KBC Champions vs Champions Starts Oct. 19
KBC Champions vs Champions begins Oct. 19 with Amitabh Bachchan hosting. The format as reported, the schedule and what Sony has not detailed.
Sony Entertainment Television has announced that Kaun Banega Crorepati Champions vs Champions, a tournament edition hosted by Amitabh Bachchan, begins on Oct. 19. The date and timing are confirmed. The format, the contestants and the prize money are not. Business Upturn summarised the announcement on Oct. 17.
What is confirmed
According to Business Upturn, Sony's official Instagram account shared a promo poster saying the edition starts on Oct. 19, 2026. It will air Monday to Friday at 9 p.m. on Sony Entertainment Television and stream on Sony LIV, the same platforms as the regular season. The poster lists Google Gemini and Maruti Suzuki among its presenting partners.
Sony's promotional posts bill it as the biggest tournament in the history of the quiz show and use Kaun Banega Crorepati Tournament branding.
What is not known
Business Upturn states plainly that the makers have not explained the format. The contestants, the number of episodes, the rules and the prize money have not been announced. We are not guessing at any of them.
The regular season continues
KBC Season 18 premiered on Aug. 10, 2026, with the theme "Sochna Padega," which, according to ANI as cited by Business Upturn, puts the focus on how contestants apply what they know instead of simply recalling facts. The show first aired on July 3, 2000, and is the Indian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. Shah Rukh Khan hosted the third season, and Bachchan has hosted every other season.
A busy fortnight for the host
Recent episodes of the regular season have leaned on guests. Madhuri Dixit appeared on the hot seat in a special episode on Oct. 9, as the Indian Express reported, ahead of her turn as host of the Marathi version, Kon Honar Crorepati. Mika Singh and Falguni Pathak followed. Business Upturn reported that Mika Singh posted a reel from the set on Oct. 13, and the Times of India reported that Bachchan recited the Agneepath dialogue in Punjabi and Gujarati when they asked him to.
A wider franchise
Business Upturn also lists a separate Marathi edition, Kon Honar Crorepati, whose grand premiere on Oct. 12 was hosted by Madhuri Dixit, with Sonali Bendre taking the first hot seat. That is a separate show from the tournament and is hosted by a different presenter. The listing carries few details, and we have kept to the headline facts.
A warning from the makers
The poster also carries a notice that the quiz show never charges contestants any fee and does not run a lottery, and it warns viewers to beware of fraudsters who claim otherwise. That message is the makers' own.
Why it matters
For viewers, the practical points are the start date and the channel. Everything else, including who plays and how, will depend on promos that Sony has not yet released.
What we could not confirm
We could not confirm who will compete, how many episodes will air, whether earlier winners are the only entrants, or what the top prize will be. We could not independently view the Instagram poster and relied on Business Upturn's description of it. We could not confirm whether the regular season will pause while the tournament runs.
Sources
*Cover photo: Ashishsn366, Wikimedia Commons, *[*https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:JPEG11.jpg*](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:JPEG11.jpg)* (CC BY-SA 4.0).*