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Stronghold Article: "NA League Returns for 2026" (#2892)

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---
title: "The Splatoon 3 North American League Returns for 2026!"
date: 2026-03-19
author:
- name: YELLOW
link: https://sendou.ink/u/great-hero-yellow
---
#### *And also Version 11.1.0, because Nintendo hasn’t announced enough for Splatoon 3 this week*
<img width="1189" height="675" alt="splatoon-3-na-league-returns" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/aded679e-b5da-4440-b9c7-8c805b8b409c" />
On Monday, March 16, 2026—not on a Tuesday, as we’ve come to expect Splatoon news to be delivered on—Nintendo dropped an announcement trailer out of nowhere for the Splatoon 3 North American League 2026, following the event’s first iteration concluding just three months prior, in December 2025\.
The Splatoon 3 North American League 2026 runs from Friday, April 3, 2026, through Sunday, June 21, 2026\. Like last time, it will follow the Splatoon 3 North American League Show on Fridays, League qualifying events on Saturdays, and the Salmon Run-focused Sunday Scrim on Sundays.
Link to Nintendo’s announcement video on YouTube: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfjB9g3JKtk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfjB9g3JKtk).
While we’ve known since December that Nintendo was planning another NA League in the future, no one anticipated that it would come this soon\! In the midst of other tournament events—LUTI, LAN Championship Series, Splat World Series, Gamers for Giving 2026, and others not yet announced—schedules are bound to be packed.
Players were very vocal about the tournament and format, and in the short time it’s been since the last NA League and the beginning of the new one, Nintendo has made some changes from the original format.
## **Registration, Teams, and Scoring**
The League’s Preseason and Regular Season events will still be a ten-week event every Saturday from April 4–June 6, and after a two-week break, will culminate in the Playoffs. There will be two Preseason events as a warmup, which will not count toward season standings. The other eight weeks are Regular Season events, which **do** count.
Registration on [Battlefy](https://battlefy.com/nintendovs/splatoon3-north-american-league) opened on March 16, and will remain open until 12 PM PT on the day of the event you wish to play in. In order to participate in Preseason Week 1, you have until 12 PM on Saturday, April 4 to register, but if you want to start on Preseason Week 2, registration for that event closes at 12 PM PT on Saturday, April 11\.
Teams can be made of four players plus one substitute player, and no player registered on one team can also be on another team at the same time, but that player can switch teams from event to event.
Teams can also change their members, needing at least three original members to be considered the same team. **Importantly**, this only applies *until* Event \#4 (Regular Season Week 2). Changes to teams after Event \#4 on April 25 will result in a new team being created, which will affect any points earned to date.
The points system is also staying the same:
<img width="1000" height="569" alt="pointsa" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/505879c4-4f42-46c4-971d-d1dcf111de1b" />
*A team will earn points based on their event placement, which contributes toward their season standing. Image from Nintendo of America’s “Splatoon 3 North American League \- Announcement” video on YouTube (from September 2025).*
Every participating team will earn points based on their placement in both the Ladder round and Top 8, creating their season standings. These season standings will be based on a team’s highest scores starting with Event \#3 (Regular Season Week 1). The eight teams with the highest season standings after Event \#10 (Regular Season Week 8\) will qualify for the Playoffs in June\!
*New for 2026*, season standings will be determined by a team’s **four highest scores** in the weekly events. In 2025, it was based on a team’s **five** highest weekly scores, but the number has been reduced, allowing teams to take weeks off if needed, and provide more incentive to aim higher\!
## **Tournament Format**
The Ladder Round remains Best of 3 sets between 12 PM–3 PM PT, followed by a one hour break before the Top 8 bracket begins at 4 PM PT. Teams must play a minimum of five games to be eligible for the Top 8 bracket. The Top 8 will still be a Best of 5, double-elimination tournament, livestreamed on Nintendo’s official YouTube channel.
During the Ladder Round, a coin flip in Battlefy’s Match Chat will determine which team picks the mode for the first match in the set. The loser of the coin flip will pick the map. However, during the Top 8 and Playoffs, the team who has the higher seed will choose the mode for the first match, with the lower-seed team choosing the map.
Between all three League seasons, after the first match, the winning team picks the mode for the next game, and the losing team picks the map.
And yes, Turf War is still included in the mode selection, alongside Tower Control, Rainmaker, Splat Zones, and Clam Blitz, and each map and mode can only be selected once per set.
*Unlike* last time, where there were only ten maps that could be chosen from, this year, the map pool has been expanded to twelve:
* **Scorch Gorge**
* Hagglefish Market
* Undertow Spillway
* Museum d’Alfonsino
* **Mahi-Mahi Resort**
* Inkblot Art Academy
* MakoMart
* **Manta Maria**
* Crableg Capital
* **Shipshape Cargo Co.**
* **Robo ROM-en**
* Urchin Underpass
Scorch Gorge, Mahi-Mahi Resort, Manta Maria, Shipshape Cargo Co., and Robo ROM-en are new maps added to the pool, bringing the number of map options to twelve and replacing Humpback Pump Track, Um’ami Ruins, and Barnacle & Dime.
Splatfest Tees are still illegal gear to wear during the NA League, just in case Nintendo decides to give us another Springfest or other Splatfest re-run.
<img width="256" height="256" alt="S3_Gear_Clothing_Splatfest_Tee" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/7ffabeb2-73e3-46be-ac64-faa2c0bd38c9" />
*Splatfest Tee: Wearing one of these at any point during the Splatoon 3 North American League is grounds for your team to lose a match immediately\! NOT fresh\!*
Disconnects will incur a rematch on the same map and mode, with one rematch being allowed per set. If a disconnect happens within the first 60 seconds of a game, then the match is eligible to be replayed. But if a player disconnects after 60 seconds pass, then the match has to be played without the DC’d player.
If you’d like to read up on the full list of rules to prepare yourself for the upcoming League, you can find the 13-page PDF at [https://battlefy.com/nintendovs/splatoon3-north-american-league/rules](https://battlefy.com/nintendovs/splatoon3-north-american-league/rules).
## **What About the League Show and Sunday Scrim?**
Nintendo has confirmed that the Splatoon 3 North American League Show will return on Fridays, and the Sunday Scrim will be back on Sundays. In the NA League 2026 trailer, however, we were not given any details regarding these events.
Battlefy has information about the Sunday Scrims, including QR codes to register for the Salmon Run events, as that must be done in advance. You can still sign up solo, as a duo, trio, or full squad of four, and can do so through the Nintendo Online app, rather than in Battlefy.
Ability to play in the Sunday Scrim is based on a lottery—registering for the Sunday Scrim does not automatically make you eligible to participate. No points earned in the Sunday Scrim contribute to season standings, or any other factor, of the League events. Aim for the top in Salmon Run in a casual, competitive environment\!
As for the League Show, while last time we were given teasers in advance of community figures involved, this time around, it has been quiet. We have yet to know for sure who will be back or who will be new this time around.
<img width="1919" height="1079" alt="NALeagueDatesList" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/c8bd3719-07e6-4c16-a57a-27094a8b2e2f" />
With the League Show on Fridays, League events on Saturdays, and Sunday Scrims on, well, Sundays, and the League Playoffs returning June 20–21st, 2026, the spring season is sure to be busy for teams. How will the game evolve between now and then?
## **Version 11.1.0 Updates**
Well, the game will first see a handful of updates with Version 11.1.0, released on March 18, 2026\! This patch makes changes to a handful of weapons—those overtuned and those underwhelmingly affected by 11.0.0—and also to X Rank matchmaking.
The primary changes to weapons are buffs to underused weapons who didn’t get enough shine after the major 11.0.0 update. Weapons like Splattershot Nova, Douser Dualies, and Tenta Brella, among others, see significant improvements to speed or ink consumption.
Outside of special charge nerfs, the Dynamo Rollers were the only main weapon nerfed in this patch, receiving lessened effects of ink consumption reduction when using gear with Ink Saver (Main). The Dynamo Rollers remain hungry for ink\!
The Ultra Stamp was the only special to be affected, having its 220 damage hitbox reduced by 10% when thrown.
The Splattershot/Hero Shot Replica/Order Shot Replica is also the only weapon family to receive less points for special, going from 210 to 200\. A handful of other weapons all gained additional points required for special, including several Blasters and other short-range weapons, Heavy Splatling, and Dynamo Roller.
As for X Rank and X Battles, these are Nintendo’s official patch notes:
* “Changed the system for matchmaking so that, rather than having players with similar X Power at that time battle each other, now players whose final X Power will likely become similar after accumulating matches will be paired for battles.
* Changed the systems for matchmaking and team division to make it less likely to result in skill disparity between teams, even in time zones or regions where there are not many players.
* In the Tentatek Division, players with X Power less than 2000.0 and players with X Power of 2000.0 or higher may now be matched together.
* Changed the matchmaking system to allow battles against more different weapons than before.”
<img width="1000" height="620" alt="XRankChanges" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/228506ed-f7af-4199-b8d0-fcdec92ddab9" />
*Nintendo’s explanation for X Rank/X Battle changes.*
You can find the full patch notes list at [https://en-americas-support.nintendo.com/app/answers/detail/a\_id/59461/\~/how-to-update-splatoon-3](https://en-americas-support.nintendo.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/59461/~/how-to-update-splatoon-3).
With a promise to further balance battles in the next update, we know Nintendo will be continuing to keep an eye on the game and not drop it just yet, as we get closer to the one-year anniversary of the Splatoon Raiders announcement.
Will we make it through another Splatoon 3 North American League without any new news on the upcoming game? Perhaps get third kits part 2 before Raiders?
The only way to know is to stick with us and watch as 2026 keeps proving that it’s *the* year for Competitive Splatoon\!
Original Posting Date: March 19, 2026 at [Splatoon Stronghold](https://www.splatoonstronghold.com/news/na-league-returns-for-2026)
Written and formatted for publication by [YELLOW](https://bsky.app/profile/great-hero-yellow.bsky.social).