How Does Promotion from the EFL Championship Work Under the New Rules?

How Does Promotion from the EFL Championship Work Under the New Rules?

The Championship has come back, and already there has been a massive change. We have had the playoffs for just over 40 years now, and they have been almost exactly the same since they were created. However, apparently the EFL hasn’t heard of the saying, “if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it.”

As of this season, the playoffs have been changed. Now, instead of 3rd to 6th playing two games against each other before the final, the playoff spots have been changed. We will now see two new sides entering the playoffs.

So, How Does It Work?

Well, the already established rule was that 3rd would face 6th, while 4th would face 5th. That is why we saw Millwall face Hull and Southampton face Middlesbrough in last season’s playoffs. They would then head to Wembley and play the final to see who joins the top two in the Premier League.

However, this season, we will now see 5th facing 8th place, while 6th faces 7th. This extension means that more sides have the chance to make it into the playoffs, as well as making momentum and form a lot more important.

A reminder of how the Championship playoffs will be working from this season, with its expansion to six teams.

5th vs 8th and 6th vs 7th play one-off eliminators.

The winners face the teams finishing 3rd and 4th in two leg semi-finals.

The two semi-final winners meet in the… pic.twitter.com/2tjh8KJQXH

— george (@StokeyyG2) August 10, 2026

Whoever wins these games will then face 3rd and 4th in the semi-finals. The way it gets decided is that the side that finished lower in the table will play 3rd. So, say theoretically 8th got the better of 5th, 3rd would play them. However, if 5th wins, they would face either 6th or 7th. The 4th-place side would face the higher-ranking side.

How Would This Work in Execution?

Let’s take last season. We already have our four sides in the playoffs: Millwall, Southampton, Middlesbrough and Hull. However, joining them would be Wrexham (7th) and Derby (8th).

Millwall and Southampton would have a break, while Middlesbrough faced Derby and Hull faced Wrexham.

In our simulation, this would start off with Derby winning 2-1. However, in the second leg, Middlesbrough would win 3-1, meaning they go through on aggregate.

Our second game would see an upset. Wrexham would take a 2-2 draw into the away leg. However, they would see a 2-1 win against Hull in the second leg and win 4-3 on aggregate.

This would mean that Millwall would face Wrexham and Southampton would face Middlesbrough in the semi-finals.

Millwall vs Wrexham – 2-0 Wrexham vs Millwall – 3-1 (5-4 on penalties)

Middlesbrough vs Southampton – 2-1 Southampton vs Middlesbrough – 2-0

This now means that in our final, we will see Wrexham vs Southampton. This is a complete change that we could see. We have seen our side that finished in 7th go all the way to a playoff final. A side that wouldn’t have even been in the playoffs for the last 40 years now has a chance to go to the Premier League with this new rule.

So, will they?

In our simulation, Southampton took the lead before Wrexham levelled it and took the lead. Southampton then got the game back level before a late Wrexham winner. Wrexham would be going up.

Overall Conclusion

This is a complete change and shows what could happen with this new rule. The side that has momentum behind them could become favourites. While it adds more games, it allows for a chance that many sides don’t get. One last dance at getting into the Premier League. It also allows for more money to be spread between those sides with the increased TV income from the extra games.

So, is it good or bad? Well, it depends on who you ask. For those sides who finish higher, they will say it’s bad. They have spent all season trying to get the best finish possible, only to now have to play more games and face a lower chance of getting the reward. However, for the fans of sides that finish lower, and from a financial perspective, it’s good. It allows for a chance that many sides never had, as well as increasing their potential revenue for the season.

Ultimately, I think the new system is a positive for the Championship. It rewards league position by giving 3rd and 4th a significant advantage, while also giving clubs further down the table a genuine route to promotion. It may not be fair to everyone, but it would certainly make the final weeks of the Championship season even more exciting.