The 2026 Challenge Cup final was the 125th final of the Rugby Football League's Challenge Cup knock-out competition. The final was contested by the Wigan Warriors and Hull Kingston Rovers.
Background Defending champions Hull Kingston Rovers defeated the Warrington Wolves in the 2025 Challenge Cup final to claim the title for the second time in their history with the previous win coming in 1980.
Their opponents Wigan last won the competition in 2024, when they also defeated Warrington in the final, but were unable to defend the title in 2025 after losing to Hull F.C. in the fourth round.
Wigan's prop Sam Walters became the first person to be sent off in a challenge cup final since 1993.
Route to the final Both finalists entered the 2026 Challenge Cup in the third round of the competition.
Wigan Warriors RoundOppositionVenueScore Round 3 Rochdale Hornets Spotland Stadium 83–0 Round 4 Bradford Bulls Brick Community Stadium 30–6Quarter-final Wakefield Trinity Belle Vue 26–22Semi-final St Helens Halliwell Jones Stadium 32–0
Hull Kingston Rovers RoundOppositionVenueScore Round 3 Lock Lane Craven Park 104–0 Round 4 Huddersfield Giants Kirklees Stadium 52–12Quarter-final York Knights Craven Park 48–10Semi-final Warrington Wolves Eco-Power Stadium 32–0
Pre-match The women's final between and took place before the match, which saw a Wigan victory with a score of 54–6.
On 30 April, the Rugby Football League announced that mezzo-soprano Laura Wright would sing the national anthem and Abide with Me ahead of the match.
Match details
Teams
Post match Jack Farrimond won the Lance Todd Trophy, while Adam Keighran equalled the record for the most points scored in a single challenge cup final with 20.
Sam Walters received a seven match ban for a Grade F tackle on Bill Leyland becoming the first player to revive a red card in the Challenge Cup final since 1993. Junior Nsemba, who was also involved in the tackle, received no disciplinary action.
The 2026 final was attended by 56,383 people, the lowest attendance since 1946. With attendances on a downward trend since the first final at the new Wembley Stadium, a record low figure brought a recent annual debate about the venue into more mainstream media attention. The Guardian noted that Wembley still had an appeal to fans; however, with the Super League Grand Final and Magic Weekend, the Challenge Cup final is no longer the sports "big day out" that it once was in previous decades. Further, more recent events like Rugby League Las Vegas and Catalans Dragons 20th birthday match against Wigan in Paris (played one week after the final) had accelerated the downward trend. The Guardian also criticised the Rugby Football League for having amateur divisions play on Cup final weekend, claiming it limited the number of neutral fans that could attend the final.
The final was watched by 933,000 on TV, accounting for 14.4% of the audience share.
References