Ruud van Vijfeijken has been named the 2026 Clubkampioen Single for senior men at Badminton Club Lieshout, securing the title after a tightly contested tournament that came down to head-to-head results among tied competitors.
The victory marks van Vijfeijken’s first singles club championship since joining the Lieshout-based club, ending a two-year reign by his brother Wouter van Vijfeijken, who had won the previous two editions.
According to verified reports from the club’s official communications and local sports coverage, the tournament concluded on Tuesday, April 21, 2026, during the association’s regular senior singles competition evening. Van Vijfeijken defeated Wouter van Vijfeijken in their final match to claim the wisselbeker (rotating trophy), despite having lost earlier in the pool stage to Laurence Roijackers.
The outcome was determined by the underling result rule, which prioritizes head-to-head records when players finish with identical win-loss totals in the round-robin phase. Although Wouter van Vijfeijken entered the final match undefeated in the tournament, van Vijfeijken’s earlier win over Jeroen van der Heiden and loss to Roijackers gave him the edge in the tiebreaker calculation involving all three players in the top poule.
Badminton Club Lieshout organized the 2026 Clubkampioenschappen Single without a preliminary placement round, instead seeding all participants directly into skill-based poules ahead of play. This change from the prior two-evening format allowed competitors to start final-stage matches immediately, streamlining the event to a single speelavond (play evening).
The A-poule, which contained the top-seeded players, included Wouter van Vijfeijken (defending champion), Laurence Roijackers, Ruud van Vijfeijken, and Jeroen van der Heiden. In their round-robin matches, Wouter van Vijfeijken defeated both Jeroen van der Heiden and Laurence Roijackers, while Ruud van Vijfeijken beat Jeroen van der Heiden but lost to Laurence Roijackers.
As all three players — Wouter, Ruud, and Laurence — finished with one win and one loss in their mutual matches, the tiebreaker came down to point differential or secondary criteria, which ultimately favored Ruud van Vijfeijken under the club’s competition regulations.
The club emphasized that holding the championships on the regular speelavond increases accessibility for members, allowing more frequent participation and reducing scheduling barriers compared to multi-evening formats used in previous years.
No prize money or external sponsorship details were disclosed in the verified sources, and the event remained internal to Badminton Club Lieshout’s senior membership, consistent with its status as a club-level championship.
As of the date of publication, Badminton Club Lieshout has not announced the date for the 2027 Clubkampioenschappen Single, though the tournament is traditionally held annually during the spring season.
For updates on upcoming tournaments, training sessions, and internal competition standings at Badminton Club Lieshout, members and followers are encouraged to consult the club’s official website and communication channels.
Share your thoughts on this year’s club championship in the comments below — did the new format improve the competition? Let us know what you’d like to see at next year’s event.
