BES Premier League Announced as New Esports League for The Finals

The BES Premier League will return for the 2026 Finals esports program, it was announced at the end of the Breakout showmatch event on January 15th. Previously under the Master Series banner in 2024, the series took a break in 2025 but will return under the BES Premier League in 2026.

The BES Premier League will work alongside existing competitions in NA and EU, most notably the Pro League Season 3, which is due to start in February for both regions. While no official plans from developer Embark have been announced, and we have reached out, the BES Premier League is expected to contribute to the points qualification process of The Grand Major 2026.

BES Premier League

Details are a bit thin on the ground at present, but the BES Premier League is expected to commence at some point in 2026. When the Master League went away in 2025, the PHL stepped up to take its place, so seeing the BES Premier League return as another top-tier competition for The Finals is a big step forward for the game.

With Season 3 of the PHL starting and ending during February, and Season 4 likely to start around October, it gives the BES Premier League a fairly large gap in the Summer to potentially host the event. The PHL Championship Series will take place in March over one weekend, so the BES Premier League could easily slot in between April and August. Based on previous events, the BES Premier League could well start in April or May for Split 1, and if a second Split happens this year, it could happen in August.

These are all hypotheticals for now; however, they offer up a good look at what could happen for EU and NA events in 2026 as we prepare for the Grand Major 2026. This new event adds to what is already looking like a busy year for The Finals Esports. We’ll have a full 2026 article soon. However, there’s a good mix of pro and amateur events already in the first half of the year for NA and EU sides. At the same time, South Korea has the Korea National League, which is expected to start again in April based on previous experience.

For now, it’s good to see more events joining the schedule for The Finals in 2026 in what could be a monumental year for the game.