist of a 256-player open bracket that will take place on Friday and the first half of Saturday to determine the final 4 players who will compete in the Global Qualifier. The top 128 players on the FC Pro World rankings following the World Championship will receive an invitation to register early for the Last Chance Qualifier ahead of open registration.
Open registration is set to begin later this month and will be facilitated by DreamHack. Keep an eye on FC Pro social channels for more information.
In addition to the competitors who qualify from the Last Chance Qualifier and FC Pro Regional Qualifier, the following competitors will start the FC Pro Open Global Qualifier in the swiss stage on Saturday afternoon:
Name | Team |
Abu Makkah | Team Falcons |
Jafonso | Al Nassr Esports |
nicolas99fc | Cloud9 |
Stingrayjnr | Twisted Minds |
Emre Yilmaz | Team Liquid |
FacuCowen | Tuzzy Esports |
KTzn | Galatasaray Esports |
Yuval | Gaimin Gladiators |
GuiBarros | RBLZ Gaming |
ManuBachoore | Team Liquid |
PHzin | Tuzzy Esports |
xcharifx | Free Agent |
The top 32 players from the 64 player swiss stage will move onto the double elimination stage on Sunday. The 32 players will be split into 4 groups with the top 4 from each group moving onto FC Pro Open.
FC Pro Open
Our flagship competition is back for a third season. The FC Pro Open is a weekly competition that plays out from November to January with some of the best FC players from all over the globe. The following players have secured their place in FC Pro Open by finishing in the Top 4 of last season’s FC Pro Open:
Player | Team |
Vejrgang | Team Falcons |
Obrun | Exeed |
Levi de Weerd | Team Liquid |
LJR Peixoto | FC Lorient |
After the FC Pro World Championship, we will have four more names confirmed. If any player places in the Top 4 of both the FC Pro Open and World Championship this season, the top ranked player(s) in the FC Pro World Ranking as of September 1st will earn the spot(s).
Schedule
This year’s FC Pro Open will see the addition of two super weeks to open and close the season—back-to-back competition days for a strong start and finish.
| Date | Time |
Group Stage, Day 1 | Monday, November 24th, 2025 | 18:00 UTC |
Group Stage, Day 2 | Tuesday, November 25th, 2025 | 18:00 UTC |
Group Stage, Day 3 | Monday, December 1st, 2025 | 18:00 UTC |
Group Stage, Day 4 | Monday, December 8th, 2025 | 18:00 UTC |
Group Stage, Day 5 | Monday, January 5th, 2026 | 18:00 UTC |
Group Stage, Day 6 | Monday, January 12th, 2026 | 18:00 UTC |
Group Stage, Day 7 | Monday, January 19th, 2026 | 18:00 UTC |
Group Stage, Day 8 | Tuesday, January 20th, 2026 | 18:00 UTC |
Finals | Saturday, January 26th, 2026 | TBC |
24 players will make it through the qualification path to the FC Pro Open and showcase their skill in our most involved competition of the year.
Competitors will be placed into four groups of six. All players will compete against each other in each group twice. Once before the holiday break, and once after. At the end of the group stage, 12 competitors will qualify for the single elimination Championship. In each group:
1st will move directly to Top 8 and immediately earn a World Championship seat
2nd & 3rd will make it to Open Finals
4th will be invited back to FC Pro Open Global Qualifier next season
5th & 6th will need to start their journey from scratch next season
At the FC Pro Open Finals:
Top 4 of 12 will be invited back to the FC Pro Open next season while the others will be invited back to the Global Qualifier
Top 8 of 12 will earn a direct seat at the FC Pro World Championship
FC Pro Open Cups
Through the FC Pro Open Period, there will continue to be FC Pro Open Cups for players to compete for a place in the FC Pro World Championship Play-Ins.
| Ladder Dates | Playoff Dates |
November Cup | November 4th to 11th, 2025 | November 15th to 16th, 2025 |
December Cup | December 9th to 16th, 2025 | December 20th to 21st, 2025 |
January Cup | January 6th to 16th, 2025 | January 31st to February 1st, 2025 |
Players who perform well in each Ladder will move on to the respective Playoffs as follows:
Africa - Top 64
Asia North - Top 32
Asia South - Top 32
Europe West - Top 256
Europe East - Top 256
Latin America North - Top 64
Latin America South - Top 256
Middle East - Top 256
North America - Top 64
Oceania - Top 32 from Ladder
Competitors will then play in a swiss into single elimination tournament to earn points to compete for prizing based on their finish.
After the three FC Pro Open Cups, the competitors with the most points in each region will receive an invitation to the Play-Ins:
Africa - Top 2
Asia North - Top 2
Asia South - Top 2
Europe West - Top 6
Europe East - Top 6
Latin America North - Top 2
Latin America South - Top 2
Middle East - Top 2
North America - Top 2
Oceania - Top 2
FC Pro Open Prizing
A total of $1,000,000 USD in prizing will be available across FC Pro Open competitions.
FC Pro Open
Finishing Placement | Prizing |
1st | $100,000 |
2nd | $60,000 |
3rd to 4th | $35,000 |
5th to 8th | $25,000 |
9th to 12th | $20,000 |
13th to 16th | $12,500 |
17th to 20th | $10,000 |
21st to 24th | $8,000 |
FC Pro Open Global Qualifier
Finishing Placement | Prizing |
17th to 24th | $5,000 |
25th to 32nd | $4,000 |
33rd to 64th | $2,500 |
FC Pro Open Cups
Europe East and Europe West
Finishing Placement | Prizing |
1st | $8,500 |
2nd | $5,000 |
3rd to 4th | $2,500 |
5th to 8th | $1,000 |
LATAM North, LATAM South, MIddle East, and North America
Finishing Placement | Prizing |
1st | $5,000 |
2nd | $3,000 |
3rd to 4th | $1,500 |
Africa, Asia North, Asia South, and Oceania
Finishing Placement | Prizing |
1st | $3,000 |
2nd | $1,500 |
FC Pro Leagues
FC Pro is only possible in partnership with our many football league partners around the world. A selection of our league partners will return with two seats each directly into the World Championship. We will also have many returning and new league partners who will send players directly to the World Championship Play-Ins. Keep an eye on fcpro.com for more information about our FC Pro League partners as they’re announced!
The finals determining which players will advance from our FC Pro Leagues into the World Championship and Play-Ins will begin in February and run through to May.
FC Pro World Championship
The best players in the world from across every part of the FC Pro ecosystem will meet to crown the World Champion and win their share of the $1,000,000 USD prize pool. Details about how you can compete and watch will be announced in the coming months.
Get Ready for FC Pro 26
Pre-orders are now live for EA SPORTS FC 26. You’ll be able to make your way towards your goals in FC Pro as soon as the game’s early access period starts on September 19th. Don’t forget to tune in and watch the crowning of our FC Pro World Champion.
For the EA SPORTS FC Pro 26 Official Rules, click here.
