The main round of the EHF European League Men, the second-tier European competition, concluded on Tuesday, 4 March, with four sides – Montpellier HB, Bidasoa Irun, THW Kiel and SG Flensburg-Handewitt progressing to the quarter-finals, with eight other sides making it into the play-offs.

The 16 qualified sides for this phase of the competition were divided into four groups of four teams each, with the winner of each group progressing to the quarter-finals, the second and the third-placed sides advancing into the play-offs, while the last teams in each group were eliminated.

Each side played four matches, advancing from the preliminary round with the number of points taken in the matches against the other qualified side from each group and in Group I, it was Montpellier HB which delivered the best performance, with five wins and one loss, 27:33 against Danish side GOG.

However, Montpellier had 10 points, followed by GOG, with seven points, as the battle between HC Kriens-Luzern and Fraikin BM Granollers yielded the third qualified team, GOG’s win against Granollers, 32:31, in the last round, being decisive in seeing the Swiss side through.

In Group II, two teams finished on eight points each, Bidasoa Irun and Limoges Handball, but the Spanish side finished first, thanks to their 35:30 home win, as Limoges finished second, due to winning at home, 32:31. Benfica, the champions in the 2020/21 season, ended up on the third place.

Group III saw German side THW Kiel take the first place, as they had the best record in this phase, with only a single draw, 26:26, against fellow German side MT Melsungen. But as Kiel clinched a dominating 35:24 win in the second match, they secured the first place, with a three-point lead over Melsungen, with the third place secured by FC Porto.

In Group IV, the other unbeaten team, SG Flensburg-Handewitt, finished first, but the German side had two draws, 34:34 and 35:35 against second-placed side Fenix Toulouse, which ended up with eight points in the final standings, two behind the German side. Another German team, VfL Gummersbach, ended up on the third place, with all four German teams progressing to the next round.

In the play-offs, which are due to be played in a doubleheader on 25 March and 1 April, Sport Lisboa e Benfica face GOG, Melsungen meet Gummersbach in a Germany derby, Kriens-Luzern are battling for a spot in the quarter-finals with Limoges, while Porto and Fenix Toulouse go head-to-head for a place in the next phase of the competition.

Two players from HC Kriens-Luzern - Marin Sipic (63 goals) and Luca Sigrist (56 goals) are dominating the top goal scorer standings, with Limoges' Ihor Turchenko is tied with Sigrist, with 56 goals.

The winner will be decided in the EHF Finals, on 24 and 25 May in Hamburg.

EHF European League Men - Play-offs schedule

PO01: Sport Lisboa e Benfica (POR) vs GOG (DEN) 
PO02: HC Kriens-Luzern (SUI) vs Limoges Handball (FRA)
PO03: MT Melsungen (GER) vs VfL Gummersbach (GER)
PO04: FC Porto (POR) vs Fenix Toulouse (FRA)

Quarter-finals

Montpellier HB (FRA) vs PO04 winner
Bidasoa Irun (ESP) vs PO03 winner
THW Kiel (GER) vs PO02 winner
SG Flensburg-Handewitt (GER) vs PO01 winner

Photo credit: THW Kiel / Sascha Klahn