With just one game for each team remaining in the Champions Hockey League group stage, many fans are looking ahead to what comes next. With a lot of tight races in different groups, there are several possibilities where teams could be tied for first place.

Additionally, a number of second-place teams could have an equal number of points as well. With that in mind, below is the procedure that will determine which 16 teams will advance from the Group Stage, and how they will be seeded for subsequent rounds.

Group winners

The 11 group winners will all advance to the group of 16 playoff teams and the 1/8 Finals. If two or more teams in one Group Stage group are tied in points, the following criteria will be used to break the tie.

1. Most points in head-to-head games against other tied teams.
2. Best goal difference in head-to-head games against other tied teams.
3. Most goals scored in head-to-head games against other tied teams.

If two teams still remain tied and their two mutual games were decided in overtime or a penalty shootout, an overtime victory will be considered greater than a shootout victory. Therefore, if one game was decided in overtime and the other in a penalty shootout, the team that won its game in overtime will be ranked ahead.

If both games were decided in shootouts, then the team that scored the most total goals in the two shootouts will be ranked ahead.

If a tie still remains between two or more teams, the teams will be ranked in order of their finish in their most recent national championship (1. Champion, 2. Regular season winner, 3. Regular season runner-up, 4. Losing finalist of the playoff final, 5. Remaining semi-finalists ranked by regular-season standings, 6. Remaining quarter-finalists ranked by regular-season standings).
If the teams are still tied (i.e. finished in the same position in their respective leagues), the CHL Club Rankings will be used as the final tie-breaker (see below).

Five best second-place teams

In addition to the 11 group winners, five second-place teams will join them among the 16 playoff teams. To determine the five best second-place teams, they will, between the second-place teams, be ranked according to:

1. Points
2. Goal difference
3. Goals scored
4. Final position in last year's national championship
5. CHL Club Ranking (see below).

Draw seeding of the 16 playoff teams

The 11 group winners will be ranked 1-11, based on the same five criteria as outlined in the section above. The top five second-place teams will then be ranked 12-16. From these rankings, a playoff bracket will be created, which will be used to determine 1/8 Final, Quarter-final, Semi-final and the one-game final match-up.

Teams ranked 1-8 will be put into Pot A and teams ranked 9-16 into Pot B. The teams will then be drawn into bracket positions, where one team from each pot will face each other in the 1/8 Final. A pre-condition is that teams from the same Group Stage group will not be able to face each in the 1/8 Final. Teams from the same country may face each other.

The seeding of the 16 playoff teams will be known immediately following Game Day 6, at which point the draw to determine the bracket will be explained in greater detail

CHL club rankings

1.Skelleftea AIK
2. Karpat Oulu
3. PSG Zlin
4. ZSC Lions Zurich
5. ERC Ingolstadt
6. HC Bolzano
7. Sparta Prague
8. Hamburg Freezers
9. Red Bull Salzburg
10. Frolunda Gothenburg
11. Tappara Tampere
12. Ocelari Trinec
13. Fribourg-Gotteron
14. Krefeld Pinguine
15. Farjestad Karlstad
16. Kloten Flyers
17. Kolner Haie
18. Vaxjo Lakers
19. Lukko Rauma
20. Villach SV
21. Linkoping HC
22. SaiPa Lappeenranta
23. Geneve-Servette
24. Vienna Capitals
25. Adler Mannheim
26. JYP Jyvaskyla
27. Lulea Hockey
28. HC Pardubice
29. Vitkovice Ostrava
30. Eisbaren Berlin
31. IFK Helsinki
32. Bili Tygri Liberec
33. SC Bern
34. HV71 Jonkoping
35. EV Zug
36 TPS Turku
37. KalPa Kuopio
38. Djurgarden Stockholm
39. Stavanger Oilers
40. HC Kosice
41. Briancon Diables Rouge
42. SonderjyskE Vojens
43. Valerenga Oslo
44. Nottingham Panthers