SANS Launches Major European Capture the Flag Tournament for 2026
SANS Institute has announced the launch of the SANS CTF European Championship 2026, a new pan-European cybersecurity competition that will bring together participants from 45 countries across Europe. The virtual Capture the Flag (CTF) tournament is designed for cybersecurity professionals, students, and enthusiasts who want to test their practical cyber skills in realistic scenarios and compete for the title of the first-ever SANS European CTF Champion.
The competition will take place in two stages. The first stage, the National CTF Qualifiers, will begin on May 25, 2026, at 9:00 a.m. CEST and conclude on May 29 at 9:00 a.m. CEST. Individual participants from 45 European countries will have 48 hours of playtime spread across five calendar days to solve a variety of technical cybersecurity challenges. The top 10 competitors from each country will qualify for the European Final - second stage, while national winners will receive an exclusive challenge coin.
The European Championship Final will be held from June 10 to June 12, 2026. Finalists will face significantly more advanced Skills Quest Championship challenges designed to push their technical and analytical abilities to the limit. According to the organizers, the competition will focus on practical cybersecurity disciplines including incident response, threat detection and analysis, network defense, vulnerability exploitation, and security operations. The participant with the highest score at the end of the third day will be crowned the first SANS CTF European Champion.
The tournament is built on the same practical foundations used in SANS training programs, emphasizing real-world technical capability rather than theoretical knowledge. Organizers say the competition is suitable both for newcomers starting their cybersecurity careers and experienced professionals looking to benchmark their skills against Europe’s top CTF players.
The championship will also offer substantial prizes. First place will receive a SANS training course together with a GIAC certification attempt, second place will earn a SANS training course, and third place will receive a one-year Skills Quest license. The top Latvian CTF participants will be honored during the "CyberChess" conference on October 13–15 of this year.
To participate, competitors must create a SANS account and register through the dedicated SANS CTF European Championship section on the platform - https://www.sans.org/mlp/ctf-european-championship-2026#how-register.
More information is available at SANS CTF European Championship 2026 - https://www.sans.org/mlp/ctf-european-championship-2026.
