VTB United League Council meets: best-of-three bronze series, Zenit to face road trips to Astana and Vladivostok

Today, June 23, a meeting of the VTB United League Council took place in Moscow, with representatives of the clubs and the League's management in attendance. Zenit BC was represented at the event by the club's CEO Alexander Tserkovny. Following the meeting, a number of decisions were adopted regarding the 2026/27 season, including the composition of participants, the championship format, and the tournament regulations.

Pari Nizhny Novgorod, which had previously announced the suspension of its main team's activities, has left the VTB United League. At the same time, Kazakhstan's Astana has returned to the list of participants, and a tournament debutant — Dynamo Vladivostok — has joined as well. In addition, Moscow's MBA is reverting to its former name. As a result, 12 clubs will compete in the 2026/27 season championship.

With the increase in the number of participants, the VTB League is returning to a two-stage regular season format. In the first stage, the teams will play a double round-robin system — home and away. After that, the participants will be divided into two groups: the first will consist of the six best teams, and the second will include clubs that finish from 7th to 12th place. In the second stage, each group will play another double round-robin among its own members. In total, each team will play 32 matches in the regular season.

The play-in stage is also returning to the tournament, featuring teams that finish from 7th to 10th place after the second stage of the regular season. Clubs that make the top 6 will receive direct berths to the playoffs. Changes have also affected the сrucial games. The quarterfinal series will still be played to three wins, while the semifinal and final series will be to four wins. However, the series for third place will now be played to two wins.

The experience of the first in-season WINLINE Basket Cup tournament has been deemed successful, so the second edition of the Cup will take place in the upcoming season. The tournament matches will be held from October 2026 to March 2027. The group stage format will remain the same: two groups of four teams, each playing three home and three away matches. The winner will be determined in the Final Four. The final list of participants will be announced later.

The new season will traditionally open with the VTB United League Superсup, which will be held in Moscow from September 14 to 19. The full list of participants and the tournament format will be announced at a later date.

Alexander Tserkovny, Zenit BC CEO:

Zenit was mentioned as the team that played the most games in the season — 66 matches including the Supercup. We are again the leaders in this regard. Zenit plays more than any other club in the VTB United League, and indeed more than any Russian club.

I think the Council was held in a positive spirit, given that there will be more clubs. It's a great pity that Nizhny Novgorod won't be there, but Astana is returning and promises a competitive roster. Accordingly, a club from Vladivostok appears, which will also add interest and perhaps some exotic flair. But knowing the ambitions of Dynamo's management, I think they will be a very interesting opponent, and they also want to put together a fighting team.