Good evening everyone.

As you know, earlier today, we hosted the results show presentation for this year’s contest, returning to a format that has been sorely missed for the last couple years! It was a blast to host, and we’re hoping to refine the format further for next year and beyond. As promised, here are the results in text form for ease of viewing, and the award banners can be found here.

Unfortunately, this year has proven particularly unkind to the schedules of many of our Judges and they need an extension to finish their evaluations. As such, we will be postponing evaluation releases and the feedback form until November 15th. We apologize for the inconvenience, and we will be changing the way we assign entries to Judges going forward to ensure we are not providing them with an unreasonable workload, as the traditional approach to entry assignment has unfortunately tended toward in recent years.

Community Pick Podium Trophies

ROM Hack Category

Sonic Trophy (1st Place) - “The Green Hill 8” by Selbi
Tails Trophy (2nd Place) - “Sonic Neon: The Trial” by Chainspike
Knuckles Trophy (3rd Place) - “Mach The Porcupine SHC 2026 DEMO” by MaxiS2

Modern 2D Category

Sonic Trophy (1st Place) - “Amy Galore Plus” by Team Galore
Tails Trophy (2nd Place) - “The Mystic Cave Zone Remake” by Knux Team
Knuckles Trophy (3rd Place) - “Sonic 3 A.I.R. D.A. Garden Edition” by Thorn & D.A. Garden

3D Category

Sonic Trophy (1st Place) - “Unwiished Level - SHC DEMO” by Sous-Titrer
Tails Trophy (2nd Place) - “2005 Stage Pack” by SeasideRanger
Knuckles Trophy (3rd Place) - “Meme Maker 2” by Speeps

Judges’ Pick Podium Trophies

ROM Hack Category

Vector Trophy (1st Place) - “The Green Hill 8” by Selbi
Espio Trophy (2nd Place) - “Sonic Neon: The Trial” by Chainspike
Charmy Trophy (3rd Place) - “Falco Lombardi in South Island” by TomatoWave_0

Modern 2D Category

Vector Trophy (1st Place) - “Sonic Mania Breakout (SHC26 Showcase)” by Jamesith
Espio Trophy (2nd Place) - Two-way Tie

• “Sonic 3 A.I.R. D.A. Garden Edition” by Thorn & D.A. Garden
• “Sonic 3 Goodliest Edition” by CancerEdition

3D Category

Vector Trophy (1st Place) - “Generations Project Demo” by GensProjectTeam
Espio Trophy (2nd Place) - “Unwiished Level - SHC DEMO” by Sous-Titrer
Charmy Trophy (3rd Place) - “Shadow Generations Expanded” by Unleash

Community-Awarded Trophies

Quartz Quadrant Trophy - Best Visuals

ROM Hack - “Sonic Neon: The Trial” by Chainspike
Modern 2D - “The Mystic Cave Zone Remake” by Knux Team
3D - “Generations Project Demo” by GensProjectTeam

D.A. Garden Trophy - Best Audio

ROM Hack - “Sonic Neon: The Trial” by Chainspike
Modern 2D - “Amy Galore Plus” by Team Galore
3D - “Unwiished Level - SHC DEMO” by Sous-Titrer

Chemical Plant Trophy - Best Level Design

ROM Hack - “Sonic Neon: The Trial” by Chainspike
Modern 2D - “Sonic 3 A.I.R. D.A. Garden Edition” by Thorn & D.A. Garden
3D - “Advanced Challenge Acts 2.0 - Space Colony ARK Demo” by MatiosDX

Storybook Trophy - Best Narrative Execution

ROM Hack - “Sonic Neon: The Trial” by Chainspike
Modern 2D - “Sonic 3 Goodliest Edition” by CancerEdition
3D - “Greenflower Zone” by HedgeWedge

Blaze Trophy - Most Potential

ROM Hack - “Sonic Neon: The Trial” by Chainspike
Modern 2D - “Sonic New Time Demo SHC2026” by Rene_SF
3D - “Unwiished Level - SHC DEMO” by Sous-Titrer

Silver Trophy - Most Improved

ROM Hack - “Sonic Scorched Quest: Reheated (SHC2022 Unreleased)” by Painto
Modern 2D - “Amy Galore Plus” by Team Galore

Metal Sonic Trophy - Most Innovative

ROM Hack - “The Green Hill 8” by Selbi
Modern 2D - “Sonic Mania Breakout (SHC26 Showcase)” by Jamesith
3D - “Meme Maker 2” by Speeps

Professor Pickle Trophy - Most Entertaining

ROM Hack - “The Green Hill 8” by Selbi
Modern 2D - “Sonic 3 Goodliest Edition” by CancerEdition
3D - “Meme Maker 2” by Speeps

Polygon Jim Trophy - Most "WTF?!"

ROM Hack - “I Wanna Be The Hedgehog SHC 2026 Version” by ArcaniaCQ
Modern 2D - “Sonic 3 Goodliest Edition” by CancerEdition
3D - “Meme Maker 2” by Speeps

Studiopolis Trophy - Best as Voted by Media Panel

ROM Hack - “Project: Mushroom-MD” by DeltaW
Modern 2D - Two-way Tie

• “Sonic 3 A.I.R. D.A. Garden Edition” by Thorn & D.A. Garden
• “Sonic Mania Breakout (SHC26 Showcase)” by Jamesith

3D - Three-way Tie

• “Advanced Challenge Acts 2.0 - Space Colony ARK Demo” by MatiosDX
• “Unwiished Level - SHC DEMO” by Sous-Titrer
• “Shadow Generations Expanded” by Unleash

Judge-Awarded Medals

ROM Hack Category

“Project: Mushroom-MD” by DeltaW

• Hexadecimal Medal - Entry represents a technical achievement
• Hidden Palace Medal - An unexpected entry of exceptional quality
• Emerl Medal - Entry has excellent and unique character implementation
• Mushroom Kingdom Medal - Entry contains pesky plumbers
• Yuji Naka Medal - Entry feels... illegal, somehow…

“Sonic 3 Unlocked (SHC 2026 Demo)” by Liliam (they/them)

• Hexadecimal Medal - Entry represents a technical achievement
• Hidden Palace Medal - An unexpected entry of exceptional quality
• Next Gen Medal - Entry contains one or more insane or entertaining glitches

“Falco Lombardi in South Island” by TomatoWave_0

• Emerl Medal - Entry has excellent and unique character implementation
• Next Gen Medal - Entry contains one or more insane or entertaining glitches

“Sonic Neon: The Trial” by Chainspike

• Hexadecimal Medal - Entry represents a technical achievement
• Visual Mode Medal - Entry features excellent UI and presentation

“The Green Hill 8” by Selbi

• Casino Night Medal - Entry is highly replayable and addictive
• Hidden Palace Medal - An unexpected entry of exceptional quality

“Marble Zone in Sonic 1 SMS” by Metal Shadow Productions

• Spinball Medal - An excellent entry based on a game not commonly modified
• Hidden Palace Medal - An unexpected entry of exceptional quality

“Sonic 1 Level Creator - Tech Demo” by RobiWanKenobi

• Hexadecimal Medal - Entry represents a technical achievement

Modern 2D Category

“Sonic Mania Breakout (SHC26 Showcase)” by Jamesith

• Hexadecimal Medal - Entry represents a technical achievement
• Visual Mode Medal - Entry features excellent UI and presentation
• Casino Night Medal - Entry is highly replayable and addictive
• Radiant Emerald Medal - Entry has excellent special stages or alternative gameplay design

“Tropical Wind” by Saenli772

• Casino Night Medal - Entry is highly replayable and addictive
• Motobug Medal - Entry has excellent enemy design

“Marble Garden: Fig Branch” by FgThRngd

• EggRobo Medal - Entry has excellent boss fights

“Sonic 3 Goodliest Edition” by CancerEdition

• EggRobo Medal - Entry has excellent boss fights

3D Category

“Greenflower Zone” by HedgeWedge

• Hidden Palace Medal - An unexpected entry of exceptional quality
• Big the Cat Medal - Entry pays respects to Big the Cat

“Shadow Generations Expanded” by Unleash

• Mania Medal - Entry features fresh takes on old concepts