Hubert Phillips Bowl | English Bridge Union

The Hubert Philips Bowl and Plate is by default a face-to-face competition but captains can agree to play matches online.

The knockout mixed teams-of-four championships of England is named after the former EBU chairman, Hubert Phillips, whose initiatives in the first part of the 1930s were instrumental in the creation of the EBU, of which he was the first Chairman, as well as being a figure of national significance outside bridge.

Scoring is by aggregate with honours counting. At no time may an all male or all female team be playing. Matches are played on the full pivot principle such that one plays one-third of the match with each of one’s teammates as a partner.

This is an ideal tournament for new players to the game of duplicate from rubber or chicago bridge.

Eight teams are seeded, and every non-seeded team is guaranteed at least one match before meeting a seed. There is a Plate competition at no extra cost, so all non-seeded teams play at least two matches. There was no change to the entry fee.

Matches are of 30 boards up to and including the quarter-final, except that 24- or 27-board matches may be played in Rounds 1–3 by mutual agreement. The semi-final is 48-boards, and the final is 60-boards.

Teams may contain 4, 5 or 6 players, but only 4 players may play in any single match prior to the semi-final stage.

The draw for the early rounds is regionalised to try to help keep travelling distances small.

Current results

Results of the ongoing competitions are available here: 2024/25 Bowl, 2024/25 Plate

To enter

By entering an EBU congress or event you agree to abide by the terms and conditions set out in the Terms and Conditions document.

Entries for the 2025/26 event are now open.

The easiest way to enter is via My EBU. Alternatively, please contact the Competitions Department on 01296 317203 or email comps@ebu.co.uk.

Full payment must be made at the time of entering. Those who play in an event without having entered and paid beforehand will be subject to an additional financial penalty of £20.

Holders

2023/24

Bowl - Maggie Knottenbelt, Michael Byrne, David Gold, Kieran Dyke, Ben Handley-Pritchard

Plate- John Atthey, Ian Draper, Anne Rosen, Neil Rosen, Gerald Tredinnick & Jeremy Willans

Timetable
Timetable 2025/26
Bowl
Round	Play by Date
1	13th July 2025
2	24th September 2025
3	19th November 2025
Quarter-Final	21st January 2026
Semi-Final	16th March 2026
Final	By mutual agreement
Plate
Round	Play by Date
1	24th September 2025
2	19th November 2025
Quarter-Final	21st January 2026
Semi-Final	16th March 2026
Final	By mutual agreement

The final will be arranged by mutual agreement between the finalists.

Entry Fees
The entry fee for 2025/26 is £96 per team

Entries for 2025/26 event closed on Monday 19th May 2025

Master Points

Master Points will be awarded in the form of Green Points for each round won as follows (based on an entry of over 64 teams): MP awards for Bowl

Round	I	II	III	IV	QF	SF	Final
GPs	2	2	3	3	4	6	8

MP awards for Plate

Round	I	II	III	QF	SF	Final
GPs	1	1	1.5	2	3	4

All awards quoted are 'per player'. To receive points, a player must have played in at least one third of the boards involved in the match in question.