The Collegiate Chess League Fall 2025 Season Playoffs are upon us, and you can join in on the excitement by predicting who wins!
Will SLU defend their championship title, or will Mizzou get their revenge? Will UT Dallas earn their first championship in CCL history? Tell us what you think will happen and join the CCL prediction challenge tradition that started back in the fall of 2021. Now is your chance to become a part of college chess history and earn your prize!
The bracket prediction winner in each of the 25 divisions will walk away with a six-month Chess.com Diamond Membership.*
To enter, submit your predictions by November 15, 2025 at 1 p.m. ET / 18:00 CET / 10:30 p.m. IST.
How To Participate
Click the button above for the Fall 2025 prediction brackets. Each division has its own bracket. Make predictions for as many divisions as you’d like. Fill out all 25 for your best chance to win!
Then, sit back and watch your favorite teams duke it out in the Playoffs―knowing each of their wins brings you closer to a chance to win six months of Chess.com diamond membership!
Winners will be notified by email at the email address provided the first week of December.*
*One winner per bracket. No purchase is necessary to participate or win. Prizes cannot be transferred or redeemed for cash. Participants may not win more than one bracket. Void where prohibited.
Some Of The Favorites: Division 1
The Leaders: University of Texas Dallas
Dallas was undefeated going into week 7 of the regular season before ultimately losing to Texas Tech in the last round. Their new assistant coach GM Mikhail Antipov likely had something to do with their impressive 6-0 run to start the season. UT Dallas has never won a CCL championship before, and after earning the number 1 seed in the playoffs, this could be their best opportunity.
Reigning Champions: Saint Louis University
GMs Viktor Gazik and Aryan Chopra helped lead the way to Saint Louis’s record setting sixth CCL championship last season and are returning to defend their title. Their incredible 13-3 win over Mizzou in the seventh round earned them a top two spot in the playoffs and proved their team is ready to face anyone standing between them and the championship title.
Always a Contender: University of Missouri – Columbia
The Missouri tigers were the number one seed going into the season led by their top board and highest rated player in the League, GM Aryan Tari. They were the last team to win a championship before SLU, and Tari and his team will try their best to win again and seek some revenge against their rivals along the way.
We are the favorites in every match. We would have to do something stupid in order to not win in general
—Aryan Tari
The Indian Team: SRM Institute of Science and Technology
SRM IST just recently won their third India College Chess Championship in a row and are looking to earn their first CCL championship. Their lineup features Grandmaster Srihari L R, supported by five IMs, and they will be a hard team for anyone to defeat in the Playoffs.
The New Contenders: Texas Tech University
Texas Tech hasn’t competed with their top team since the early days of the CCL, but they are excited to be back! They were the only team able to hand UT Dallas a loss this regular season, so don’t count them out especially as they seek vengeance against SRM IST who they will play in the Quarterfinals.
The Underdogs: University of Texas at Rio Grande Valley
This UTRGV team took down the defending champions Saint Louis University in the regular season by a narrow margin 8.5-7.5 which was just enough for them to make playoffs. Now that they’re in, they could have another upset win against the University of Missouri in the Quarterfinals or even go all the way like they did back in season 4.
For all standings and results for Division 1, see our events page.
Lower Divisions
With 25 divisions in competition, anyone has a shot at making the winning prediction bracket.
For all standings and results for Divisions 2-3, see the PlayVS platform.
Standings and results for Divisions 4-25 are available here.
The Collegiate Chess League (CCL) is the premier online chess competition for college students. It is a team event with an all-play-all blitz format, featuring a $25,000 prize fund.
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