MLB The Show 25 Refreshes Pro Scene with New Format, Roster Restrictions, & More
We’re excited to announce a whole host of additional events for our players with a competitive edge for MLB The Show 25!
On top of PS5 Tournaments and Celebration Series, Bullpen Bash is here to stay. Bullpen Bash kicks off this year’s cross-platform events’ schedule with a $15,000 prize pool, in addition to the over $100,000 in cash prizes available in the Championship Series. We’ve also made some critical changes to Bullpen Bash based on player feedback, including a new Ladder format and roster restrictions. So be sure to read on before you step up to the plate and start swinging for the fences!
For a refresher on PS5 Tournaments, check out our previous blog post here.
Keep reading to find out more about everything else!
Bullpen Bash
Bullpen Bash is our largest community event ever, offering up to $15,000 in cash prizes. We’ve even doubled the number of players qualified to compete in the Playoffs from 8 to the top 16!
A mini version of the Summer and Fall Circuits, Bullpen Bash is an event for anyone to participate in and test their mettle — and maybe some sneaky cards — before the start of the pro series. MLB The Show 25 Bullpen Bash is open to all supported consoles.
Bullpen Bash is also an opportunity for us to trial new formats. This year, we are using a Ladder Format on the new FACEIT Tournament page. We’ll have one qualifier weekend and one playoff weekend. On qualifier weekends, players will have designated time windows over two days to compete in 3-inning games on Legend difficulty. They’ll be able to queue whenever during that time frame, making it easier to jump into a match with minimal wait times. A leaderboard will be updated in real time with each player’s win/loss record.
At the end of the qualifier weekend, the top 64 players from the leaderboard will advance to a single-elimination playoff weekend. Along with our new ladder format, we are bringing back strategy with roster restrictions returning. Players will need to choose their roster lineups more carefully when competing in our tournaments.
Roster Restrictions
Roster Restrictions this year for Qualifiers and Playoff weekend. Here’s a breakdown below:
Position Players:
| 3x | 95+ OVR or under |
| 3x | 90-94 OVR or under |
| 2x | 85-89 OVR or under |
| Rest | 84 OVR or under |
Starting Pitchers Limit:
| 2x | SP 95+ OVR or under |
| 2x | 85-94 OVR or under |
| 1x | 84 OVR or under |
Bullpen Limit:
| 2x | 99 OVR or under |
| 2x | 90-94 OVR or under |
| 2x | 85-89 OVR or under |
| 2x | 84 OVR or under |
Pitcher Energy Carryover will also return in Bo3/Bo5 matches during Playoff Weekends.
We want to emphasize that with all of these changes affecting Bullpen Bash, we’d like our players to help provide their feedback on their tournament experience. We do take how you view the tournament experience seriously and we’ll take all feedback into consideration if we need to make any changes for our Championship Series.
We thank you all in advance for helping us improve the tournaments in the future!
Registrations for Bullpen Bash are open now at the FACEIT Registration Page and close on May 14, 2025!
Make sure to sign up and see if you can be the first Bullpen Bash Hero!
We’ll also be announcing more community events later in the year for after the post-season!
MLB The Show 25 Championship Series
MLB The Show 25’s Championship Series is here, with over $100,000 in prizes on the line! Starting in June with the Summer Circuit, players will begin earning Circuit Points in their quest to make the Grand Finals and play for the $51,000 cash prize pool.
If you want to play in MLB The Show’s premier pro league, you’ve come to the right place. Read on for everything you need to know about the Championship Series.
Tournament Format and Schedule
MLB The Show 25’s Championship Series starts in June and ends in September. All Championship Series tournaments are cross-platform.
How Do I Sign Up?
Like last year, the Championship Series will be hosted by FACEIT. A FACEIT tournament will be available at a later time, so please be sure to check back later. MLB The Show 25’s Championship Series is open to all supported consoles.
MLB The Show 25 Summer Circuit
Open Qualifier Dates
Summer Circuit Open Qualifier registrations open on May 5.
Summer Circuit Open Qualifier 1: June 14 – 15
Summer Circuit Open Qualifier 2: June 21 – 22
Open Qualifier Format
The top 32 players from each qualifier weekend (a total of 64) will move on to the Summer Circuit Playoffs. Each qualifier is a Ladder Format with a leaderboard based on win/loss records that is tallied at the end of the weekend after matches are completed. Roster Restrictions will be used for players’ lineups.
Summer Circuit Playoffs Dates
Summer Circuit Playoffs: June 28 – 29
Summer Circuit Playoffs Format
The Summer Circuit Playoffs consist of one 64-player, single-elimination bracket. Each round of matches is best of 1 (Bo1) until we reach Semifinals and Grand Finals, which are best of three (Bo3). Roster Restrictions will be used for players’ lineups.
MLB The Show 25 Fall Circuit
Open Qualifier Dates
Fall Circuit Open Qualifier registrations open on July 1.
Fall Circuit Open Qualifier 1: July 26 – 27
Fall Circuit Open Qualifier 2: August 9 – 10
Open Qualifier Format
The top 32 players from each qualifier weekend (a total of 64) will move to the Fall Circuit Playoffs. Each qualifier is a Ladder Format with a leaderboard based on win/loss records that is tallied at the end of the weekend after matches are completed. Roster Restrictions will be used for players’ lineups.
Fall Circuit Playoffs Dates
Fall Circuit Playoffs: August 16 – 17
Fall Circuit Playoffs Format
The Fall Circuit Playoffs consist of one 64-player, single-elimination bracket. Each round of matches is best of 1 (Bo1) until we reach Semifinals and Grand Finals which is best of three (Bo3). Roster Restrictions will be used for players’ lineups.
MLB The Show 25 Wild Card
Wild Card Dates
August 30 – 31, 2025
September 6 – 7, 2025
Wild Card Format
The Wild Card will use a double-elimination, GSL format. The top four players will advance to the Grand Finals.
MLB The Show 25 Grand Finals
Grand Finals Dates
September 19 – 21, 2025
Grand Finals Format
The Grand Finals will use a 16-player, single-elimination bracket.
Circuit Points
To qualify for the Grand Finals, you’ll need to earn Circuit Points. The top 64 players in the Summer and Fall Circuits will earn points based on their placement.
After the Circuits have concluded, the top 12 players on the Circuit Point leaderboard will be invited directly to the Grand Finals. Those ranked 13th to 28th will be invited to the 8-player Wild Card tournament. The top 4 players at the Wild Card will qualify for the grand Finals.
To see how points are allocated at the Summer and Fall Circuits, check out the chart below.
MLB The Show 25 Summer and Fall Circuits Circuit Points
| Place | Points Awarded |
| 1st | 1000 |
| 2nd | 800 |
| 3rd – 4th | 700 |
| 5th – 8th | 600 |
| 9th – 16th | 400 |
| 17th – 32nd | 200 |
| 33rd – 64th | 100 |
Prizing
The Bullpen Bash tournament has a $15,000 prize pool. The Summer and Fall Circuits each have a $25,000 prize pool. The exact breakdown is below.
MLB The Show 25 Bullpen Bash
| 1st | $5,000 |
| 2nd | $3,000 |
| 3rd – 4th | $1,250 |
| 5th – 8th | $625 |
| 9th – 16th | $250 |
MLB The Show 25 Summer and Fall Circuits
| 1st | $10,000 |
| 2nd | $5,000 |
| 3rd – 4th | $1,750 |
| 5th – 8th | $1,025 |
| 9th – 16th | $300 |
MLB The Show 25 Grand Finals
The Grand Finals has a $51,000 prize pool. The exact breakdown is below.
| 1st | $25,000 |
| 2nd | $10,000 |
| 3rd – 4th | $3,000 |
| 5th – 8th | $1,200 |
| 9th – 16th | $650 |
Cash prize values referenced are always before taxes. For these competitions, FACEIT uses Matcherino to deliver prize money. Matcherino will automatically deduct any applicable taxes from prize winnings, except where prohibited by local law.