2018–19 CEV Champions League

The 2018-19 CEV Champions League is the highest level of European club volleyball in the 2018–19 season and the 60th edition.

Qualification

A total of 20 teams participate of the main competition, with 18 teams being allocated direct vacancies on the basis of ranking list for European Cups Competitions and 2 teams qualify from the qualification rounds.^[1] Drawing of lots for the pools composition will be held on 2 November 2018.^[2]

Rank[3]	Country	No. teams			Qualified teams
		Vac	Qual	Total
1	Italy	3	-	3	Sir Colussi Sicoma Perugia
					Cucine Lube Civitanova
					Azimut Modena
2	Russia	3	-	3	Zenit Kazan
					Zenit Saint Petersburg
					Dinamo Moscow
3	Poland	3	-	3	PGE Skra Bełchatów
					Zaksa Kędzierzyn-Koźle
					Trefl Gdańsk
4	Turkey	2	(1)	2*	Halkbank Ankara
					Arkas Izmir
5	Germany	2	(1)	2*	Berlin Recycling Volleys
					VfB Friedrichshafen
6	Belgium	2	(1)	2*	Noliko Maaseik
					Knack Roeselare
7	France	1	(1)	1*	Tours VB
8	Slovenia	1	-	1	ACH Volley Ljubljana
9	Greece	-	(1)	0*
10	Czech Republic	1	-	1	ČEZ Karlovarsko
11	Austria	-	(1)	0*
12	Serbia	-	(1)	0*
13	Bulgaria	-	(1)	0*
14	Finland	-	(1)	0*
17	Netherlands	-	(1)	0*
18	Belarus	-	(1)	0*
25	Bosnia and Herzegovina	-	(1)	0*
25	Croatia	-	(1)	0*
32	Spain	-	(1)	0*
37	Hungary	-	(1)	0*
49	Norway	-	(1)	0*

Notes:

(1) - denotes one team participating at Champions League qualification.

* - Total number of teams may increase by 1, pending qualification result.

Format

League round

A round-robin format (each team plays every other team in its pool twice, once home and once away) where the 20 participating teams are drawn into 5 pools of 4 teams each. The five pool winners and the best three second placed teams among all pools qualify for the Playoffs.^[1]

The standings is determined by the number of matches won. In case of a tie in the number of matches won by two or more teams, their ranking is based on the following criteria:^[4]

• result points (points awarded for results: 3 points for 3–0 or 3–1 wins, 2 points for 3–2 win, 1 point for 2–3 loss);
• set quotient (the number of total sets won divided by the number of total sets lost);
• points quotient (the number of total points scored divided by the number of total points lost);
• results of head-to-head matches between the teams in question.

Playoffs

A knockout format where the 8 qualified teams are each draw into the quarter-finals with the round winners advancing to the next rounds (semifinals and final). Matches in the quarter-finals and semifinals consists of two legs (home and away).
Result points are awarded for each leg (3 points for 3–0 or 3–1 wins, 2 points for 3–2 win, 1 point for 2–3 loss). After two legs, the team with the most result points advances further in the tournament. In case teams are tied after two legs, a Golden Set is played immediately at the completion of the second leg. The Golden Set winner is the team that first obtains 15 points, provided that the points difference between the two teams is at least 2 points (thus, the Golden Set is similar to a tiebreak set in a normal match).^[4]

Grand finale

A single match between the winners of the semifinals in a neutral venue decides the tournament champion.^[1]

Pools composition

Drawing of lots will be held on 2 November 2018, the 20 teams are divided in 4 pots of 5 teams each, with one team per pot being draw into each of the 5 pools (A, B, C, D, E).^[2]

Draw

League round

The league round is scheduled to start on 20 November 2018.

References

External links

• Official website