High Bands Still Rule as Italy and Europe Deliver Strong Performances
The final results of the 2026 ARRL International DX Phone Contest are now available, providing an interesting snapshot of international SSB contesting near what ARRL describes as one of the last editions to benefit from the exceptionally favorable high-band propagation of the current solar cycle.
The contest was held on March 7–8, 2026, with thousands of stations from around the world once again filling the HF bands in the traditional confrontation between W/VE stations and the rest of the DX world. The next edition is scheduled for March 6–7, 2027.
And while the absolute participation figures show a clear decline compared with the previous two editions, the competition at the top remained extremely intense.
3,822 logs and more than 1.24 million QSOs
ARRL received 3,822 logs for the 2026 Phone contest, compared with:
| Year | Logs received |
|---|---|
| 2026 | 3,822 |
| 2025 | 4,646 |
| 2024 | 5,193 |
| 2023 | 4,844 |
| 2022 | 3,976 |
| 2021 | 3,737 |
This represents a drop of approximately 17.7% compared with 2025 and more than 26% compared with 2024.
Nevertheless, activity remained substantial: the submitted logs contained no fewer than 1,246,268 contacts. ARRL also notes that several operators reported declining rates during parts of the weekend and fewer W/VE stations available for DX competitors to work.
The fall in submitted logs is therefore one of the most significant statistical elements of the 2026 edition and will be worth watching closely in 2027.
10 and 15 metres dominate the contest
Propagation was still strongly influenced by the favorable phase of the solar cycle.
According to the official ARRL analysis, approximately 60% of all contacts were made on 15 and 10 metres. Active thunderstorms during the weekend negatively affected the lower bands, particularly 40 metres.
This explains many of the remarkable scores produced from the Caribbean, Central America, South America and southern Europe.
ARRL already anticipates a different scenario for 2027: as solar conditions gradually decline, the balance could begin shifting back toward 40, 80 and even 160 metres.
For serious contest stations, this is an important point. The exceptionally productive 10- and 15-metre openings seen during the peak years of Solar Cycle 25 cannot be assumed to continue indefinitely.
Single Operator High Power: HD8R wins the DX race
The battle at the top of the DX Single Operator High Power category was exceptionally close.
| Rank | Callsign | Operator | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | HD8R | LU9ESD | 7,635,816 |
| 2 | 8P5A | — | 7,612,515 |
| 3 | KP4AA | — | 6,179,982 |
| 4 | ZF1A | W9KKN | 6,177,357 |
| 5 | KP2M | KT3Y | 2,552,256 |
| 6 | IO8V | IK0ETA | 2,100,978 |
Only 23,301 points separated HD8R from 8P5A — an extraordinarily narrow margin considering scores above 7.6 million points.
The final ARRL database confirms HD8R, operated by LU9ESD, as the DX winner with 7,635,816 points, ahead of 8P5A.
For European contesting there is an especially interesting result: IO8V, operated by IK0ETA, finished sixth DX with 2,100,978 points and was the highest-scoring European station in the category.
That is one of the outstanding Italian performances of the 2026 contest.
N6MJ leads W/VE
On the other side of the Atlantic, the W/VE Single Operator High Power competition was won by N6MJ with 5,278,053 points, followed by N1DE, operated by K6JO, with 4,591,416 and Canadian VA1EET with 4,350,351.
The official QST results list N6MJ among the sponsored plaque winners as World Single Operator High Power, while N1UR received the corresponding World Single Operator Low Power plaque.
Assisted contesting: TI1K on top, Europe immediately behind
The Single Operator Unlimited High Power category produced another impressive international leaderboard:
| Rank | Callsign | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | TI1K | 4,880,448 |
| 2 | PT5J | 3,731,346 |
| 3 | ED3X | 2,793,906 |
| 4 | TM2Y | 2,685,501 |
| 5 | OM3GI | 2,433,792 |
| 6 | KH7M | 2,104,515 |
| 7 | ED7O | 2,056,890 |
| 8 | SO9I | 1,993,236 |
Europe occupies five of the first eight positions.
Particularly significant is ED3X, operated by EA3QP, which takes third place DX and first place among European stations with 2,793,906 points.
The detailed ARRL online database shows how ED3X built that result: 3,382 QSOs and 279 multipliers, with exceptionally productive activity on 20, 15 and 10 metres.
This is another clear indication of just how important the high bands were during the 2026 event.
Multi-Operator: some enormous scores
As usual, the Multi-Operator categories produced some of the biggest numbers of the weekend.
W/VE Multi-Multi
The legendary K3LR station dominated the W/VE Multioperator Multitransmitter category with:
11,524,500 points
followed by:
- K1TTT — 5,849,388
- K4NDX — 5,843,571
- K1KI — 2,641,800
The margin is remarkable: K3LR scored almost twice as many points as the second-placed station.
DX Multi-Multi
On the DX side the victory went to Morocco:
| Rank | Callsign | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | CN3A | 8,832,960 |
| 2 | PJ2T | 8,581,944 |
| 3 | 9A1P | 5,998,491 |
| 4 | LP1H | 5,332,236 |
| 5 | JA3YBK | 2,301,858 |
CN3A defeated PJ2T by about 251,000 points, while Croatian superstation 9A1P took third place DX and the highest European score in the Multi-Multi category.
PJ4G wins Multi-Two — and Italy reaches the Top Five
One of the strongest categories was DX Multioperator Two Transmitter.
The 2026 podium was:
- PJ4G — 10,962,273
- P40L — 9,966,330
- ED8W — 6,869,292
Portugal’s CR6K followed with 5,693,436 points.
Then comes another major Italian result:
II2S — 4,169,097 points — fifth DX.
Behind II2S were HI3LT, SP8R, RU1A and OM7M.
For European stations, therefore, CR6K and II2S occupied fourth and fifth place in the overall DX ranking, an excellent result against stations enjoying much more favorable geographical positions toward North America.
An exceptional Italian presence in Multi-Single
Perhaps the most striking Italian story of the 2026 ARRL DX Phone results comes from the Multioperator Single Transmitter High Power category.
The Top Five:
| Rank | Callsign | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | J62K | 6,039,900 |
| 2 | IP4X | 3,810,240 |
| 3 | IO6T | 3,619,980 |
| 4 | 4A7S | 3,063,264 |
| 5 | IO5O | 2,835,810 |
Three Italian stations appear in the first five positions worldwide.
That means IP4X, IO6T and IO5O finished second, third and fifth DX respectively.
For Italian contesting this is probably one of the most important collective results in the entire 2026 ARRL DX Phone Contest.
The advantage normally enjoyed by Caribbean and Central American stations in a contest based entirely on contacts with the United States and Canada makes the Italian performance even more noteworthy.
Italy also prominent in the single-band categories
Italian callsigns appear repeatedly throughout the DX Top Ten tables.
Among the most notable results:
40 metres
- IB8A (I8QLS) — 195,030 — 1st DX SO HP 40 m
- IQ9RG (IT9EQO) — 188,664 — 2nd DX SO Unlimited HP 40 m
20 metres
- IP4M (IK4MGP) — 321,714 — 2nd DX SO Unlimited HP
- IT9EWR — 66,861 — 6th SO HP
- IK4DCX — 65,331 — 7th SO HP
15 metres
- II9P (IZ8JAI) — 326,340 — 3rd DX SO Unlimited HP
- IO9A (IT9YVO) — 205,020 — 10th
- IO3X (IV3JCC) — 59,670 — 5th SO Low Power
- IQ8BB (IU8UUY) — 31,500 — 10th SO Low Power
80 metres
- IK1PMR — 12,870 — 2nd DX SO HP
- IT9IUP — 36,540 — 4th DX SO Unlimited HP
Even in QRP, Italy appears in the DX Top Ten: IK1BBC finished fifth in Single Operator QRP all-band with 7,560 points.
D4K dominates 10 metres
If there was one band that symbolized the propagation of the 2026 contest, it was certainly 10 metres.
The DX Single Operator High Power winner was D4K from Cape Verde, with a remarkable 645,807 points.
The rest of the podium:
- D4K — 645,807
- LT3E — 475,740
- KP3J — 397,590
ARRL also lists D4K as the sponsored plaque winner for DX Single Operator High Power, 10 Meters.
Cape Verde’s position between Europe and North America, combined with excellent 28 MHz propagation, once again proved extremely effective in an ARRL DX contest.
Youth and Limited Antenna overlays
ARRL continues to promote two overlays that are particularly interesting for the future of contesting:
Youth, for operators under 26, and Limited Antennas, intended for operators competing without major antenna systems.
One of the standout performances came from K6JO, operating N1DE from Maine. His 4,591,416 points placed N1DE second in the W/VE Single Operator High Power ranking while also producing the leading Youth result in that category.
On the DX side, JG1ZUY, operated by JJ1AHS, scored 634,800 points in Youth Single Operator High Power.
Italy also appears in the Youth/overlay table through II3C, operated by IU3UJX, with 17,628 points in Single Operator Low Power.
These overlays are an important part of the ARRL strategy: major contests need not only the superstations at the top of the leaderboard, but also new operators and stations with more modest antenna systems.
What the 2026 results tell us
The 2026 ARRL International DX Phone Contest can probably be remembered as a contest of contrasts.
On one side, the high bands were still exceptionally productive. 10 and 15 metres generated around 60% of all QSOs, and stations in favorable southern locations produced extraordinary scores.
On the other, participation fell to 3,822 submitted logs, well below both 2025 and the 2024 peak.
There is also a strong European story.
Despite the inherent geographical advantage enjoyed by Caribbean, Central American and northern South American stations when working W/VE, European stations remained extremely competitive — and Italy in particular produced one of its strongest collective showings in the final tables.
IO8V’s sixth place in DX Single Operator High Power, IP4X and IO6T taking second and third in Multi-Single, IO5O fifth in the same category, II2S fifth in Multi-Two, IB8A winning DX 40-metre High Power and IP4M finishing second in Unlimited 20 metres make the Italian presence impossible to overlook.
For European contesters, those results show that a well-engineered station, efficient band strategy and excellent operating can still compensate, at least in part, for geography.
Towards 2027: will the low bands return?
Perhaps the most interesting sentence in the official ARRL report concerns the future.
ARRL expects poorer high-band performance in 2027 and greater emphasis on 40, 80 and 160 metres as solar conditions evolve.
If that forecast is correct, the competitive balance of the ARRL DX Contest may begin to change.
Stations that have concentrated heavily on 10 and 15 metres during the solar maximum could once again need to pay particular attention to low-band antennas, receiving systems, noise reduction and overnight operating strategy.
The 2027 ARRL International DX Phone Contest will take place March 6–7, 2027.
After the spectacular high-band years of the current solar cycle, the next edition could mark the beginning of a very different phase of HF contesting.
Source: ARRL, 2026 ARRL International DX Phone Contest Results, Max Freedman N4ML, QST, September 2026, pp. 67–70; ARRL Contest Results Database.
2026 ARRL International DX Phone Contest – Full Results Database