The draw for the first and second rounds of the 2026 rugby league Challenge Cup takes place on Monday and here’s everything you need to know ahead of time.
Monday at 4:00 pm is when we find out the results of the draw with both the first and second round draws being conducted at the RFL headquarters in Manchester by two of last year’s Challenge Cup winners. This year will see the draw regionalised with details of those regions previously confirmed.
Wigan Warriors star Mary Coleman and Hull KR forward James Batchelor will pick out the balls with the draw to be announced on RFL channels at 4:00 pm.
Like in 2025, the first, second and third rounds of the competition will be played before the Super League campaign gets underway, with the remaining four rounds including the final to be played after that point.
Wembley will host the final once again with that game set for Saturday 30th May but the competition starts almost five months earlier on the weekend of the 10th and 11th of January. Those fixtures will be confirmed on Monday and here’s what you need to know.
How does the Challenge Cup draw work?
Round One of the Challenge Cup will see 34 community clubs play meaning 17 ties will be drawn and they will be regionalised as well, meaning less travel time and expenses for teams, whilst also trying to ensure that historic rivalries are drawn.
Round One is split into three sections with six ties involving teams generally from Lancashire and Cumbria, though West Yorkshire side Siddal have been included in that pot.
Six more ties will come from Yorkshire and North East-based sides, whilst five ties will cover the rest of the UK including Northern Ireland and Wales.
The teams in those three separate groups and their respective ball numbers can be seen below.
Ball Numbers for Round One
Balls 1-12 include Lancashire and Cumbrian teams, plus Siddal, with all teams to be drawn against each other.
1. Blackbrook
2. GB Police
3. Haresfinch
4. Ince Rose Bridge
5. Leigh Miners Rangers
6. Orrell St James
7. Rochdale Mayfield
8. Seaton Rangers
9. Siddal
10. Thatto Heath Crusaders
11. Waterhead
12. Wigan St Judes
Balls 13-24 include teams from Yorkshire and the North East, with six ties to be drawn from the following 12 sides.
13. Brighouse Rangers
14. Dewsbury Moor
15. Heworth
16. Hunslet ARLFC
17. King Cross Park
18. Lock Lane
19. Mirfield Spartans
20. RAF
21. Stanningley
22. West Hull
23. Woodhouse Warriors
24. York Acorn
Balls 25-34 include teams from the rest of the UK with five ties to be created from the following 10 teams.
25. Aberavon Fighting Irish
26. Bedford Tigers
27. British Army
28. Broncos
29. Hammersmith Hills Hoists
30. London Chargers
31. Medway Dragons
32. Royal Navy
33. Telford Raiders
34. Wests Warriors
What about Round Two?
Round Two will see the 17 winners from Round One join the 21 teams from the amalgamated Championship, creating 19 ties but they will be drawn from four separate pots.
Pot One includes the six Round One winners from the Western side of the draw (numbers 1-12) and eight Championship clubs who also play in that region. The draw will be seeded so community clubs play Championship clubs, with home advantage determined by an additional ball drawn after each tie is made. Two Championship clubs will be left undrawn and therefore move to pot four.
Pot two comprises the six Yorkshire/North East-based Round One winners and 10 Championship clubs from that region. A seeded draw will take place to match up the six community clubs with Championship sides with home advantage again determined by an additional ball. Four Championship sides will be left undrawn and move to pot four.
Pot three sees the five nationwide winners join London Broncos, Midlands Hurricanes and North Wales Crusaders from the Championship. Three of the community clubs will be drawn to face those three Champ sides in the same format as the other pots, leaving two community clubs to move to pot four.
Those two community clubs will then be drawn first from pot four to play one of the six remaining Championship sides with home advantage again determined by an additional ball. After that, four Championship teams will remain and be drawn without seeding meaning no additional ball for home advantage.
Ball Numbers for Round Two
1-17. Round One winners
Balls 35 to 42 will include the Western sides in the Championship.
35. Barrow Raiders
36. Oldham
37. Rochdale Hornets
38. Salford Red Devils
39. Swinton Lions
40. Whitehaven
41. Widnes Vikings
42. Workington Town
Balls 43 to 52 include the teams from Yorkshire and the North East.
43. Batley Bulldogs
44. Dewsbury Rams
45. Doncaster
46. Featherstone Rovers
47. Goole Vikings
48. Halifax Panthers
49. Hunslet
50. Keighley Cougars
51. Newcastle Thunder
52. Sheffield Eagles
Balls 53 to 55 comprise the national section from the Championship sides.
53. London Broncos
54. Midlands Hurricanes
55. North Wales Crusaders
When are Round One and Round Two of the Challenge Cup played?
Now that the complicated process of how the first two rounds will be drawn is over, attention turns to when fixtures will be played.
Round One will take place on the weekend of January 10th and 11th, with Round Two played a fortnight later on the 24th and 25th of the month.
A further two weeks later, on the weekend of the 7th and 8th of February, Round Three will be played with 13 Super League Teams joining the 19 Round Two winners. Toulouse Olympique won’t enter the competition again, as has been the case in recent years.
Remaining rounds will be played on the following dates.
Round Four – March 14th and 15th
Quarter-finals – April 11th and 12th
Semi-finals – May 10th and 11th
Final – May 30th
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