One of the most significant sports events for Ice hockey players is the World Championships where they play in their National colors and fight for the title. There will be 16 top ice hockey teams from different countries with a few newcomers also participating for the first time. The victor of the competition will be the World Champ of Ice hockey and will receive a trophy in a medal ceremony.

Tournament format:

There are 16 teams overall in this championship divided into two groups for the prelims. Four teams in each group move to the quarterfinals where they play in a criss-cross with the top side of group A playing against the bottom team of group B and vice-versa. The team standing third in both groups compete for a spot in the semifinals.

The teams that win their semi-final clash move to play the final game while the teams that lose the semis fight for the third spot.

Not a world championship in the real sense: Though it is one of the biggest tournaments for countries that take part, it’s not a world championship in the real sense and has been like that since its inception. The reason for it being that the NHL playoffs are held at the same time the world championships are held so many top players can’t make it to the tournament.

Mismatches galore: The prelims have a lot of matches will be a complete mismatch with the strong teams playing against some really weak teams. You should consider yourself lucky to see some exciting games in the round robin stage. There will be very few matches that will be top notch, but as the tournament progresses, you will see string teams move forward and play against each other.

Points system: The point system in this tournament is straightforward and is as below.

•       The team that wins the match is awarded 3 points
•       If a game is tied both teams get one point each at the end of the regulated time.
•       The team that wins in 5 minute overtime gets a bonus 1 point.
•       If the matches go to the penalty shootout even after extra time, they split 1 point each.
•       No points are given to teams that lose in the regular period of playtime.

Tiebreak formula: If two teams have the same points under their belt, the winner of the game  will get to the top. It is applicable only when there are more than three teams with the same points. When 3 plus sides are tied then it the teams that are tied are created into a subgroup. Sometimes despite everything, if the teams are still tied, goals are taken into consideration. The team that has the highest number of goals in their round robin games will be the top team in the subgroup.

The tie breaking formula is applicable when 3 plus teams have tied on same points. Sub Group creation is als done between the tied teams.

When 2 teams remaining tied, the earlier game between the two would be considered as the determining factor for the tie-breaker as the no game can end with a tie. If it is tied even after that the goal difference will be taken into consideration.

The order of approach will be points difference and goals scored. Even after all of these steps if the teams are still tied, then the championship seeding will be taken into consideration.

Overtime rules: A five minute overtime is played when the game is tied at the end of the regulated time. An intermission of 3 minutes is allowed before play resumes and goes on till one team scores or the time expires. If none of the teams score during this period, a penalty shootout will be used to find the winner.

Penalty shootout: The penalty shootout procedure will be put in place when the teams are still tied even after overtime.

•       Five shooters will be allowed to take a shot at the goal alternatively till the decisive goal is scored.
•       Even after that if it is still tied then a tie-break shootout with a shot for each player is allocated. A new player can also take the chance for the tie-break.
•       The decider goal will determine the winner of the game.