Challenger Cup Men: All 12 teams confirmed for next stage after thrilling final day of Qualification Round I action

The 12 teams set to contest the men’s Challenger Cup Qualification Round II from 13-15 February 2026 have been confirmed, following the dramatic conclusion of Qualification Round I on Sunday.

Sliema ASC, San Giljan ASC, AVK Branik Maribor, Carouge Natation, Enka Sport Club, Heybeliada ASC, RD Mouscronnois and Cetus Espoo all advance after finishing in the top two positions in their respective groups.

These eight teams will be joined in the draw for the next round – scheduled for 10am (CET) on Monday 8 December – by the four teams that have dropped down from the Conference Cup: Galatasaray SK, Vitoria Sport Clube, (last season’s Challenger Cup runners-up) EVK Zaibas, and VK Banja Luka.

The draw will be streamed live on the European Aquatics YouTube channel.

Qualification Round II will feature 12 clubs divided into four groups of three, with the top two teams from each pool advancing to the Challenger Cup Men’s Final Eight tournament (12-15 March 2026).

The six teams that missed out on qualification this weekend – Hapoel Palram Zvulun, Apoel Nicosia, VK Ljubljana Slovan, Clube Naval Povoense, Welsh Wanderers and West London Penguin – will contest the 13th-18th classification tournament, also taking place from 13-15 February 2026, with one group of six competing in a round-robin format.

2025/26 Challenger Cup Men
Qualification Round I, Day 3
Sunday 30 November

Group A (Malta)

Hapoel Palram Zvulun (ISR) 10-14 San Giljan ASC (MLT)
Sliema ASC (MLT) 28-9 Apoel Nicosia (CYP)

Standings: 1. Sliema 9pts, 2. San Giljan 6pts, 3. Hapoel Palram Zvulun 3pts, 4. Apoel Nicosia 0pts

Group B (Maribor)

VK Ljubljana Slovan (SLO) 17-12 Clube Naval Povoense (POR)
AVK Branik Maribor (SLO) 20-13 Carouge Natation (SUI)

Standings: 1. AVK Branik Maribor 9pts, 2. Carouge Natation 6pts, 3. VK Ljubljana Slovan 3pts, 4. Clube Naval Povoense 0pts

Group C (Istanbul)

Welsh Wanderers (GBR) 12-22 Heybeliada ASC (TUR)

Standings: 1. Enka Sport Club 6pts, 2. Heybeliada 3pts, 3. Welsh Wanderers 0pts

Group D (Mouscron)

RD Mouscronnois (BEL) 24-14 West London Penguin (GBR)

Standings: 1. RD Mouscronnois 6pts, 2. Cetus Espoo 3pts, 3. West London Penguin 0pts

Group A (Malta)

Hapoel Palram Zvulun (ISR) 10-14 San Giljan ASC (MLT)
Sliema ASC (MLT) 28-9 Apoel Nicosia (CYP)

The winner-takes-all clash between Hapoel Palram Zvulun and San Giljan ASC was a close battle that was eventually edged by the Maltese 10-14.

Hapoel remained in contention throughout, but they were always chasing the game, as San Giljan never fell behind, despite the Israelis levelling twice early on at 2-2 and 4-4.

The Maltese side enjoyed the better spells, yet they failed to fully shake their opponents off, who kept pushing and were only two behind (10-12) early in the fourth.

San Giljan’s Marko Vavic scored from a man-up to give them some breathing space with 6:12 remaining, then Russell Caruana sealed the win, finishing off a counter-attack 37 seconds from time.

The victory means both Maltese sides progress from Group A, as Sliema ASC had already confirmed their place in the next round on Saturday.

Sliema’s final encounter was a comfortable win against Apoel Nicosia 28-9.

The hosts successfully kept Denes Varga quiet – his only major contributions were an exclusion and giving away a penalty – and restricted the Cypriots to just nine goals, while they hammered in 28 at the other end.

Jayden Cassar and Elijah Schembri led the way for Sliema, with five goals each, while Jake Cachia hit four.

Group B (Maribor)

VK Ljubljana Slovan (SLO) 17-12 Clube Naval Povoense (POR)
AVK Branik Maribor (SLO) 20-13 Carouge Natation (SUI)

With both tickets to the next phase already confirmed in Group B, there wasn’t much jeopardy left for the final day of action in Maribor.

VK Ljubljana Slovan and Clube Naval Povoense met to decide who avoided finishing last, while AVK Branik Maribor and Carouge Natation clashed to see who would take the top spot.

A decisive 7-2 second quarter swung the first game in VK Ljubljana’s favour, as they built up a 10-4 lead before half-time and were able to close the game out comfortably from there.

Captain Enej Potocnik and Marcel Lipnik were the standout performers for the Slovenians, scoring five each, while Ricardo Ferreira also hit five for Povoense.

The title decider saw Maribor edge each quarter (5-4, 3-1, 6-4, 6-4) to finish clear winners.

After pulling level at 3-3 late in the first, Carouge Natation steadily fell away and couldn’t reel the hosts back in, despite a five-goal display from Hugo Roscio that lifted his tournament total to 15.

Group C (Istanbul)

Welsh Wanderers (GBR) 12-22 Heybeliada ASC (TUR)

With a ticket to the next stage at stake, the clash between Welsh Wanderers and Heybeliada ASC began at a fast and intense pace, and saw the first quarter end all square at 4-4.

In the second, the Turkish side were able to maintain their high levels, while the Brits faded a little, allowing Heybeliada to hit four without reply to open up a 4-8 lead.

Welsh Wanderers’ Ceri Griffiths halted their run with a nice perimeter shot that skimmed under the goalkeeper’s arm, but Heybeliada added two more to move 5-10 clear at half-time.

The interval served the Brits better, as they came out fighting again in the third and threw everything at their opponents, outscoring them 6-4, but they were only able to cut the gap to three (11-14).

It proved to be the last roll of the dice from Welsh Wanderers, as they weren’t able to repeat their third-quarter heroics in the final stretch.

Heybeliada started the fourth by firing in five unanswered goals – including three from their outstanding captain Nadir Sonez, who ended up with 10 overall – ending any hopes the Brits had of a comeback.

Welsh Wanderers will now continue their European adventure in the 13th-18th classification tournament in February, while Heybeliada secured the second qualification spot in the group and head to the next round.

Group D (Mouscron)

RD Mouscronnois (BEL) 24-14 West London Penguin (GBR)

Just like their British compatriots, Welsh Wanderers, West London Penguin also lost by 10 goals on the final day of Qualification Round I and head home with zero points after back-to-back defeats.

Ahead of their final clash, the Londoners may still have been thinking “what if?”, having come so close to upsetting Cetus Espoo on Saturday night. That match was always likely to prove decisive in the hunt for the second qualification spot in Group D.

In Mouscron on Sunday morning, the drums were beating and the stands were full, as hosts RD Mouscronnois got off to a flying start and caught their opponents napping.

The first quarter belonged to the Belgians, as they raced into a 5-1 lead, which soon became 6-1 early in the second.

Penguin managed to stem the flow before half-time, but still trailed 9-5, and Mouscronnois emerged stronger again from the long break.

They were sharper in the decisive moments and far more clinical, adding eight more goals in the third period, while restricting Penguin to just four.

Both teams continued to push forward in the fourth, with another 12 goals flying in during the final eight minutes – seven for the Belgians and five for the Brits – but the outcome was never in doubt.

Charles Canonne was Mouscronnois’ main man once more, top-scoring with five – adding to the six he hammered in against Cetus on Day 1 – while Charles Kingsmill led Penguin’s resistance with four.

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Andy Rollé for European Aquatics

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