Pro Climbing League: Making Waves in the Climbing World

What is the Pro Climbing League?

The Pro Climbing League (PCL) is a new professional bouldering competition format. It’s focused specifically on the climbing discipline bouldering and offers a fresh new test to the competition format by having athletes compete head to head rather than trying problems one after another against the clock or a leaderboard.

Instead of traditional climbing competitions where climbers attempt several boulders one at a time and are ranked by success and attempts, the PCL has climbers face each other on identical problems simultaneously. One climber advances from each matchup in a knockout bracket, with rounds culminating in finals where the last competitors battle for the title.

There are 16 elite competitors at each event (eight men and eight women), and the structure is simple:

• Qualifying Round: Head-to-head duels on three identical boulders. Winners advance.
• Semi-Finals: The four remaining climbers compete on one boulder.
• Finals: Battles for first and third place on two problems.
  Winners advance solely through these direct duels until a champion is crowned.

The format was developed by climbers Danaan Markey and Charlie Boscoe in order to present the sport in a way that’s easy for fans (especially newcomers) to understand and enjoy.

“It’s a place where the sport can grow, connect and inspire – all while staying true to the people at its heart,” says Markey.

When’s the first event?

The first Pro Climbing League event of the 2026 season will take place on February 28. Climbing fans will be excited to see professional climber Shauna Coxsey co-hosting the event live on Red Bull TV.

Competitors

The Pro Climbing League event will feature 16 pro athletes. Check below to see who will be joining the event.

Female Athletes	Male Athletes
Annie Sanders	Colin Duffy
Jenny Buckley	Michael Mawem
Erin McNeice	Max Milne
Camilla Moroni	Yannick Flohe
Janja Garnbret	Mejdi Schalck
Lucia Dörffel	Toby Robert
Oriane Bertone	Tomoa Narasaki
Anon Matsufuji	Darius Rapa