The World Bowls Series is excited to announce the 2026 WBS Finals will be held in Malaysia.
It will be the second edition of the season-ending, pinnacle event on the WBS calendar. The first WBS Finals were held in cluBarham, New South Wales, Australia, last December when Gary Kelly (Northern Ireland), and Dawn Hayman (Australia), were crowed the inaugural WBS Finals Champions.
This year, 24 top ranked bowlers from around the globe will be heading to the famous Bukit Kiara stadium in Malaysia – proud hosts of the 1988 Commonwealth Games and more recently the inaugural World Cup in 2025 when Malaysia themselves celebrated success as the best performing nation.
The President of Bowls Malaysia, Datuk Awalan Abdul Aziz, is excited about the event being held in their nation, “Hosting the 2026 World Bowls Series Finals is a great honour for Bowls Malaysia. We sincerely appreciate the confidence shown by World Bowls and value the opportunity to strengthen our partnership through this event. Together, we will deliver an outstanding championship while sharing the warmth and hospitality of Malaysia with the international bowls community.”
The WBS Finals showcase is a Platinum ranked WBS event and will feature a star-studded line-up of international players who have excelled in WBS ranked events over the past two years.
Neil Dalrymple, World Bowls CEO, said, “The World Bowls Series Finals represents the pinnacle of our global rankings system, bringing together the very best players from across the sport to compete for the ultimate year-ending honours.
We are delighted to take the 2026 Finals to Malaysia, a nation with a proud bowls history, outstanding facilities and a proven ability to host world-class international events. The success of the recent World Cup in Kuala Lumpur gives us great confidence that players, officials and fans will enjoy an exceptional experience. We look forward to partnering with Bowls Malaysia to showcase our sport on the global stage and crown the 2026 World No. 1 male and female players.”
Event Overview
The WBS Finals competition days are from 2nd to 4th December 2026 at the host venue of Arena Lawn Bowls, Kompleks Sukan Negara, Bukit Kiara, Kuala Lumpur.
The WBS Finals event has Platinum rankings status on the WBS calendar and will feature the twelve highest ranked female and male bowlers available from the WBS Rankings as of 31st October 2026.
Event Dates
- Monday 30th November: Initial Practice and Opening Ceremony / Welcome Dinner
- Tuesday 1st December: Official Practice Day and Pro-Am/Community Event
- Wednesday 2nd to Friday 4th December: Competition Days
- Saturday 5th December: Departure Day
Structure and Format of the WBS Finals
- 12 female and 12 male players will qualify based on WBS Rankings as of 31st October 2026.
- Players will be seeded into two sections of six players, with top place getters progressing to Quarter Finals. All players will play a minimum of five games.
- Format is two sets with a tie-break if sets are equal.
- Broadcast/streaming coverage will occur each day of play.
At the conclusion of the event, one female and one male bowler will be crowned as the WBS Finals champions and the year-ending World No. 1 players for 2026 will be announced.
About the WBS Rankings
The World Bowls Series, launched in 2024, is the official year-long calendar of sanctioned events connecting to the official world rankings. It is a joint venture between World Bowls and Tier 5 Ventures. The sanctioned events occur across the globe and feature a mixture of existing and new events.
The 2026 calendar has a record 43 sanctioned events. Each WBS event belongs to a different classification having different ranking points based on the size, location, and stature it presents for the sport.
The purpose of WBS is to build the profile and brand of bowls, showcase the best players in the game and increase their earnings potential, accelerate the legitimacy of the sport on the global stage and launch world rankings that will help create clarity and interest in the sport of bowls.
See World Bowls Series website www.worldbowlsseries.com for more information.
For more information regarding the World Bowls Series, contact: Chris Wallace, World Bowls Series Manager, events@worldbowls.com.
READ MORE ABOUT THE CURRENT RANKING LIST:
https://worldbowlsseries.com/saroji-malaysias-first-wbs-womens-no-1/
READ MORE ABOUT THE 2025 FINALS:
