Singles Groups and Pools Set for IBF World Cup 2026

The singles draw for the IBF World Cup 2026 is out. 192 men and 100 women were split into round-robin pools ahead of the first singles matches on Wednesday, October 14, at Max Munich Bowling in Brunnthal.

How the Singles Pools Work

Both divisions are split into four groups, A to D. Each country's four bowlers are spread across the groups, so teammates never meet in the round robin.

The men's groups have four pools each, for 16 pools of 12 bowlers. Every bowler meets the other 11 in his pool in one-game matches. A win is worth three points and a tie one point. The top two in each pool reach the round of 32.

The women's groups have two pools each, for eight pools of 12 or 13 bowlers. The same one-game, three-points-a-win system applies. The top four in each pool reach the round of 32.

According to the tournament bulletin, the winner of Group A, Pool 1 in each division faces a qualifier from Group D in the first knockout round, rather than a bowler from the same group. From the round of 32 onward, every match is best of three games, and all knockout rounds through the final are played on Sunday, October 18.

Where the 2025 Medalists Start

Defending men's champion Du Jianchao of China opens in Group A, Pool 3. His pool includes Poland's Patryk Antosiak, Norway's Mathias Danielsen Otting and Israel's Oron Cohen.

Malaysia's Rafiq Ismail, who lost the 2025 final to Du, is in Group C, Pool 3 with Chris Via of the United States and Mathijs Beverdam of the Netherlands. Packy Hanrahan, the 2025 bronze medalist, starts in Group B, Pool 2. He is listed as Patrick Hanrahan Jr.

Germany's Paul Purps, the 2022 men's champion, is in Group B, Pool 3 alongside Australia's Jackson Buckingham and Brent de Ruiter of the Netherlands.

On the women's side, defending champion Natasha Roslan of Malaysia is in Group C, Pool 1. Australia's Dena Buxton and Denmark's Mika Guldbæk are in the same pool.

Two of the other 2025 singles medalists share a pool. Germany's Birgit Noreiks, the runner-up in Hong Kong, and Sweden's Nora Johansson, who took bronze, are both in Group D, Pool 2. Malaysia's Li Jane Sin and Singapore's Cherie Tan are also in that pool.

Other Pools to Watch

Sweden's Jesper Svensson is in men's Group B, Pool 4 with China's Xihao Zhu and Denmark's Dan Ostergaard. Youth World Cup winner Robin Ilhammar opens in Group C, Pool 4.

In men's Group D, Pool 4, Ryan Barnes of the United States meets home bowler Dennis Grünheid. Andrew Anderson and Germany's Tobias Börding are together in Group A, Pool 4.

Danish sisters Karen and Sofie Kærgaard Nielsen are in different groups. Karen, a bronze medalist at the 2026 European Women's Championships, is in Group D, Pool 1 with Shannon Pluhowsky of the United States and Australia's Brianna Walsh. Sofie is in Group B, Pool 1 with American Gianna Brandolino.

Jordan Snodgrass of the United States starts in Group A, Pool 2 with Singapore's Shayna Ng and Sweden's Victoria Johansson. Her teammate Jillian Martin is in Group C, Pool 2 with Sweden's Anna Andersson and Singapore's Colleen Pee.

For more on the main teams, see our previews of Team USA, Malaysia, Sweden, Denmark, Australia and Singapore.

Men's Singles Pools

Women's Singles Pools

Singles Round-Robin Schedule

The men bowl their 11 pool games in a single session per pair of pools. The women's round robin is split into two blocks. Start times below are taken from the tournament bulletin and are local time in Munich (CEST).