In EA FC 26, Ultimate Team is the main component that dedicated players care about. A lot of the fun stems from completing SBCs, climbing ranks in Division Rivals, and testing squads in Squad Battles. However, nothing quite compares to the challenge and thrill of FUT Champions.
This Weekend League is where players put everything on the line. This is where you can test how good you are, and also how meta your team is. FC 26 introduces some subtle yet significant changes to Ultimate Team, including the exclusion of playoffs and a change in matchmaking. Here’s how FUT Champs works after these changes.
Understanding The FUT Champs Format
This seasonal game mode consists of a total of 15 matches, played over the entire weekend, from Friday to Monday. Every match has to produce a winner, so games can go to penalties if they’re tied up at full time. If your opponent quits or disconnects while you’re drawing or winning, you’ll still receive the victory.
All matches are played under the Competitive Gameplay preset, which tightens mechanics and ensures more consistent responsiveness. Performance across your 15 games determines your rank, starting from Contender V (1 point) and going up to Elite I (15 points). Higher ranks bring better rewards, though EA has balanced them this year to prevent the game’s economy from being flooded with high-end cards.
To perform well, you’ll need more than just a strong team. Practice in Division Rivals, understand the meta tactics, and be mentally prepared to adjust to latency and server issues (not much more you can do about that). Keeping all that in mind will help you get the best packs available and build an even stronger team for the next weekend.
Qualifying
After considering feedback, EA decided to remove Playoffs for FUT Champs in FC 26. Many argued that these Playoffs were tougher than the actual Champions matches, so this is a welcome change. Instead, this year, you only need to reach Division 6 of the Division Rivals to be eligible to qualify for Champs. From there, you’ll need to earn 1,000 Champions Qualification Points. Once you meet these requirements, you’re ready to redeem points and enter the next event.
Understanding Matchmaking In EA FC 26 FUT Champs
To understand the concept of FUT Champs matchmaking, you first need to understand a few terms. The single most important factor for matchmaking is the Form. Here’s how it works:
- You start every competition (Finals/Play-Offs) with a Form of 0.
- Win: Your Form increases by +1.
- Loss: Your Form decreases by -1.
The matchmaking attempts to match with an opponent who has a similar Form to yours, but there could be minor differences between them. The maximum Form someone can achieve is +15, and the minimum form is -15. Essentially, your form dictates the difficulty curve you’ll face throughout the weekend.
Everyone starts with mixed matchmaking in their first couple of matches, but as you rack up wins (or losses), the game adjusts your opponents accordingly. Players on hot streaks are more likely to face others in similar form, while those struggling will encounter weaker competition. But that’s only part of the story. Like any other matchmaking system in literally any online game, the matchmaking in FUT Champs is far from perfect.
As the system tends to prioritize form over anything else, this can often lead to matches where you or your opponent has issues with connection quality. Many players are reporting noticeably worse latency than in previous years, especially those within Europe. One user on Reddit found that they played multiple games against opponents from Switzerland, Germany, Poland, and Spain, all while playing from the UK. This sort of connection often leads to matches with 40ms ping or higher.
At the time of writing, just this week, people were also reporting that the skill-based matchmaking system wasn’t working properly. Some were facing players with much higher form, while others had opponents with much lower form. EA addressed this issue ahead of last weekend, and the matches were fairer. Being the most competitive mode in Ultimate Team, FUT Champs relies on fairness, so EA must maintain the system moving forward.
