BBL SWITCHES LEAGUE, CUP FORMAT - Hoopsfix.com

BBL SWITCHES LEAGUE, CUP FORMAT

Next season’s BBL Championship will see teams play each other four times.

With confirmation that no new franchises will be added, the new campaign will begin in September, the league has confirmed, with a return to BBL Championship action from the outset, with each club now facing each other four times, two home and two away, playing 36 games across a 28-week league season.

The days of two-legged ties, decided on aggregate, are over for the Cup and Trophy.

The BBL Cup competition will once again be a knockout competition featuring all ten BBL teams. Those teams who placed 1st-6th in the 2021-22 league season will receive a bye into the Quarter Finals with seeds 1-4 receiving a guaranteed home date in the Quarter Finals.
The Semi-Finals will be an open draw. All rounds will be one-legged ties, as teams battle it out to make the final at Birmingham’s Utilita Arena for the final which takes place on Sunday 29th January.
The BBL Trophy will retain the same 16-team knockout bracket format, with the 10 BBL teams joining six invited non-BBL teams, who are to be announced in due course.
Those who made the Trophy Quarter Finals in the 2021-22 season will receive a guaranteed home tie in the First Round of the 2022-23 Trophy, with an open draw determining ties and seeding. All rounds will be one-legged ties.
The BBL Play-offs will retain the same format, with the top eight teams in the BBL Championship standings advancing to the Play-offs, despite some support to restore the best of three series piloted pre-Covid.
The BBL’s Chief Operating Officer, Andy Webb, said: “We’re really excited to be announcing the new format for the 2022-23 season. The changes will help fans stay across all of the action taking place in the BBL Championship, Cup and Trophy, with each competition given precedence across dedicated weekends throughout the season.
“We’re looking forward to finalising and announcing the full fixture calendar to supporters in the coming weeks as preparations for another thrilling season of action continue.”