The countdown is on, the teams are finalising their line-ups and it’s all systems go for the return of the SBCL Premier Division – and two new teams have earned their right to take on the best of British.

With home-grown stars sharing the billing with quality overseas imports, it promises to be a pulsating spectacle at BATTS TTC over the weekend of 26-27 September.

The newcomers ready to have a crack at the established order are Nottingham TTC and Kingsway TTC. Nottingham won the Championship division with an unbeaten record last season, while Kingsway finished third under the name DHS Hurricane – second-placed BATTS II could not be promoted as their firsts are already in the Premier Division.

Nottingham and Kingsway join the current reigning champions Ormesby, hosts BATTS, South London side Fusion, Northern Irish Ormeau TTC and North Ayrshire TTC, the latter solely representing Scotland this season due to the relegation of Drumchapel Glasgow. With two-time recent champions Brighton withdrawing, eighth-placed side eBaTT will be back to show why they deserve their Premier spot in 26/27. 

The opening weekend at BATTS, located in Harlow, is free to spectators as the teams start their campaigns to compete for the ultimate title of British champions. Let’s take a look at the squads.

Meet the teams

We start by taking a look at the Championship victors in the 25/26 season, Nottingham TTC. The team have a relatively unchanged side heading into the Premier Division with all but one of the Championship side returning, including Maxim Stevens, James Hobson, Adam Fuzes and brothers Adam and Joseph Dennison. They will be without the impressive Olly Cornish, who has signed for home club Joola Plymouth in the Championship.

Nottingham will play host to the third instalment of the 26/27 Premier Division but will be hoping to have points on the board long before the third weekend. They face a baptism of fire on day one, where they meet usual title contenders BATTS I in their opening encounter, plus a battle against current champions Ormesby I. Sunday’s fixtures will see the team take on fellow newcomers DHS Hurricane Kingsway and eBaTT. 

DHS Hurricane Kingsway Table Tennis Club 

The other newcomers to the Premier Division – and the club’s first appearance at this level comes as a result of finishing third in the 25/26 Championship. The club had an impressive season last time out, thanks to the signing of eye-catching defender Joe Sawyer, who will lead the team once again. He is joined by Gary Dodd of Guernsey who has been away from the BCL in recent years, but is not stranger to the Premier Division. Max Hedbom from Sweden is Kingsway’s latest recruit and could bring vital international experience to help the side compete. Matthew Dodds and Dan O’Connell both competed in the Championship last season and are eligible to feature on weekend one of the Premier Division where the club face last seasons champions, Ormesby, in the very first round – what a way to start their first Premier Division campaign. 

Ormesby TTC

Last season’s champions Ormesby remain largely unchanged, as three of the four players who featured last season are expected to compete once again for the North East side. They could be one of the favourites heading into the season, having the formidable Jose Enio Mendes of Portugal in their ranks, who last season featured at No 3 on the team sheet, winning 17/18 matches and only losing out to Callum Evans in the very last match of the season when the league title was secured.

Current England No 6, David McBeath, will lead the club once again, and will be supported by Ben Piggott, fresh from clinching a bronze medal at the Commonwealth Championships in India. Ormesby start their season with fixtures against the two newly promoted teams, followed by clashes with eBaTT and North Ayrshire on Sunday 27 September. 

North Ayrshire TTC 

Flying the flag for Scotland, the Saltcoats-based side will host weekend two of the 26/27 season, but first the team will be looking to get off to a flying start as they face Fusion I, in a repeat of the opening fixture of the 2025/26 season, where the Scottish side lost out 4-3 on home soil. North Ayrshire could call upon the services of many players with international experience, all of whom featured at some stage last season; including home-grown talent Martin Johnson, who has competed at European Championships for Scotland. Chris Main also could represent his home club, Swedish talents Viktor Gorman and Hugo Torngren are both registered and eligible, as is GB Paralympic medallist Billy Shilton and Dutch player Lode Hulshof. New signing Joe Mulhern transfers from relegated Scottish side, Drumchapel Glasgow, to remain competing in the Premier Division. 

Fusion TTC 

South London based side Fusion are back for another year competing in the Premier Division with an unchanged squad list to the 25/26 season where the team finished fifth, level on points with fourth-placed Ormeau, who had a better ‘sets for’ record. Father and son duo Lorestas and Larry Trumpauskas combined with 2025 & 2026 Sussex Senior 4* and recent Jamaican national champion, Shaquille Webb-Dixon, make up Fusion’s top three ranked players. Rikuto Morota, Joshua Bruce and Robert Pelc, who featured last season, could also play a part in their campaign once more. 

Ormeau TTC

Northern Irish club Ormeau are ready to challenge once more after a top-four finish last season, despite relegation potentially looming earlier on in the season before the signing of former World Championship medallist Par Gerell of Sweden, who won 12/12 singles including a 3-1 victory over Paul Drinkhall. Ormeau have once again acquired the talent of Spaniard Oriol Monzo who has represented the club several times, including in the 2022/23 season when they were crowned champions. International star Sophie Earley is also named to feature for the club, Earley who competes at the highest level in France for the same club as the Lebrun brothers, Alliance Nîmes-Montpellier TT. Northern Irish Owen Cathcart could return to British table tennis after a number of years training and competing in Sweden, as the No 1 rated player on the Ormeau squad list. 

eBaTT 

eBaTT had a rollercoaster season on and off the table with the eBaTT full-time centre in North London burning down in a devastating blaze. The club have bounced back in style with a new centre, and will be hoping to bouce back on the table too, aiming for redemption in the 26/27 season after finishing eithth last time out. eBaTT have this year brought in the help of home-grown junior talent Max Radiven, who represented England at the European Youth Championships 2026, and Kacper Piwowar, formerly ranked in Europe’s top 10 for the Cadet category. Sussex 4* Band 1 champion Nahom Asgedom is currently ranked No 1 on the clubs ranking list. Sammy Kaye and Leon Vlasov, son of legend Grigory Vlasov, could all feature in their round one clash with Ormeau next weekend. 

BATTS 

The hosts for the opening weekend have their own England junior international talents to call upon in the form of current U21 national champion Isaac Kingham and Abraham Sellado, who were both apart of the England European Youth Championships squad. BATTS as normal have a long list of talent that are expected to feature throughout the duration of the season including plenty of stars with international flair – Chinese left-hander Haotian Chen, French professional player Alexis Douin – the club’s No 1 – and Edouard Valenet, who represents the Phillppines National team and is currently ranked 862 in the world. Star of Marty Supreme, Josh Bennett, could also feature on weekend one hosted at BATTS, when the club take on Nottingham followed by a ‘battle of the batts’ in round two when they face eBaTT.