Thirty-four nations from around the world will compete for a world title in the men\u2019s and women\u2019s singles at the 2026 World Bowls Champion of Champions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
cluBarham in New South Wales, Australia, will host the prestigious global event for the second consecutive year, with 32 men and 26 women competing at one of the premier clubs in New South Wales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The updated field will feature a total of 58 competitors, the most in the past four years, with one more nation taking part than 12 months ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The event brings together men and women who have all found their way to the pinnacle of their singles journey in their home countries \u2014 the best of the best among their peers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There is also extra incentive in the form of World Bowls Series (WBS) Platinum ranking points, with players ranked inside the top 10 on October 31, 2026, having the opportunity to secure a place at the WBS Finals in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from November 30 to December 5.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Champion of Champions is celebrating its 22nd anniversary, having first been staged at Moama, around 190 kilometres east of cluBarham, in 2003.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is a strong player field for the 2026 event, including 10 athletes who represented their nations at the 2026 Glasgow Commonwealth Games and will be looking to build on that momentum and keep bowls in the international spotlight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Headlining the men\u2019s field is World Bowls Series No. 3 Iain McLean of Scotland and No. 5 Izzat Shameer Dzulkeple of Malaysia, who was recently crowned men\u2019s singles silver medallist at the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
McLean is the highest-ranked player in the event and will be looking to regain the Champion of Champions title he won in 2014.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He arrives at cluBarham having also claimed the World Bowls Indoor Championship men\u2019s singles title just a few months ago and currently holds both the Bowls Scotland and Scottish Indoor Bowling Association singles titles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dzulkeple, meanwhile, is a former WBS No. 1 and was the silver medallist at the Champion of Champions in 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
India\u2019s Putul Sonowal, currently ranked No. 27, will also be making a strong bid for the title after winning men\u2019s singles gold at the Asia Lawn Bowls Championship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The women\u2019s line-up features 2023 Champion of Champions winner Anne Nunes of the United States, currently ranked No. 38, who also finished runner-up in 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hong Kong, China\u2019s Helen Cheung is the highest-ranked woman in the field at No. 8, while New Zealand\u2019s Mandy Boyd, ranked No. 29, arrives as the current national singles and pairs champion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Malta\u2019s Rebecca Rixon, winner of the 2024 World Bowls Junior Indoor Championship, is also part of the field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
England\u2019s Stef Branfield returns to the event after competing in the 2024 edition and the 2025 WBS Finals. Branfield is a World Bowls and Commonwealth Games medallist as well as an English national champion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Canada\u2019s Pat Bird and Joanna Cooper also arrive with a notable achievement behind them, with both having won their national singles titles in both the indoor and outdoor codes in the same season \u2014 a rare feat made even more remarkable by the fact they are husband and wife.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ireland\u2019s David Copeland and Norfolk Island\u2019s Shae Wilson claimed the men\u2019s and women\u2019s Champion of Champions titles respectively in 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ireland\u2019s Richard Leonard will represent the defending men\u2019s champion nation this year, while Norfolk Island will be represented in the women\u2019s event by Debra Adams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Australia, hosting the Champion of Champions for the 10th time, will be represented by Max Kleinig and Natalie Lewis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Across the history of the event, 42 Champion of Champions titles have been won by players representing 14 different countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Australia holds the bragging rights for the most titles, with seven men\u2019s champions and four women\u2019s champions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
New Zealand sits second with eight titles \u2014 three men and five women \u2014 while England is third with four, made up of three men\u2019s champions and one women\u2019s champion.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Thirty-four nations from around the world will compete for a world title in the men\u2019s and women\u2019s singles<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16373,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[449],"class_list":["post-16372","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","tag-lawn-bowls"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t