CFL Playoff Picture 2026

Final 2026 CFL playoff seeding: the Edmonton Elks (13-5) are the West No. 1 seed and the Montreal Alouettes (14-4) the East No. 1 seed. Both get a first-round bye. Second and third place in each division play the Semi-Finals, with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers crossing over as the East No. 3 seed. Every seed, the round-one pairings and each team’s status are below; the bracket shows the full path.

TableCards

Updated Nov 8 · 4:51 AM EST

West Playoff Picture

Final seeding

1Edmonton ElksWest Division · vs Div 7-3 · L1Clinched division · Bye13-5+1042BC LionsWest Division · vs Div 5-5 · L2Clinched10-8+323Saskatchewan RoughridersWest Division · vs Div 5-5 · W2Clinched10-8+13

Seed	Team	W-L-T	PTS	vs Div	Diff	Strk	Status
1	Edmonton ElksWest Division	13-5	26	7-3	+104	L1	Clinched division Bye
2	BC LionsWest Division	10-8	20	5-5	+32	L2	Clinched playoffs
3	Saskatchewan RoughridersWest Division	10-8	20	5-5	+13	W2	Clinched playoffs
	Calgary StampedersWest Division	9-9	18	4-6	+45	W1	Missed playoffs

East Playoff Picture

Final seeding

1Montreal AlouettesEast Division · vs Div 8-0 · W1Clinched division · Bye14-4+1482Toronto ArgonautsEast Division · vs Div 4-4 · L3Clinched9-9-113Winnipeg Blue BombersWest Division · vs Div 4-6 · W1Clinched9-9-15

Seed	Team	W-L-T	PTS	vs Div	Diff	Strk	Status
1	Montreal AlouettesEast Division	14-4	28	8-0	+148	W1	Clinched division Bye
2	Toronto ArgonautsEast Division	9-9	18	4-4	-11	L3	Clinched playoffs
3	Winnipeg Blue BombersWest Division	9-9	18	4-6	-15	W1	Clinched playoffs
	Hamilton Tiger-CatsEast Division	6-12	12	3-5	-80	W1	Missed playoffs
	Ottawa RedblacksEast Division	1-17	2	1-7	-236	L1	Missed playoffs

Bye Race: First Place in Each Division

First place skips the Semi-Final and hosts the Division Final.

West DivisionElks 13-5vsLions 10-8Champion

East DivisionAlouettes 14-4vsArgonauts 9-9Champion

Seed 1 division winner (bye) · 2-3 second and third place, or a crossover team · Points: 2 per win, 1 per tie

Division Semi-Finals Matchups

East3Blue Bombers at 2ArgonautsFinal 25-22West3Roughriders at 2LionsFinal 26-33

Byes: Elks (West No. 1), Alouettes (East No. 1) go straight to the Division Finals.

How the Final Seeds Were Decided

• West title: the Edmonton Elks (13-5, 26 pts) finished 6 points clear of the Lions, so they have the bye and host the West Final.
• West 2nd and 3rd: the BC Lions over the Saskatchewan Roughriders (both 10-8, 20 pts): the Lions won the season series 2-1 (tiebreaker: head-to-head record). 2nd place hosts the Semi-Final.
• West 4th and 5th: the Winnipeg Blue Bombers over the Calgary Stampeders (both 9-9, 18 pts): the Blue Bombers won the season series 2-1 (tiebreaker: head-to-head record).
• East title: the Montreal Alouettes (14-4, 28 pts) finished 10 points clear of the Argonauts, so they have the bye and host the East Final.
• Crossover: the Winnipeg Blue Bombers finished 4th in the West with 18 points, more than the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (12 pts) in 3rd place in the East, so they took the East's No. 3 seed and play in the East bracket. A tie on points would have kept the Tiger-Cats in.

Ties on points are broken by wins, then the record, net points and points quotient in games between the tied teams, then the same within the division, then net points in all games (CFL rule).

How the CFL Playoff Picture Is Calculated

Teams are ranked by points (two for a win, one for a tie). The division winner is seeded first and skips the Semi-Final; second and third place fill the bracket, unless a fourth-place team from the other division has more points and crosses over. A team is marked clinched when no result can drop it out of the top 3, and eliminated when it can no longer catch the last spot. Magic numbers count the wins and rival losses still needed. Points ties are broken on the tiebreaker page.

These are the final seeds from the full regular-season standings.