The 2026 National Bowls Finals had everything.
We witnessed historic moments, momentous highs and heart-breaking near misses.
The players, umpires, volunteers and spectators endured weather that flipped from intense heat to torrential rain.
We even bore witness to a solar eclipse.
One thing that remained consistent with years past however, was the quality of bowls on show.
Join us as we look back at 19 days of non-stop bowls action from the latest instalment of the National Bowls Finals.
A Year of History Makers
The National Bowls Finals Roll of Honour stretches back over 120 years, and every name on that list has been etched into bowls history forever.
But there are some names, some achievements, that stand out among the crowd.
It could be argued that every year, something special occurs; 2026 was no exception.
Sunday 23 August brought the first unprecedented event of the Finals, which saw two teams from the same club battle for the Men’s Fours title.
Cheltenham BC made National Finals history when they clean swept the Men’s Fours competition and had eight members on the green in the final.
The game itself ended 20-5 to the four consisting of Louis Hodges, Nige Cansdale, Lee Williamson and Finley Williamson, however the one-sided match did not dampen the excitement around Victoria Park, as spectators realised they were witnessing bowls history being made.
The following week showcased another first, as Huntingdonshire’s Tristan Morton became the first player to win the Men’s Singles, Pairs, Triples, Fours and Two Bowl Singles.
Tristan defeated Leicestershire’s Martin Allsopp – father of previous Singles runner-up Darren Allsopp – 21-13 in a wet and windy final, collapsing to his knees with relief at the winning moment.
The Parkway bowler’s glittering career travels back to his first Pairs win in 2010, and he has since claimed national titles in 2012 (Two Bowl), 2017 (Triples), 2022 (Fours) and 2024 (Pairs again).
The Singles title is no longer the one that got away.
24 hours after Tristan’s historic victory, 2026 Women’s Singles Champion, Maddie Burgess, became only the second woman to add a Women’s Champion of Champions title to her Singles triumph in the same year.
Maddie, who transferred from Worcestershire to Leicestershire last year, defeated Kent’s Amy Banes 21-15 in the final, looking to the sky after the match in disbelief at her achievement.
The British Bowls U25 International now sits alongside World Bowls Hall-of-Famer, Amy Pharaoh, as the only two women to have achieved both prestigious titles in the same Finals.
In a lovely moment, Amy sent Maddie a congratulatory message for her and her family to keep.
You can see that moment and much more by following us on our social media platforms.
Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn
Men’s Competitions | Round-Up
The Men’s competitions at this year’s National Bowls Finals were as hotly contested as ever, with a mix of dominant victories and finals that went down to the last bowl.
As previously mentioned, Tristan Morton’s historic victory in the Men’s Singles was perhaps the highlight of the final week, his journey through the rounds seeing him best players such as Dan Thornhill, Jamie Chestney and Andrew Walters.
Wiltshire’s Kyle Anderson and Scott Edwards won the Men’s Pairs title, 25-11 over Lincolnshire’s Gary Morris and Mathew Whyers.
Kyle and Scott played superbly in the final, but nearly missed out after coming back from the brink in the quarters to win 16-15.
Emotions were high in the Men’s Triples final, as Adam Brooks, Tim Phillips and Mark Foster from Cornwall bested Berkshire’s David Murray, Jake Webster and Mikey Titcombe 20-9 to win a title that clearly meant s lot to the county as well as the players.
The Men’s Fours, as previously noted, was an all-Gloucestershire affair, with two teams from Cheltenham making history to dominate the competition and claim both gold and silver medals.
Chris Brereton took the first men’s trophy of this year’s Finals, the Warwickshire man defeating Kent’s Joe Sanford 15-14 in a back-and-forth battle which set a brilliant precedent for the competitions to come.
Finally, in a Men’s Champion of Champions final disturbed by torrential rain, Buckinghamshire’s Tom McGuinness defeated Mark Perrott 21-16 in a high-quality game, to win his first individual national title.
Women’s Competitions | Round-Up
Maddie Burgess was the name on everyone’s lips during the final week of the Finals, as she won the Women’s Singles, Women’s Champion of Champions and Johns Trophy titles in consecutive days.
Maddie opened her account with a 21-10 victory over Cumbria’s Vicky Cook, after seeing off an impressive list of names including Hayley Milligan, Emily Kernick, U18 international player Daria Rampelt and defending champion, Stef Branfield.
The Kingscroft player then got past Sophie Tolchard in the semi-final of the Champ of Champs before her victory over Amy Banes sealed the title.
Prior to Maddie’s unbelievable run, Junior Women’s Singles finalist Jorja Jackson and her partner Michelle Coleman saw off the challenge of Cumbrians Rachel Forster and (once again) Vicky Cook, winning the Women’s Pairs for Huntingdonshire, 21-8.
Surrey triumphed over Oxfordshire in the Women’s Triples, with two strong teams putting on a show for the fans in what was possibly the best final across all 19 days.
Oxfordshire’s Katherine Hawes-Watts, Morgan Merryweather and Lorraine Kuhler looked to have sealed the win, but Debbie Souter, skipping her team of Yaz Hasan and Elizabeth Anderson, drew a lovely final shot to take two and win the game 19-18.
In another close final, the Dorset four of Karen Hofen, Julie Leake, Millie Tuck and Bridget Hodder beat Warwickshire’s Michelle Meadowcroft, Jacqui Ashley, Emily Kernick and Kirsty Richards to win the Women’s Fours title.
The match was end-to-end throughout, but a couple of brilliant shots down the stretch from Bridget set Dorset apart to win 15-13.
Despite the loss, the Women’s Fours wasn’t Emily Kernick’s first final of the 2026 Nationals, as she claimed the first trophy of the event, winning the Two Bowl Singles in scorching conditions against Katherine Hawes-Watts, 18-4.
Some of Our Favourites
Club and County Competitions | Round-Up
The 19 days concluded in classic style and with raucous energy, as the Middleton Cup and Johns Trophy titles were decided.
2025 saw Devon do the double, however no appearance in the Middleton and a semi-final loss in the Johns ensured there would be a new name on both trophies for 2026.
The Middleton final came down to a clash between last year’s runners up Lincolnshire and Buckinghamshire, who were appearing in their first final since 1958.
A great start by Buckinghamshire saw them leading by double-figures at one point, but the Finals experience that Lincolnshire possess told and they shot to an eventual 20-point lead, winning 104-84 with two ends remaining.
The Johns saw regular finalists Surrey taking on Leicestershire, who hadn’t lifted the trophy since 1993.
The match was fiercely contested and close throughout, with the result still in the balance right down to the final couple of ends.
A couple of big shots from Leicestershire in the dying moments saw them erupt in celebration, as they defeated their southern rivals 101-92, handing Surrey their fourth loss in the last four Johns Trophy finals they’ve played in.
Leicestershire also retained their title in the Balcomb Trophy, winning a thriller, 43-42 against a strong Huntingdonshire team awash with talent.
The Walker Cup also saw a repeat winner, as Devon defended their title against Hampshire thanks largely to a brilliant performance in the Fours, eventually winning 48-38.
Warwickshire regained the title they had won in 2024, defeating Cornwall in the White Rose Trophy final, 23-16.
The Amy Rose Bowl saw Surrey prevent Leicestershire from claiming three County titles this year, beating them 27-15 after a very strong performance.
Finally, in the Pegasus Homes Over-60 Mixed Inter-County Championship, Lincolnshire sealed the win, besting Devon by 100 shots to 89 in a game where many of the rinks were decided by just a few shots.
The Men’s Top Club saw a different name than Gerrards Cross on the trophy for the first time in three years, as Parkway BC defeated the ever-present Cheltenham BC 3-2 in the final, winning in the Pairs, Triples and Fours.
Royal Leamington Spa BC were able to retain the Women’s Top Club crown, beating Cleethorpes in fairly comprehensive fashion, 4-0 and by 84 shots to 37.
Gosforth ‘B’ team from Northumberland took the Club Two Fours title, getting the better of Worcester ‘A’ 39-28. a 28-10 victory on the second rink proving decisive.
And in the Pegasus Homes Over-60s Mixed Two Fours (Tony Allcock Trophy), Wellingborough ‘A’ from Northamptonshire overcame Taunton from Somerset 40-30.
Junior and Senior Competitions | Round-Up
The Junior Singles was all about Gloucestershire, as Finley Williamson and Hannah Smith (both from the county) won against Cornwall’s David Morrison and Huntingdonshire’s Jorja Jackson respectively.
In the Men’s Junior Pairs, Suffolk’s Ryan Hard and Joe Sims saw a childhood of hard work and camaraderie pay off as they defeated Hunts’ Ollie Jeapes and Mack May 21-13 to win the title.
The Women’s Junior Pairs competition saw Maddie Burgess actually lose a final, defeated with her partner Victoria Staples after a brilliant performance from Somerset’s Felicity Sheldrake and Madi King, the latter pair winning 17-14 in a close one.
The previously mentioned Ollie Jeapes showed his precocious talent to retain the title in the Boys’ U17 Singles, beating the equally promising Louie Hodges in the final, 21-13.
Durham’s Sophie Wood drew three shots in the final end to best Felicity Sheldrake in the Girls’ U17 Singles, taking the title 21-20 in an absolute epic that had the crowd on the edge until the last delivery.
The team of Phil Birch, Keith Wooding, Mark Ireland and Graham Ashby took the title for Warwickshire in the Men’s Senior Fours, winning 13-12 against Durham in a low-scoring game which finished 13-12 after 18 ends.
The Women’s Senior Fours wasn’t quite as close, as Surrey’s Elizabeth Anderson, Kate Capon, Shan Maylin and Debbie Souter sealed victory with a 20-10 score line over Sussex.
In the Pegasus Homes Men’s Over-60s Singles, Wiltshire’s Alan George, who has only been bowling for five years, won a brilliant contest against Andrew Bird of Lincolnshire, 21-20 after a long game in the heat.
The Women’s competition was won by Northamptonshire’s Alison Dring, 21-14 over Sue Allen of Yorkshire.
The Pegasus Homes Over-60s Pairs saw wins for John Keat and Chrisl Daniels of Hampshire and Helen Jones and Doreen De Silva of Sussex, beating their opponents by score lines of 21-10 and 23-13 respectively.
Mixed/Open Competitions | Round-Up
We move on to the Mixed Pairs, which saw the combination of Elaine Score and Ed Morris storm to Essex’s only title of the 2026 Finals, winning 20-4 over Kate Capon and Richard Cushen of Surrey.
In the Mixed Fours, Cheltenham reigned supreme yet again, their team of Hannah Smith, Iona Bird, James Fitzgerald and Tom Homes proving too strong for Kylie, Kelly, Ian and Barry Jenkins from Knaphill in Surrey.
A tight 15-12 victory for Ewan Mason and Keith Mason in the Family Pairs saw them take the title after being pushed all the way by Luke and Karl Jameson.
And in the Foundation Pairs, Louie Hodges retained the title that he won with his brother, Josh, the year before, making it to the final with Jack Speller before an unfortunate schedule clash saw Dylan Williamson sub in with Speller.
Williamson slotted in perfectly and the pair defeated Stephen Elsbury and Malcolm Lusk 2 sets to nil.
Para Competitions | Round-Up
Regular National Bowls Finals competitor Mike McDonagh took the win in the Para Open Singles, besting Alan Lambourne 21-17 in a final that was brilliant to watch from start to finish.
Equally as entertaining was the Para Pairs final, as Chris Bell and David Houghton managed to cling on to a 20-19 win despite being forced to an extra end by an inspiring comeback from Rhys Lewis and Aaron Langley.
Thank you to Our Amazing Umpires and Volunteers
Looking Back
For a detailed look at the first two weeks of the National Bowls Finals, click the links below:
2026 National Bowls Finals | Week One Report
2026 National Bowls Finals | Week Two Report
The official live streaming of the 2026 National Bowls Finals ran from Sunday 23 August through to Saturday 29 August.
Sign up using the link below to watch 21 enthralling matches from start to end.
Want to see the world’s best battle it out for a chance to claim the world title? Join us for the once in a generation opportunity as the World Bowls Championship returns to England for the first time in over 20 years. Tickets are now on sale. Click the link below to purchase yours:
Inspired by our National Champions to get on the green? It’s easy using our Club Finder, Play-Bowls.com. Just pop your postcode in, find your nearest clubs and book a session on the green. It could be your first step to catching the bowls bug.