There will be new winners of the SBCL Championship this season, and with no fewer than five new teams in the 10-strong line-up, it’s all set for an action-packed opening weekend. 

The first weekend of Championship action staged at Nottingham TTC this weekend will pan out without the hosts, who won the title last season and have been promoted to the Premier Division.

The division welcomes five new sides, three of which have never competed in the Championship prior to the 26/27 season. Debut seasons for National A2 champions Joola Plymouth, A2 runners-up Fusion II and Apex TTC will be exciting to see unfold. They will be joined by runaway champions of National A1, Archway Peterborough, and National A1 runners-up Allied Pharmacy, making this one of the strongest Championship line-ups for a number of years. 

Joola Plymouth were crowned champions of National A2 hosted at Morpeth TTC, two points ahead of their closest competitors Fusion. WTT commentator Joe Ratajczak finished with the highest percentage of the Joola Plymouth contingent with 81.25%. Homegrown stars of Dom Sussex, twins Leo Nguyen and Hugo Nguyen, could combine with the experience of vetean Paul Giles and new signing Olly Cornish, who rejoins his home club for their Championship debut, after helping last seasons champions, Nottingham TTC, lift the trophy.

Joola Plymouth’s closest rivals in National A2 will join them in this year’s Championship, Fusion II. The Bermondsey-based club featured a whopping nine players throughout the season, including many who are no strangers to the Premier Division – highlighting the club’s strength in depth and giving them a huge advantage, with the ability to field any player outside their top three ranked stars.

Japanese talent Rikuto Morota and double European Veteran champion Lorestas Trumpauskas went undefeated. They were supported by Premier Division regulars Robert Pelc and Josh Bruce, who played in 24 matches recording an impressive 87.5% win rate. An impressive return to the SBCL for former Premier star Mohammed Emran Hussain and Martynas Matuzevius who have spent time away from the sport, add to Fusion’s clear strength in depth which also includes SBCL player of the season 25/26 Frederic Wilke.

Runaway champions by a staggering 10 points in National A1, Archway Peterborough will be looking for a strong return to the Championship. They include former top 100 in the world ranked Jiaji Wu, who represents the Dominican Republic, leading the line as the highest ranked Championship player in 2026/27, after taking on legendary Timo Boll only four seasons ago in the German Bundesliga. The team will likely be without Romanian duo Mihai Nemaciuc and Andrei Flamind who are not currently registered to feature, however the club have added England No 1-rated Cadet Kai Lun Chow signed and ready to make his championship debut alongside familiar Senior 4* finalist Adam Jepson, and Romanian player Emir Culpedin available for selection. 

Allied Pharmacy came second in National A1 behind Archway. The North West side also had their own dominant force at No 1 throughout the season in the form of Taiwanese Sung Ming Cheng, a former Championship winner with Drumchapel Glasgow in 2022/23 season. The side have looked to strengthen in depth, with many new additions, including Championship regulars, Mircea Neagu, Joseph Marlor and Connor Whitehead, plus international experience in Johannes Riquet and Youssef Hassan and England youth talent Jake Davidson set to make his Championship debut, will likely all feature throughout the season. Former England top 10 Junior Rhys Davies and top 10 veteran Ritchie Venner are also registered as part of the Allied squad. 

Apex TTC based in South London, finished as champions in their National B division, showing their strength throughout the season with a star-studded squad. The team will make their Championship debut this weekend, and will be spearheaded by Israel Awolaja, Grantham 4* Restricted Singles champion, ranked 17 in the men’s open rankings, and 2022 Commonwealth Games athlete Jordan Wykes from Jersey. They combine with a team full of international experience including Bryan Kwan, George Downing and Josh Nashed and will take on BATTS II to get their campaign under way.

Of the teams who remain from last season’s Championship, SpinLab ABZ Finsbury are back after being a somewhat surprise package last season, with a strong squad from top to bottom they finished fourth in their debut season, and look set to challenge once again with many of their 25/26 squad registered to return, where they will face newcomers Allied Pharmacy in the opening round. 

BATTS II finished last season the righteous runners-up, however due to having their first team in the Premier Division, they are unable to be promoted. BATTS II boast a squad full of international experience including Luc Miller, former Home Nations senior gold medallist at No 10 on their club ranking list! The side can call upon England juniors past and present with Abraham Sellado, Josh Bennett, Ralph Pattison, Ethan Walsh and Jack Bennett all eligible to feature, despite some being likely to play in the Premier Division. They get their campaign under way with a huge battle against Apex. 

Ormesby II finished in sixth place on the Championship 25/26 ladder and the current Premier Division champion club will be hoping to get off to Championship success with a round one fixture against newly promoted Fusion II. With a familiar squad who have featured in recent years, Zac Greenhough is expected to lead his home side once again, with Graeme Barella, Josh Weatherby and Josh Harland all registered to return. 

Wymondham have competed at the top end of the Championship in recent seasons, but with a new look squad in the 25/26 season, the team fought to finish seventh and secured safety to return once more in 26/27. The team lead by the experienced Umair Mauthoor, Oleh Biletskyi, and Dan Ives combines with Charles Read Academy table tennis scholars and top Cadet names Ryan Holland and Zihan Lin. Wymondham start their campaign against newcomers Joola Plymouth and will be hoping to get off to winning ways. 

Urban TTC finished eighth last year, just surviving the drop on the final day of action. Urban have such an array of talent to select their squad from, including current England senior Joseph Hunter who could bring his experience from the World Team Table Tennis Championships 2026 to the team. They could call upon experienced seniors Gabriel Achampong, Alim Hirji, Niall Cameron or Gergely Urban as well as many other experienced names all registred for the club. Former England senior international and Commonwealth Games medallist Denise Payet, who now represents the Seychelles, could also feature throughout the season.

You can check out the league table, fixtures, full results and player averages here, on the British Clubs Leagues website. Follow all the British Clubs Leagues build up, and some special features on the BCL and Table Tennis England social media channels such as YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok throughout the season.