12 teams will play for the chance to advance to the final round of Olympic qualifying beginning this week in Slovakia, Great Britain, and Poland.
Spots for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy will be contested for from December 12 as a dozen teams participate in round three of qualification including tournaments in Poland, Great Britain, and Slovakia.
In Slovakia, the host nation will face Slovenia, Kazakhstan, and Iceland.
In Great Britain, the Netherlands, Spain, and Latvia will join the hosts.
Finally in Poland, the group will feature Poland, Korea, Mexico, and Chinese Taipei.
From each group, only one nation will advance to the final qualification rounds that will take place during the February qualification tournaments. Those event will take place from February 6-9. In Sweden, Norway, Sweden, and Denmark along with a qualifying team will play for a spot at the 2026 Olympics. Japan will host China, France and a qualifying team. Finally, Germany will host Hungary, Austria, and a qualifying team.
Canada, USA, Finland, Czechia, and Switzerland have already qualified for the 2026 Olympics based on their world rankings.