The group phase of the Machineseeker EHF Champions League concluded on Thursday, 6 March, after 14 rounds, with four sides progressing directly to the quarter-finals and eight heading to the play-offs, as the knockout phase of the European premium competition is looking to proved more entertainment and drama.

In Group A, One Veszprém HC had their best start of a season and finished first in the standings, conceding only two losses, against Sporting CP and Füchse Berlin, being the best team in the competition so far, with 12 wins and two losses.

The Hungarian side, the reigning IHF Men’s Club World Championship title holders, had the best attack in the competition, with 468 points, but conceded a loss in the last round, on Thursday, 32:33 against Füchse Berlin, with the German team scoring in the last seconds of the match.

The big surprise was Sporting CP finishing second in their group, with 18 points, tied with Füchse Berlin and PSG Handball, but with a superior head-to-head record in the mutual ties. The Portuguese side was the outsider which delivered the biggest shocks of the competition, including a win against One Veszprém HC, 39:30, as well as home wins over Füchse Berlin, 35:33, and PSG, 39:28.

Powered by the excellent Costa brothers, with Martim scoring 89 goals and Francisco having 70 goals under his belt, Sporting went directly to the quarter-finals, where they are due to meet the winner of the play-offs tie between Orlen Wisla Plock and HBC Nantes.

Füchse Berlin, who saw Mathias Gidsel, the MVP of the 2025 IHF Men’s World Championship, score 91 goals, finished third, with PSG coming on the fourth place of the standings in Group A. Dinamo București and Orlen Wisla Plock ended up on the fifth and sixth positions respectively, as Eurofarm Pelister and Fredericia HK finishing seventh and eighth, being eliminated from contention.

In Group B, reigning champions FC Barcelona finished first, with 22 points, but had 10 wins, comfortably securing the top posiiton and a quarter-finals berth, as they are once again a challenge for the trophy.

The battle for the second place came to the wire, in the last day of the competition, when Aalborg met HBC Nantes. A 29:29 draw in France between the two sides saw the Danish powerhouse, last season’s runners-up, finish second, with 18 points, one more than Nantes.

Former IHF Men’s Club World Championship winners, SC Magdeburg, had an injury-struck season, with plenty of stalwarts out of contention due to medical problems, but still managed to finish fourth, with 13 points, tied on points with OTP Bank – Pick Szeged, but their 31:24 win in the last round of the group phase saw Magdeburg hold the tie-breaker.

The last qualified team from Group B was Industria Kielce, which had a nip-and-tuck battle with Kolstad Handball, as both sides ended up on 11 points. However, Kielce got the best of the Norwegian side, due to winning both matches, 33:32 and 31:30, owning the tie-breaker.

The Polish side also had to sweat until the last minute, as they secured a 27:26 win on RK Zagreb’s court, in the last match of the group phase, with Kielce taking the two crucial points for the next phase.

The first leg of the quarter-finals will take place on 26 and 27 March, with the second leg played on 3 and 4 April. Kielce will face Füchse Berlin, while Orlen Wisla Plock rekindle their rivalry with HBC Nantes. Szeged meet PSG Handball, in a do-or-die clash, while Magdeburg meet Dinamo București.

The top scorer of the group phase of the Machineseeker EHF Champions League was the All-Star right wing of the 2025 IHF Men’s World Championship, Szeged’s Mario Sostaric, who had 101 goals. Mathias Gidsel was second, with 91 goals, while Martim Costa is the third top scorer, with 89 goals.

Machineseeker EHF Champions League – play-offs

M01: Industria Kielce (POL) vs Füchse Berlin (GER)
M02: Orlen Wisla Plock (POL) vs HBC Nantes (FRA)
M03: OTP Bank – Pick Szeged (HUN) vs Paris Saint-Germain Handball (FRA)
M04: Dinamo București (ROU) vs SC Magdeburg (GER)

Machineseeker EHF Champions League – quarter-finals

Winner M01 vs Aalborg Håndbold (DEN)
Winner M02 vs Sporting CP (POR)
Winner M03 vs FC Barcelona (ESP)
Winner M04 vs One Veszprém HC (HUN)

Credit photo: Dinamo București