Badminton live stream: how to watch the BWF World Tour Finals online from anywhere

News
By Kevin Lynch
published

Delayed end-of-season finale now under way in Thailand

badminton live stream world tour finals
(Image credit: Shi Tang/Getty Images)

After a much-disrupted season, professional badminton's World Tour Finals finally take place in Thailand this week. Originally scheduled to take place in China last month, Covid-19 forced a change in plans and the last three events of the 2020 season have instead been played in a bubble at the Impact Arena in Nonthaburiin this January. Read on to find how get a badminton live stream and watch the World Tour Finals online wherever you are in the world right now.

Now taking place between January 27 and 31, the tournament sees the top eight players and pairs from each discipline (men's singles, women’s singles, mixed doubles, women’s doubles, men’s doubles) battle it out for badminton's biggest paycheck of the season, with a share of a $1,500,000 prize pot up for grabs.

Badminton live stream 2021: World Tour Finals

Dates: Wednesday, January 27 - Sunday, January 31

Venue: Impact Arena, Bangkok, Thailand

Badminton live stream: BT Sport (UK-only)

Watch anywhere: try ExpressVPN 100% risk-free 

The pandemic has unfortunately meant some of the sport’s biggest names will be absent this year, with current men’s world champ Momota Kento forced to withdraw having tested positive for the virus en route to Thailand. Now, Danish star Viktor Axelsen is being widely tipped to clinch the men’s title, having won the last two Super 1000 tournament titles played in Thailand leading up to the World Tour Finals.

Currently on an unbeaten streak of 28 matches, a win in Thailand would mark an incredible turnaround for the Dane, having spent a huge chunk of the season on the sidelines following major ankle surgery.

Also among those looking to make it three wins in a row in Thailand is the in-form Spanish star and reigning Olympic Women’s champ Carolina Marin. Still chasing the first World Tour Finals title of her career, she beat top seed Tai Tsu Ying twice in back-to-back Super 1000 finals earlier this month

Follow our guide below to see how easy it is to get a badminton live stream from all over the world - including how to watch the Badminton World Tour Finals free online in many countries.

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How to watch a free badminton World Tour Finals live stream on YouTube

If you don't live in a country where the tournament is being broadcast via linear TV, (places like Australia and Spain being examples), the good news is that many people can get a 100% free and open badminton World Tour Finals live stream on YouTube via the BWF TV YouTube channel , with YouTube apps widely available for most modern devices including smartphones, tablets, laptops, PCs, Macs, Smart TVs, consoles and more.

The content is restricted in most countries where the tournament is set to be shown by local broadcasters (places like the UK and US), so if you happen to be travelling at the time and still want to keep up with a badminton live stream on YouTube then you'll need a VPN. Otherwise, you'll be restricted to the highlights being shown in countries where rights to live badminton coverage is owned by one of the local networks.

How to watch a Badminton World Tour Finals live stream from abroad 

If you're out of the country this week and find your domestic coverage unavailable where you are, then there are still many ways to watch a Badminton World Tour Finals live stream.

Scroll down to see various international viewing options, but if it's geo-blocking that's stopping you from getting your badminton live stream fired up, then we think we can help. 

The solution to this and many other common internet grievances comes in the form of a VPN - a handy bit of software that lets you relocate the IP address of your device to practically anywhere in the world. It's the best way we know of to take your favourite streaming services and content away with you on holiday or business.

Here's our top pick and how to get started.

Use a VPN to live stream badminton from anywhere

ExpressVPN is the world's top VPN right now

<a href="https://go.expressvpn.com/c/4550836/1330033/16063?subId1=hawk-custom-tracking&sharedId=hawk&u=https%3A%2F%2Fexpressvpn.com%2Ftechradar%3Foffer%3D3monthsfree%26a_fid%3D744" data-link-merchant="expressvpn.com"" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">ExpressVPN is the world's top VPN right now
We've taken the time to try out all the biggest VPN providers and we found ExpressVPN to be the pick of the bunch. It works with lots of devices and offers super fast connections across its many servers. 

Throw in its robust set of security features and ExpressVPN is the best all-round VPN for streaming - and perhaps best of all, it has a <a href="https://go.expressvpn.com/c/4550836/1330033/16063?subId1=hawk-custom-tracking&sharedId=hawk&u=https%3A%2F%2Fexpressvpn.com%2Ftechradar%3Foffer%3D3monthsfree%26a_fid%3D744" data-link-merchant="expressvpn.com"" data-link-merchant="expressvpn.com"" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">30-day money back guarantee plus 3 months FREE when you subscribe for a year.

Access ExpressVPN via your laptop, iPhone, tablet, Android phone, PlayStation, Xbox and plenty more. Express is a do-it-all service that also benefits from 24/7 customer support.

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Badminton live stream World Tour Finals UK

How to watch a Badminton World Tour Finals live stream in the UK

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<a href="https://www.awin1.com/awclick.php?awinmid=3041&awinaffid=103504&clickref=hawk-custom-tracking&p=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bt.com%2Fsport%2Fbuy" data-link-merchant="bt.com"" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">BT Sport is showing the Badminton World Tour Finals action live in the UK each day. 

Start times and channels vary, so consult today's TV listings for details, but typically you can watch the badminton live in the morning on BT Sport 3 or BT Sport ESPN from around 4am GMT.

Subscribers can watch BT Sport online, either directly through its website or by using the BT Sport app - available for iOS and Android as well as on consoles, Apple TV, Now TV devices, and select Samsung smart TVs.

For those who don't want the commitment or cost of a full-fat BT Sport subscription, there's now a BT Sport Monthly Pass option, which let's you pay £25 and cancel whenever you want.

If you're a BT Sport subscriber but find yourself outside the UK right now, you'll need to <a href="https://go.expressvpn.com/c/4550836/1330033/16063?subId1=hawk-custom-tracking&sharedId=hawk&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.expressvpn.com%2Ftechradar%3Foffer%3D3monthsfree%26a_fid%3D744" data-link-merchant="expressvpn.com"" data-link-merchant="bt.com"" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">download a VPN and follow the instructions above to live stream the action.

watch Badminton World Tour Finals live stream india

How to watch a Badminton World Tour Finals live stream in India

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<a href="https://www.hotstar.com/sports" data-link-merchant="hotstar.com"" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Star Sports subscribers in India can watch the Badminton World Tour Finals live, either via the Star Sports TV channels or by getting a <a href="https://www.hotstar.com/in/subscribe/get-started" data-link-merchant="hotstar.com"" data-link-merchant="hotstar.com"" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Disney+ Hotstar Premium streaming subscription from just 299 rupees a month. 

That includes everything that's great about Disney Plus - Marvel! Pixar! The Simpsons! Hamilton! Mulan! More! - as well as all of Hotstar's content.

Start times vary, but the badminton action typically gets underway at around 9.30am IST each morning.

Those of you wanting to live stream matches on the move will need to use the <a href="https://www.hotstar.com/in" data-link-merchant="hotstar.com"" data-link-merchant="hotstar.com"" data-link-merchant="hotstar.com"" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Hotstar app - available via the web, Android, iOS, and Apple TV.

Badminton live stream World Tour Finals usa

How to watch a Badminton World Tour Finals live stream in the US

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Unlike some countries, live coverage from the BWF's YouTube channel won't be available to viewers in the States. It's not all bad news, however, as the <a href="https://www.olympicchannel.com/en/" data-link-merchant="olympicchannel.com"" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Olympic Channel website will be showing live action from the tournament which will be available to viewers across the USA. 

Want to watch on your mobile? Then there's an Olympic Channel app for Android and iOS, too.

How to watch the Badminton World Tour Finals 2021 tournament in China

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Badminton is massive in China - and while some of the nation's big name stars have been forced to withdraw from the tournament, there's set to be a huge amount of interest in all the action from Thailand.

A number of Chinese broadcasters look set to be offering coverage of this year's Badminton World Tour Finals, but the most straightforward way of watching appears to be via <a href="https://tv.cctv.com/live/cctv5/" data-link-merchant="tv.cctv.com"" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">CCTV 5.

If there are any internet-related obstacles in your way or if you want to access your preferred feed from outside of China, then don't forget about <a href="https://go.expressvpn.com/c/4550836/1330033/16063?subId1=hawk-custom-tracking&sharedId=hawk&u=https%3A%2F%2Fexpressvpn.com%2Ftechradar%3Foffer%3D3monthsfree%26a_fid%3D744" data-link-merchant="expressvpn.com"" data-link-merchant="tv.cctv.com"" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">the powers of a VPN, which can help you watch all the badminton action no matter where you are.

Kevin Lynch
Kevin Lynch

Kevin Lynch is a London-born, Dublin-based writer and journalist. The author of Steve Jobs: A Biographic Portrait, Kevin is a regular feature writer for a number of tech sites and the former Technology Editor for the Daily Mirror. He has also served as editor of GuinnessWorldRecords.com and has been a member of the judging panel for the BAFTA British Academy Video Game Awards. Alongside reviewing the latest AV gear, smartphones and computers, Kevin also specialises in music tech and can often be found putting the latest DAWs, MIDI controllers and guitar modellers through their paces. Born within the sound of Bow Bells, Kevin is also a lifelong West Ham fan for his troubles.