Standings
playoffs
Playoff Seeding
The 10 teams are divided into two, tiered, five-team groups in the Preliminary Round.
After a single round-robin series in each group, the five teams from Group A and the best three teams from Group B advance to the Playoff Round.
The Quarter-Finals will be played between A1-B3, A2-B2, A3-B1, A4-A5. (Timings of the QF games will be decided by the IIHF in corporation with the OC and the Host Broadcaster. Team CZE will play their QF at 17.00 – regardless of the pairing)
In the semi-finals the best-ranked team - criteria: 1) Tier of the group. 2) placement in the group - will play against the lowest-ranked semi-finalist. The 2nd-best ranked semi-finalist will play the 3rd-best ranked semi-finalist.
The host country if qualified, or otherwise the best-ranked semi-finalist according to beforementioned criteria, shall play the early game. The time slots will officially be determined after the quarter-final games.
The winner of each Semi-Final game will move onto the Gold Medal Game, while the losers will play in the Bronze Medal Game.
The two best ranked quarter-final losers (according to the Preliminary Round Final Ranking) will play the 5-6 placement game on April 19. The remaining teams (7th to 10th) will be ranked according to the Preliminary Round Final Ranking. The teams ranked 9th and 10th will be relegated to Division IA.
In 2026 the format for the IIHF Women’s World Championship changes to the so-called “snake” format and will follow the same structure as the IIHF WJC, IIHF WM18 and IIHF WW18 championships.
After a single round-robin series in each group, the five teams from Group A and the best three teams from Group B advance to the Playoff Round.
The Quarter-Finals will be played between A1-B3, A2-B2, A3-B1, A4-A5. (Timings of the QF games will be decided by the IIHF in corporation with the OC and the Host Broadcaster. Team CZE will play their QF at 17.00 – regardless of the pairing)
In the semi-finals the best-ranked team - criteria: 1) Tier of the group. 2) placement in the group - will play against the lowest-ranked semi-finalist. The 2nd-best ranked semi-finalist will play the 3rd-best ranked semi-finalist.
The host country if qualified, or otherwise the best-ranked semi-finalist according to beforementioned criteria, shall play the early game. The time slots will officially be determined after the quarter-final games.
The winner of each Semi-Final game will move onto the Gold Medal Game, while the losers will play in the Bronze Medal Game.
The two best ranked quarter-final losers (according to the Preliminary Round Final Ranking) will play the 5-6 placement game on April 19. The remaining teams (7th to 10th) will be ranked according to the Preliminary Round Final Ranking. The teams ranked 9th and 10th will be relegated to Division IA.
In 2026 the format for the IIHF Women’s World Championship changes to the so-called “snake” format and will follow the same structure as the IIHF WJC, IIHF WM18 and IIHF WW18 championships.