Following the EHL KO16/FINAL4 event in Eindhoven over the Easter weekend, the breakdown of the top five spots on the EHL Men’s ranking table has been confirmed.
The top five nations comprise Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain and England who can now no longer be overhauled from their new positions in the ranking table.
The remainder of the ranking table is subject to change and will be confirmed after the EuroHockey Club Trophy which takes place in Wettingen, Switzerland from June 7-10.
It means the allocation of 13 places in next year’s reformatted EHL Men are already known: three places will go to clubs from Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands while two will go to Spain and England.
By virtue of strong performances from Rot-Weiss Koln, Mannheimer HC and Uhlenhorst Mulheim, all reaching the KO8 and beyond, Germany has moved to the top of the ranking table. Waterloo Ducks’ victory was a first by a Belgian club and sees the country rise to second in the ranking table.
For the Netherlands, they drop to their lowest position in the ranking table of third after SV Kampong and HC Oranje-Rood bowed out at the KO16 stage and AH&BC Amsterdam were eliminated in the KO8 round.
Spain stays in fourth place while England moves up to fifth ahead of France, partially thanks to Surbiton’s ranking match win over Three Rock Rovers which puts them out of range of Ireland.
What the above means is that the national champion from Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and Spain will pre-qualify for the EHL FINAL8 at Easter 2020. The number 2 and 3 ranked teams of Germany, Belgium and Netherlands (six teams) will qualify for the KO16 in October.
The number 2 ranked team of Spain is qualified for EHL KO16 in October. The number 1 and 2 ranked teams of England (2 teams) are qualified for EHL KO16 in October. To that end, Hampstead & Westminster as national champions and Surbiton as regular season winners will be offered the chance to represent England.
Allocation of EHL Men’s places for 2019/20 season
1. Germany – 3 places (1 for FINAL8, 2 for KO16)
2. Belgium – 3 places (1 for FINAL8, 2 for KO16)
3. Netherlands – 3 places (1 for FINAL8, 2 for KO16)
4. Spain – 2 places (1 for FINAL8, 1 for KO16)
5. England – 2 places (2 for KO16)
6. TBC – 2 places (2 for KO16)
7. TBC – 1 place (1 for KO16)
8. TBC – 1 place (1 for KO16)
9. TBC – 1 place (1 for KO16)
10. TBC – 1 place (1 for KO16)
11. TBC – 1 place (1 for KO16)