NJPW reveals G1 Climax 34 tournament format

NJPW has revealed details on this year’s G1 Climax tournament.

The tournament, which begins on July 20, will return to a 20-man A & B block format. The participants will be revealed during the New Japan Soul tour on June 16. However, only eighteen of the twenty participants will be announced. A participant selection tournament will determine the final slot of both blocks, with the finals of that tournament taking place on July 5.

Another change to this year’s tournament is how the block champions will be determined. NJPW’s website writes:

This year though, it will be the top three finishers that advance. Second and third place finishers will face off in Makuhari August 15, with the top point scorer receiving a bye to Ryogoku August 17. There, semifinals will determine an overall winner for each block, to compete in the grand final August 18.

Last year’s tournament was split into four blocks featuring 32 different wrestlers. Tetsuya Naito ended up winning the G1 Climax 33, defeating Kazuchika Okada in the finals.