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PC Gamer’s reader bracket for the best FPS mode of all time has advanced to Round 2. Four pairings are open for voting, and the poll closes at 11:59 PM PDT on Monday, October 12, 2026 (06:59 UTC on October 13). Round 1 was decided by more than 7,000 reader votes cast over five days, and the Round 2 winners are not yet known.
How Round 1 ended
The table below lists each Round 1 matchup as PC Gamer reported it. The percentages are shares of reader votes in that matchup, as tallied in PC Gamer’s poll. They describe what voters picked, not how often each mode is played or how well it is designed.
| Round 1 matchup | Advancing mode | Share of votes | Eliminated mode | Share of votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Deathmatch vs. FFA/Deathmatch | Team Deathmatch | 75% | FFA/Deathmatch | 25% |
| Battle Royale vs. Extraction | Battle Royale | 52% | Extraction | 48% |
| Conquest vs. Domination | Conquest | 68% | Domination | 32% |
| Bomb Defusal vs. Hostage | Bomb Defusal | 85% | Hostage | 15% |
| Payload vs. Gun Game | Payload | 52% | Gun Game | 48% |
| Infection vs. Prop Hunt | Infection | 61% | Prop Hunt | 39% |
| Capture the Flag vs. VIP | Capture the Flag | 91% | VIP | 9% |
| Attack & Defend vs. King of the Hill | Attack & Defend | 52% | King of the Hill | 48% |
Three Round 1 matchups were decided by four percentage points: Battle Royale, Payload, and Attack & Defend each won 52% to 48%, so a small shift in votes would have changed the bracket. The widest margins were Capture the Flag over VIP and Bomb Defusal over Hostage.
Round 2 matchups
PC Gamer’s report frames each Round 2 pairing as a choice between two different kinds of combat. The sections below follow that framing and add the example games the article names. Those examples show how a mode name is used in practice, but implementations differ between games, so the same label should not be assumed to mean identical rules.
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Team Deathmatch vs. Battle Royale
The article’s question is “Intimate team-based action, or large-scale slaughter?” Team Deathmatch is the small-group option: two teams fight for kills over a limited map, and the article notes Team Slayer as the name Halo uses for this style of play. Battle Royale is the large-scale option, with many players competing to be the last one standing. Team Deathmatch won 75% of its Round 1 vote, while Battle Royale won 52%.
Conquest vs. Bomb Defusal
The article contrasts Conquest, which it calls “the consensus king of competitive,” with Bomb Defusal, which it describes through the phrase “all-out warfare.” Conquest is a control-point mode in which teams hold objectives across a map. The article gives Warfare in Hell Let Loose as a related example of large-scale, objective-driven combat. Bomb Defusal is round-based: one team plants a bomb and the other tries to stop it. The article names Bomb in Rainbow Six Siege and Plant/Defuse in Valorant as examples. Bomb Defusal won 85% of its Round 1 vote and Conquest won 68%.
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Payload vs. Infection
Both modes are asymmetric and depend on players staying together. In Payload, one team escorts a cart or similar objective while the other defends it. In Infection, a small group of players starts as the infected and the rest must survive or convert them. The article treats both as unusual formats that reward coordination over individual aim. Infection won 61% of its Round 1 vote and Payload won 52%.
Capture the Flag vs. Attack & Defend
Capture the Flag is the familiar objective of stealing an enemy flag and returning it to base. Attack & Defend is a different structure: one team must complete a sequence of objectives while the other holds them off. The article points to 2CP in Overwatch and Breakthrough in Battlefield as examples of Attack & Defend. Capture the Flag won 91% of its Round 1 vote, the widest Round 1 margin among the winners, while Attack & Defend won 52%.
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What the poll shows and what it does not
- It reflects reader preference. Each percentage is the share of votes a mode received in PC Gamer’s poll during the stated voting period.
- It is not a measured comparison. The poll does not test how modes perform, how balanced they are, or how many players actually play them.
- Participation shapes the result. Votes come from whoever chooses to take part, so the totals describe that group of voters rather than the wider FPS audience.
- Round 2 is still open. The eventual winner and the results of later rounds are not established yet.
Where to follow the bracket
The bracket runs in PC Gamer’s FOV 90 column, written by Morgan Park, and the column is the source for every poll total and percentage in this article. Check the column after the deadline for Round 2 results and the next pairings.
Quick Recap
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