KING’S LYNN face a derby double with fierce rivals Ipswich to kick off the 2026 season.
The PSH Environmental Stars reached the Premiership KO Cup Final last year, memorably defeating the Witches in the semis in one of the big highlights of the campaign.
This time around, the competition format sees the Cup operate on a mini-league format with the Stars grouped with Ipswich and newcomers Northampton, and only the group winners proceed to the Final.
Lynn visit Ipswich for their opening fixture on Thursday April 9 before hosting the Witches – complete with former Stars Richard Lawson, Tobiasz Musielak and Jason Edwards – on Monday April 13.
The following week, the new Northampton side are in town (April 20), and the Stars’ first visit to Brafield comes up on Thursday May 7.
The opening league fixture takes place when the Stars host Sheffield on Monday April 27, which is always a high-profile encounter, and the powerful Belle Vue spearhead will be in town on Monday May 11.
New No.1 Max Fricke makes his first return to former club Leicester on Thursday May 14, and there are also league derbies against Ipswich in that month including the traditional Bank Holiday Monday afternoon trip to Foxhall on May 4.
The inclusion of Northampton means that with six teams taking part, the league play-off format reverts to its normal arrangement of the top four sides reaching the semi-finals.
