After 112 intense matches, the Machineseeker EHF Champions League group phase is done and dusted, with four teams advancing directly to the competition's quarter-finals. At the same time, eight sides go to the play-offs.

Paris Saint-Germain Handball and SC Magdeburg were the two sides to go directly to the quarter-finals from Group A, while reigning champions Barça and Industria Kielce were the two teams which dominated Group B and progressed directly to the quarter-finals.

Barça are now on an unprecedented 24-match unbeaten streak in the Machineseeker EHF Champions League, dating back to last season, after losing only three of the last 54 matches in the top European competition. This time, they won 13 matches and drew only one in this group phase, taking first place in Group B with a five-point advantage over Industria Kielce, which also made it to the quarter-finals.

HBC Nantes edged THW Kiel for the third place, holding the tiebreaker between the two sides, while Aalborg Handball, who struggled a lot during the season, ended up in fifth place with 13 points. The last qualified team for the play-offs is OTP Bank – Pick Szeged, with the Hungarian champions shaking off a bad start to end up in sixth place.

Slovenian side Celje Pivovarna Lasko and Norwegian champions Elverum Handball were eliminated from Group B. In contrast, Croatian side HC PPD Zagreb and Portuguese champions FC Porto were eliminated from Group A.

Losing the last four matches in a row was a bitter blow for Zagreb as Orlen Wisla Plock snatched up the last play-offs spot in dramatic fashion after a 28:27 win over Porto in the last round of the group phase.

Plock joined Dinamo Bucuresti, qualified for the play-offs for the first time since the new format of the competition was introduced, Danish champions GOG and Hungarian powerhouse Telekom Veszprém HC, who ended in third place, two points behind SC Magdeburg.

The 2022 IHF Men's Super Globe winners Magdeburg navigated a difficult season with plenty of injuries to finish in second place and qualify directly for the quarter-finals as they eye their first-ever EHF FINAL4 berth. However, they were no match for PSG Handball, who ended the group in first place comfortably, taking 12 wins out of the 14 matches they played and boasting the best attack with 492 goals scored.

The play-offs will make for outstanding viewing as there are two battles between teams from the same country. Telekom Veszprém HC will rekindle their rivalry with OTP Bank – Pick Szeged in the European premium competition, as Aalborg and GOG also lock horns in this phase of the competition.

7008 goals have already been scored in the 112 matches played so far in the European premium competition, with an average of 62.57 goals scored per match, the highest ever in history, roughly two goals higher than in the previous season.
The top scorer of this season of the Machineseeker EHF Champions League is currently Slovenian back Aleks Vlah, who scored 88 goals for Celje, followed by two Polish players, Kielce's right wing Arkadiusz Moryto and PSG's line player Kamil Syprzak, who scored 83 goals each.

The play-offs of the Machineseeker EHF Champions League will be played on 22/23 and 29/30 March in a doubleheader, with the best-placed team in the group phase hosting the second leg, while the quarter-finals are scheduled for 10/11 May and 17/18 May.

The TruckScout24 EHF FINAL4 will take place on 17 and 18 June in the LANXESS Arena in Cologne.

Machineseeker EHF Champions League – play-offs schedule

M1: Telekom Veszprém HC (HUN) vs OTP Bank – Pick Szeged (HUN)
M2: Orlen Wisla Plock (POL) vs HBC Nantes (FRA)
M3: GOG (DEN) vs Aalborg Handbold (DEN)
M4: CS Dinamo Bucuresti (ROU) vs THW Kiel (GER)

Machineseeker EHF Champions League – quarter-finals schedule

Paris Saint-Germain Handball (FRA) vs Winner M4
SC Magdeburg (GER) vs Winner M2
Industria Kielce (POL) vs Winner M1
Barca (ESP) vs Winner M3