The WNBA has finally unveiled its long-awaited 2026 schedule amid an ongoing CBA battle with its players. However, while this update is one step in the right direction, expansion, scheduling limits, and labor uncertainty continue to loom large, which has left players and fans navigating an unusual period. Yet while uncertainty surrounds one side of the professional landscape, Unrivaled is leaning into momentum and putting money where its mouth is.

On Wednesday, the 3×3 league announced the return of its marquee 1-on-1 Tournament for the second straight season, reinforcing its commitment to individual excellence and direct player investment. And it comes with a huge money bag!

This year’s tournament will carry a $300,000 total prize pool, highlighted by a $200,000 payout to the champion. The runner-up will earn $50,000, while each semifinalist will take home $25,000, bringing the combined earnings for the final four to $275,000.

Now, is this a statement at a time when compensation remains a central topic across women’s basketball? Maybe! But what we know for sure is that the three-day event will take place from Feb. 11 to 14 at Sephora Arena.

It will feature 32 Unrivaled athletes competing to “Crown the One.” And fans can catch the games on TNT, truTV, and HBO Max, with tickets available through Ticketmaster.

All games will be 10 minutes or played to a Winning Score, whichever comes first. For most rounds, the Winning Score is 11 points, while the championship round will feature a best-of-three format, with each game played to seven points. Moreover, a seven-second shot clock and a continuously running clock will ensure a fast and relentless style of play, which has been a major selling point for this tournament.

If last year was any consolation, where Napheesa Collier emerged as the first-ever champion, taking home $200,000, these matches are going to be a must-watch. But are you wondering who gets to play in this tournament? In 2025, eligible players were drawn directly from the league’s active roster, with availability, health status, and contractual designation playing a role in participation. From there, fans helped determine seeding through their votes.

But this announcement by Unrivaled arrives on the same day that the WNBA released its 2026 schedule.

WNBA announces its 30th season schedule amid CBA uncertainty

While the timing of the announcement has raised some eyebrows, the league and the players’ union are currently operating under a “status quo” period of negotiations, making the schedule release a permissible business move. And many around the league welcome the news, viewing it as a long-awaited step forward after months of back-and-forth talks that produced little tangible progress.

According to the league, with no new CBA in place so far after multiple missed deadlines, the release is intended to help teams, arena partners, broadcasters, and fans prepare, in the event the season begins as planned.

The upcoming season is set to feature a 44-game schedule. And while discussions around expanding the season length remain a part of the ongoing negotiations, under the current CBA, these are the maximum number of games allowed.

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However, even with these plans in place, bigger questions about player compensation and working conditions remain unanswered. And with the way things are going, a solution still seems far away.

The players’ union is pushing for a system that would allocate roughly 30% of gross revenue to players, along with a much higher team salary cap. The league, however, has countered with a model that offers players more than 70% of net revenue, calculated after expenses like travel, facilities, and medical care.

While the league’s proposal could raise maximum base salaries to around $1 million in 2026, with the potential to climb to $1.3 million through revenue sharing, players argue that a net-revenue model masks the true value that they bring to the table. And that gap remains the core of the standoff, with neither side willing to give ground.

So at a time when uncertainty dominates the WNBA, Unrivaled is choosing action, backing up the fact that it’s a player-first league and letting the product speak for itself.