Playoffs Recap
PGF 2026 Playoffs Recap: Kevin Beuhring Wins the Belt, and the Kings Finish as Team Champions
Beuhring finished the playoff bracket with an overtime submission over Jett Thompson, and Las Vegas closed the year as the 2026 PGF team champions after winning the regular-season race.
LAS VEGAS - The 2026 PGF season closed with both of its biggest prizes accounted for. Kevin Beuhring walked out of the playoff bracket as the new individual champion, and the Las Vegas Kings finished the year as team champions after owning the regular-season race from start to finish.
That made the final night feel clean. Kevin Beuhring entered as the No. 3 seed, beat Chuy Magana in the quarterfinals, beat Elijah Carlton in the semifinals, and then submitted Jett Thompson in overtime to close the belt. The Kings, meanwhile, did their work before the bracket ever opened, finishing the regular season first at 143 and turning that points title into the 2026 team championship story.
Final PGF 2026 Team Standings
| Rank | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kings | 143 |
| 2 | Twisters | 128 |
| 3 | Phenoms | 71 |
| 4 | Wolverines | 61 |
Kevin's title run was the loudest competitive thread of the night because there were no soft steps in it. Chuy Magana was the opener. Elijah Carlton was the semifinal draw after climbing to the No. 2 seed late in the season. Then came Thompson, who had finished the regular season at 64 and still carried the No. 1 line into the bracket. Beuhring beat all three and saved the biggest finish for the very end.
2026 PGF Playoff Results
| Round | Winner | Opponent | Method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterfinal 1 | Jett Thompson | Shawn Melanson | Submission in overtime |
| Quarterfinal 2 | Austin Oranday | Travis Haven | Break |
| Quarterfinal 3 | Elijah Carlton | Jayden Groner | Break |
| Quarterfinal 4 | Kevin Beuhring | Chuy Magana | Kill |
| Semifinal 1 | Jett Thompson | Austin Oranday | Kill |
| Semifinal 2 | Kevin Beuhring | Elijah Carlton | Break |
| Championship | Kevin Beuhring | Jett Thompson | Submission in overtime |
That table shows why the finale landed the way it did. Thompson still got through Shawn Melanson and then teammate Austin Oranday to reach the title match. Elijah stopped Jayden Groner to give Alabama a second semifinalist. But once the bracket reached its last two fights, the whole season narrowed down to the two names that had spent months circling each other from the top half of the standings. Beuhring answered that final question in overtime.
The team story stayed with Las Vegas. The Kings finished the regular-season race at 143, ahead of Alabama at 128, and that depth is what let them leave the year with the franchise title even though the individual belt changed hands. Jett Thompson, Austin Oranday, and Chuy Magana all gave Las Vegas big pieces across the season, and the team cushion they built proved durable enough to survive a Twisters champion at the end.
So the season closes with two clear headlines instead of one. Kevin Beuhring owns the belt. The Las Vegas Kings own the team title. And the 2026 PGF year now stands as the season where the Kings set the standard all the way through while Beuhring found the last answer when the bracket got smallest.