The Women's Basketball Super League (Turkish: Kadınlar Basketbol Süper Ligi, KBSL), also known as the ING Women's Basketball Super League for sponsorship reasons, is the top women's professional basketball division of the Turkish women's basketball league system. The league was established in 1980 and is organized by the Turkish Basketball Federation, it replaced the former Turkish Women’s Basketball League which ran between 1956 and 1980.[1] There is also a Turkish Women's Basketball League (TKBL), the second level in the Turkish women's basketball league system. The present TKBL should not be confused with the former TKBL which ran between 1956 and 1980, after the KBSL was founded the TKBL became a second tier league.
Fenerbahçe are the most successful team in competition history, having won 18 championship titles to date.
Competition system
The competition is played in two phases: regular season and playoffs. There are 14 teams in the league and they play against each other twice in the league manner, once at their home and the other away. At the end of the season, the top eight teams qualify for the playoff games. The two lowest placed teams of the Super League, ranking 13th and 14th, relegate into the Second League (TKBL). The two top teams of the Second League are promoted to the Super League.
The playoffs follow a tournament format in three rounds for eight teams: quarterfinals, semifinals and finals. The four winners of the quarterfinals advance to the semifinal round. The two victors of the semifinals compete in the final playoff round for the championship title.
