By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
The Basketball Champions League has unveiled the draw criteria for its eleventh season, outlining the path for 54 teams toward the championship.
After tipping off the 2026–27 campaign with the Qualification Rounds, the Regular Season action is scheduled to commence on October 6.
Additional details were shared on Monday.
Per the press release: “A total of 54 teams will turn their attention to the Patrick Baumann House of Basketball on Wednesday, all set for the draw for the 11th season of the Basketball Champions League, powered by Ameresco SUNEL.
Thirty (30) of those teams are directly qualified for the Regular Season (based on sporting criteria), and two (2) teams will be joining through the Qualification Round Tournaments, where twenty-four (24) teams are fighting for their chance to advance.
The draw ceremony for the Regular Season groups and the Qualification Round tournaments will be livestreamed on the official BCL YouTube channel.
Twenty-four (24) teams will compete in two (2) Qualification Round Tournaments, one of which belongs to the champions and finalists of the countries not represented in the Regular Season, while the other includes the rest of the teams that are vying for qualification.
The two Qualification Round tournaments will take place on September 14 to 20, 2026. The detailed game schedule, as well as the venue, will be announced later in July.
The teams in the Qualification Round tournaments are seeded as follows:
Qualification Round Tournaments 1
Pot 1: Fribourg Olympic (SUI), Patrioti Levice (SVK)
Pot 2: Bakken Bears Aarhus (DEN), CSM CSU Raiffeisen Oradea (ROU)
Pot 3: Landstede Hammers (NED), Petrolina AEK Larnaca (CYP)
Pot 4: Batumi 2010 (GEO), Salon Vilpas (FIN)
Qualification Round Tournament 2
Pot 1: Fitness First Wurzburg Baskets (GER), Promitheas Patras BC (GRE), SL Benfica (POR), VEF Riga (LAT)
Pot 2: BK Opava (CZE), Manisa Basket (TUR), RASTA Vechta (GER), Rio Breogan (ESP)
Pot 3: Dziki Warszawa (POL), Kolossos H Hotels BC (GRE), Rilski Sportist (BUL), Yukatel Denizli Basket (TUR)
Pot 4: BC Vienna (AUT), Landau Lions (AZE), Lions de Geneve (SUI), Manchester Basketball (GBR)
Both Qualification Round Tournaments will be played in single-game elimination format, with QRT1 starting from the Quarter-Finals, and QRT2 from the Round of 16.
The teams from Pot 1 will face teams from Pot 4, while teams in Pot 2 will be up against teams from Pot 3.
The two Qualification Round Tournaments winners will advance to the Regular Season.
Regular Season
The Regular Season will feature eight groups of four teams.
For the purpose of the draw, the thirty (30) directly qualified teams and the two (2) Qualification Round tournaments winners will be divided into four (4) pots of eight (8) teams each.
The pots are based on the BCL Club Rankings and the BCL Country Rankings.
The Regular Season teams are seeded as follows:
Pot 1: AEK BC (GRE), Galatasaray MCT Technic (TUR), Hapoel Holon (ISR), Rytas Vilnius (LTU), Slavia Praha ERA NBK (CZE), Telekom Baskets Bonn (GER), UCAM Murcia (ESP), Unicaja (ESP)
Pot 2: ALBA BERLIN (GER), Asisa Joventut (ESP), Cholet Basket (FRA), Falco KC Szombathely (HUN), Nanterre 92 (FRA), Pallacanestro Reggiana (ITA), Peristeri Betsson (GRE), SIG Strasbourg (FRA)
Pot 3: BC Juventus Utena (LTU), Bnei Penlink Herzliya (ISR), Igokea m:tel (BIH), Legia Warszawa (POL), Pallacanestro Varese (ITA), Sabah BC (AZE), Spartak Office Shoes (SRB), Windrose Giants Antwerp (BEL)
Pot 4: BK KVIS Pardubice (CZE), BMA365 Bamberg Baskets (GER), Cibona (CRO), FC Porto (POR), Surne Bilbao (ESP), Trabzonspor (TUR), Winner QRT1, Winner QRT2
Play-In series and Round of 16 groups
There will be no additional draw for the Play-Ins and the Round of 16.
The second- and third-placed teams in adjacent Regular Season groups will face each other in best-of-three Play-In series (A2 v B3, B2 v A3; C2 v D3, D2 v C3; E2 v F3, F2 v E3; G2 v H3, H2 v G3), and the winners of each pairing will feed into a predetermined Round of 16 group:
Group I: A1, E1, C2/D3, G2/H3
Group J: B1, F1, D2/C3, H2/G3
Group K: C1, G1, B2/A3, E2/F3
Group L: D1, H1, A2/B3, F2/E3
Draw restrictions:
Country protection applies to the Regular Season stage of the Draw, meaning that clubs cannot be drawn in the same group with another club from their country.
The 2026-27 Regular Season will get underway on October 6, 2026.”
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