Speedrunning is back and the season is underway—gather round and prepare to tune in for the Mythic Dungeon International in Season 1 of Midnight! This peak Dungeon programming premieres this weekend, kicking off the year of competitions for dedicated dungeoneers across the globe. Here’s what to expect and when to tune in as the speedrunners set off on the road to BlizzCon 2026.
Time Trials
The Mythic Dungeon International celebrated its return in mid-April with a period called “Time Trials”—the open qualification stage in which hopeful competitors from around the world gather on the Tournament Realm to test their speedrunning skills in assigned dungeons. From April 15 to April 20, registered teams raced against one another to secure the fastest times in the two dungeons at the highest level possible. At the end of these trials, the twenty-four teams with the speediest runs qualified to compete in the next stage of the Tournament: Groups.
Groups Stage
The Groups Stage is the month-long period in which the top twenty-four teams face off against each other in weekly competitions. Each weekend, eight teams compete in a head-to-head speedrunning format in the hopes of securing one of the top two placements and qualifying further in the competition. The matches will be streamed and broadcast live on the official Warcraft Twitch and YouTube channels starting at 10:00 am PDT / 19:00 CEST each day:
- Group A – May 8, 9, 10
- Group B – May 15, 16, 17
- Group C – May 22, 23, 24
- Group China – May 29, 30, 31
This season’s Groups stage sees the introduction of two major shifts in format: the removal of map bans and a modified Spec Variety Rule. The updated Spec Variety Rule is tailored for the return of the speedrunning format, restricting specializations to ensure a varied representation for the duration of each series. Be sure to tune in to find out what the teams do with their increased control of spec bans and watch how they navigate the map pools of each series!
Interested in Co-Streaming MDI? Fill out this form and join the MDI Discord.
Season 1 Finals
The penultimate stage of the Tournament joins the top six teams from the global region and the top two from China together in a single bracket to culminate the competition for Season 1 of Midnight with $100,000 in prizing on the line. While eight hopeful teams will enter the weekend, only half of the competitors will see it through to the next stage: as the top four teams from the Season 1 Finals, including at least one team from the China region, will advance to BlizzCon 2026.
Global Finals
Once the fastest frontrunners have finished facing off in the Season 1 finals, the competition will close in for the most challenging course yet: the Global Finals – live from BlizzCon 2026 in Anaheim, California! The Global Finals will bring together the top four teams of the world’s most driven and daring dungeoneers in an awe-inspiring and action-packed weekend at the renowned convention as they compete for the title of World Champions and their share of the $300,000 BlizzCon 2026 prize pool.
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Stay Connected
Interested in learning more about the road to BlizzCon 2026? Check out the previously published announcement article.
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