KHL 3x3 Championship: 8 teams, 24 rounds and Superfinal in July

The Kontinental Hockey League is delighted to announce a new project among the tournaments that it runs. On Dec. 19, the first ever KHL 3x3 Championship gets underway. This is a new hockey format that enables us to present the game from different angles and attract a new audience.

3х3 is the next stage in hockey’s development. The format has achived worldwide recognition and may soon be part of the Winter Olympic program. The KHL will be the first league in the world to launch a tournament in this format based on established pro hockey teams.

The first season of KHL 3х3 will involve eight teams from three countries: Avangard, Ak Bars, Metallurg, Salavat Yulaev, Sibir and Traktor, plus Barys and Dinamo Minsk.

FONBET Division:

Avangard
Barys
Metallurg
Salavat Yulaev

WINLINE Division:

Ak Bars
Dinamo Minsk
Sibir
Traktor

KHL President Alexei Morozov:
— We’re delighted to announce the launch of a new KHL project – an international 3x3 hockey league. In the two years since our first test event in Mytishchi we’ve been working hard to create and put in place all the necessary systems to stage a tournament on this scale. 3x3 hockey is gaining popularity and it has clear potential as an Olympic sport. We’re grateful to our partners – Fonbet and Winline, and the Russian Ministry of Sport – for their help in making this project happen.

Team rosters

There will be two types of roster for the KHL 3x3 championship – for the season and for each round. The “round” rosters will comprise 10 players, including two goalies. At least one player must have at least 200 KHL career games, or not less than 80 games in the last five seasons. Teams must name their rosters for each tour nine days before the start. These rosters will be drawn from the season roster of 25 players, which can be amended at any time during the season. There is no trade or registration deadline for players.

The season roster can be made of KHL players on two-way or three-way contracts, unrestricted free agents over the ag of 22 and also players going through waivers.

The KHL 3x3 Championship schedule

The regular season runs from Dec. 2024 to June 2025. There will be 312 games. Each of the 24 rounds will take place over four days, from Thursday to Sunday. In every round four competing teams will face each other twice, so competition will not be confined within each division: from the first round the teams will be mixed. On the Thursday there will be four games, then two on Friday, four on Saturday and three on Sunday. The third game on the Sunday is the “Supergame” between the top two teams from that round. The winning team will get a 1 million-ruble cash prize, but the result will not affect the overall tournament standings.

At the end of the regular season, the top three teams from each division will advance to the Superfinal. This starts with a round-robin group stage, from which the top four will progress to a knock-out playoff. The final of the historic KHL 3x3 Championship debut season is scheduled for July 13, 2025.

Tournament rules

KHL 3x3 games will take place on a special 34x18m ice pad. Unlike a traditional rink, these are marked only with a center line, center circle and goalie zones.

Each period will be seven minutes, with just a two-minute break between sessions. Hits and fights are forbidden and, in place of penalties, teams will be awarded a penalty shot. Unlike 5x5 hockey, if a penalty shot is missed, play continues immediately and attacking players can try to score on any rebound. Face-offs are also reduced to a minimum: at the start of each period and after each goal. Tie games will be decided by a shoot-out.

Andrei Tochitsky, KHL Vice-President for hockey operations:
— We’re looking forward to an exciting season with the teams playing almost every week. There are just two breaks in the schedule, to accommodate the Fonbet All-Star Week and the Gagarin Cup final series. This season we’re not only extending the KHL season until the end of May, we’re also inviting hockey lovers to follow their favorite sport until the middle of July.

United by hockey – a historic partnership

For the first time in the history of sporting events, the KHL 3x3 Championship will have two commercial partners of equal status from the same industry. Winline and Fonbet, two leading companies in Russia’s sports betting market are the title sponsors, and in the regular season our two divisions will be the Winline Division and the Fonbet Division.

Sergei Dobrokhvalov, KHL Vice President:
— The launch of the 3x3 championship is a step forward in our work with the next generation. We’re offering fast, dynamic hockey and each game will be decided in aout 30 minutes. The games will take place at South Arena in the Moscow suburbs. Spectators are welcome to attend the game but our accent is on the digital audience. The league, the clubs and our partners will be actively working on social media to attract and engage with a new audience.

KHL 3x3 games will be televised on the federal Match TV channel, on the KHL’s TV channels and on OTT platforms. Match TV will show 55 games and the whole tournament will be available on KHL TV, KHL Prime and in leading online movie service Kinopoisk.