--- title: "Fortis Kielce Wins Record 10th Polish Team Championship" url: https://ncuemedia.com/fortis-kielce-wins-record-10th-polish-team-championship published: 2026-10-21T04:13:22Z updated: 2026-10-21T04:13:22Z summary: "Fortis Bilard Kielce beat GKS Katowice 12-10 and 12-4 to reclaim the Polish team title, while its second team secured bronze." author: "NCue Media" categories: ["Pool"] tags: ["Bilardowa Ekstraklasa", "Fortis Bilard Kielce", "GKS Katowice", "Mariusz Skoneczny", "Polish Team Championship"] lang: en --- # Fortis Kielce Wins Record 10th Polish Team Championship *A 12-4 closing win erased the memory of last season\u0027s shootout defeat and completed a historic double-podium day for the Kielce club.* Fortis Bilard Kielce defeated defending champion GKS Katowice twice at the 2026 Bilardowa Ekstraklasa Grand Final, winning a record tenth Polish Team Championship on home ground. The Kielce team survived a tight 12-10 opening match before taking control of the return contest 12-4 at the Grand Hotel Kielce. Fortis completed the final 2-0 and avoided the shootout that had cost the club the title one season earlier. The hosts also celebrated bronze after Fortis Bilard II Kielce edged Strefa Lodz 12-11. | Medal | Team | Deciding result | |---|---|---:| | Gold | Fortis Bilard Kielce | Beat GKS Katowice 12-10 and 12-4 | | Silver | GKS Katowice | Lost the final series 0-2 | | Bronze | Fortis Bilard II Kielce | Beat Strefa Lodz 12-11 | ## How did Fortis turn a close final into a dominant victory? The first match gave GKS Katowice reason to believe it could retain the championship. Fortis had to work through a two-rack contest before finishing 12-10, a result that secured the advantage but left the title undecided. The second match looked completely different. Fortis reduced its mistakes, controlled the table and increased the gap as the session progressed. Mariusz Skoneczny and Sebastian Batkowski produced the strongest stretches, while GKS struggled to convert the chances that did appear. At 12-4, there was no need for a third act. Fortis won the two-match series 2-0 and reclaimed the national crown in emphatic fashion. The change between the two scores is the clearest measure of the performance. Fortis had been tested in the opener and understood where the pressure points were. By the return match, the home team was no longer trying to survive exchanges. It was dictating them. GKS captain Dawid Sobiech later credited Fortis for intelligent play and a low error count. He also pointed to the strong performances of Skoneczny and Batkowski, while acknowledging that the defending champions failed to use their own openings. ## Why did avoiding the shootout matter so much to Kielce? One year earlier, Fortis saw the championship slip away in a shootout. That memory followed the team into the 2026 final. Winning the first match 12-10 did not remove the danger. A defeat in the return contest would have sent the title into the same deciding format that had ended Fortis' previous campaign. The 12-4 victory made sure history could not repeat itself. That context gave the second match more weight than an ordinary attempt to close a series. Fortis was playing against GKS and against the memory of a missed opportunity. Skoneczny described the contrast clearly after receiving the final's MVP award. The tenth club championship was his first personal Polish team title, and he emphasized that the group did not allow the trophy to escape again. The response was practical rather than emotional. Fortis did not chase spectacular shots simply because the occasion was large. The team limited errors, selected sensible patterns and forced GKS to win difficult exchanges. The wider margin arrived because Kielce remained disciplined after taking the lead. ## Who delivered Fortis Kielce's tenth championship? The winning lineup consisted of Sebastian Batkowski, Mariusz Skoneczny, Jakub Chrobot and Karol Skowerski. Marek Marcinkowski managed the team. Each player represented a different part of the club's strength. Skowerski brought extensive senior experience. Batkowski and Skoneczny carried the decisive final-session form. Chrobot arrived as the reigning Junior World Champion and one of the leading young players in Polish pool. Skoneczny was named MVP of the Grand Final after helping control the return match. Chrobot received the broader 2026 Bilardowa Ekstraklasa MVP award, recognizing his performance across the season rather than only the championship day. Those two honors tell an important story. Fortis had the best player in the final and the league's standout performer over the full campaign. The title did not depend on one player catching fire for a few racks. GKS Katowice still completed a fifth consecutive appearance in the final. Wojciech Szewczyk, Daniel Maciol, Sambor Stachowiak, Jerzy Regieli and Dominik Jastrzab earned the silver medal under captain Sobiech. The immediate disappointment was understandable. GKS traveled to Kielce to defend gold, not collect another podium finish. Five straight finals, however, remain evidence of the team's consistency at the top of the Polish league. ## How historic is a tenth Polish team title? The championship gives Fortis Bilard Kielce a milestone often described in football as La Decima: a tenth national team crown. This one also ended a wait. Local reports noted that it was the club's first Polish team championship since 2022. Fortis had remained near the top, but repeated contention is not the same as finishing with the trophy. The 2026 victory restored the club to first place while reinforcing Kielce's wider influence on Polish pool. The final roster combined proven senior players with Chrobot, a young world champion developed inside the same local structure. That blend matters beyond one season. A club can buy experience or enjoy a talented generation, but sustaining ten championships requires both. Fortis has produced players, retained established competitors and built a system capable of returning after defeat. The venue strengthened the symbolism. Instead of being staged in the shopping centers used during regular-season rounds, the Grand Final moved into a dedicated arena at the Grand Hotel Kielce. The championship match filled the available seating and attracted spectators from across Poland. Fortis did not win its tenth title in a quiet league room. It did so in front of a home crowd assembled for a national sporting event. ## Why was the bronze medal almost as important for the club? Fortis Bilard II Kielce entered the medal match as the youngest team in the Ekstraklasa. It left with bronze after beating Strefa Lodz 12-11. The score reflects how little separated the teams. Strefa recovered from a significant deficit late in the match and pushed the contest to the final rack. The young Kielce lineup held its nerve and completed the win. Jakub Hajduk, Adam Palczynski, Michal Wiech, Szymon Brusnicki and Bartosz Rozwadowski earned the bronze medal. Their finish placed two teams from the same club inside the national top three. That result turns the championship from a first-team success into evidence of organizational depth. Fortis did not simply assemble four players capable of winning gold. Its second group defeated experienced opposition under medal-round pressure. The age of the bronze-medal team makes the result more useful for the future. Young players now have proof that they can survive a one-rack finish in a national final environment. Some may eventually move into the first lineup; others give the club competition for places immediately. ## What did the Kielce final show about Polish team pool? The Polish Billiards League operates across four levels with 78 teams. Its Grand Final brought national, European and world-level players into the same arena. Two-time world champion Wojciech Szewczyk represented GKS Katowice. Fortis fielded established international players including Skowerski, Skoneczny and Batkowski, alongside junior world champion Chrobot. The competitive range was visible in the medal matches. The gold series included a close opener and a one-sided finish. The bronze match went to the final rack. Neither contest followed a predictable rhythm. The event also received live coverage through TVSPORTS.PL, TVP3 Kielce and TVP3 Katowice, allowing viewers outside the venue to follow the final. For a national league, that presentation helps players and clubs become recognizable beyond individual international tournaments. Fortis' tenth title will lead the record books. The more significant image from Kielce may be the full podium: an established champion returning to the top, a five-time consecutive finalist taking silver and the league's youngest team winning bronze. :::faq ### Who won the 2026 Polish Team Championship? Fortis Bilard Kielce defeated defending champion GKS Katowice in both matches of the final series to win the title. ### What were the scores in the championship final? Fortis won the first match 12-10 and the second 12-4, completing a 2-0 series victory. ### How many Polish team titles has Fortis Kielce won? The 2026 championship was the club's tenth national team title. ### Who was named MVP of the Grand Final? Mariusz Skoneczny received the Grand Final MVP award, while Jakub Chrobot was named MVP of the full 2026 Bilardowa Ekstraklasa season. ### Who won the bronze medal? Fortis Bilard II Kielce beat Strefa Lodz 12-11 to finish third, placing two Kielce teams on the podium. :::