Championship
The Championship division was contested from April 24 to May 10, 2009. Participants in this tournament were placed into groups of four with the top three teams in each group advancing to the qualifying round. Teams which finished last in the group were sent to the relegation round where the top bottom teams were relegated to the 2010 Division I tournament. Within the qualifying round teams where split into two groups of six with the top four advancing to the playoff round and the bottom two eliminated from advancing. The playoff round was a knockout stage towards the gold medal game. The Championship was played in Bern and Kloten, Switzerland. Russia won the gold medal game, defeating the Canada 2–1. While Austria and Hungary were relegated to Division I for 2010. After being out of the Championship division for 70 years Hungary was promoted only to be demoted again for the 2010 competition.
- Final standings
- Russia
- Canada
- Sweden
- United States
- Finland
- Czech Republic
- Latvia
- Belarus
- Switzerland
- Slovakia
- Norway
- France
- Denmark
- Austria — relegated to Division I for 2010
- Germany*
- Hungary — relegated to Division I for 2010
Read more about this topic: 2009 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships