The Volleyball Champions League is entering its decisive phase, with three Bulgarians continuing the battle for the trophy:
🇮🇹Alex Nikolov(Cucine Lube Civitanova)
🇵🇱Alex Grozdanov(Bogdanka LUK Lublin)
🇪🇸Dobromir Dimitrov(Guaguas Las Palmas)
🏆 Champions League Group Winners 2025/2026
| Group | Winner | Points | Wins | Losses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | Ziraat Bankkart Ankara | 18 | 6 | 0 |
| B | Bogdanka LUK Lublin | 15 | 6 | 0 |
| C | Sir Susa Vim Perugia | 17 | 6 | 0 |
| D | Aluron CMC Warta Zawiercie | 15 | 5 | 1 |
| E | Cucine Lube Civitanova | 15 | 5 | 1 |
Ziraat Bank Ankarais the only team with a perfect record of 18 points.
Perugia and Lublinalso finished undefeated.
Zawiercie and Lubesuffered one defeat each, but won their groups.
These five teams advance directly to the quarterfinals.
🟢 Playoffs (Round of 16)
| Pairing |
|---|
| PGE Projekt Warszawa – Itas Trentino |
| Guaguas Las Palmas – Montpellier |
| Asseco Resovia Rzeszów – Knack Roeselare |
The biggest intrigue is in the clash Warsaw – Trentino. Las Palmas gets a surmountable opponent in Montpellier, and Resovia is the favourite against the Belgian team.
🏆 The Quarter-finals
| Quarter-final |
|---|
| Winner Warsaw/Trentino – Bogdanka LUK Lublin |
| Winner Las Palmas/Montpellier – Perugia |
| Cucine Lube Civitanova – Aluron Zawiercie |
| Winner Resovia/Roeselare – Ziraat Ankara |
Lube has a direct quarter-final against Zawiercie. Lublin awaits the winner of the tough playoff Warsaw – Trentino. If Las Palmas eliminates Montpellier, they will face Perugia. Ziraat, the best team in the group stage, awaits the winner of Resovia – Roeselare.
🇮🇹 Alex Nikolov (Lube)
👉Lube – Zawiercie
Polish obstacle without playoff participation. The Italian giant enters directly into the battle for a place in the Final Four.
🇵🇱 Alex Grozdanov (Lublin)
👉 The winner ofWarsaw – Trentino
This means a possible Italian or Polish clash already in the quarter-finals.
🇪🇸 Dobromir Dimitrov (Las Palmas)
👉 Playoff againstMontpellier
If successful – quarterfinal againstPerugia.
❓ Is a Bulgarian derby possible?
In the quarterfinal – no.
For Nikolov and Grozdanov to meet:
Lube must eliminate Zawiercie
Lublin must get past Warsaw or Trentino
Both teams must reach the semi-final
Only then is a direct clash possible.
🏐 The Road to the Final Four
The scheme is already drawn:
Lube is in the half with Zawiercie
Lublin is in the half with Warsaw/Trentino
Las Palmas is in the half with Perugia
Ziraat awaits the winner of Resovia/Roeselare
The eliminations begin – and the battle for a place among the best four in Europe enters its most intense phase.
All quarterfinal pairings and the path of the Bulgarians to the Final Four are now clear – it's up to volleyball to decide.
❌ Who drops out of the Champions League and goes to the CEV Cup?
The remaining third-placed teams conclude their participation in the CL, but continue in the CEV Cup tournament.
| Team | Group | What's next |
|---|---|---|
| Berlin Recycling Volleys | C | CEV Cup |
| Galatasaray Istanbul | B | CEV Cup |
| SVG Lüneburg | D | CEV Cup |
| ACH Ljubljana | A | CEV Cup |
These are serious names, especially Berlin and Galatasaray, who are surprisingly eliminated early from the Champions League but will be favorites in the second strongest European tournament.
❌ Who is completely eliminated from Europe? (fourth-placed teams in the groups)
The teams that finished 4th in their groups conclude their participation in European tournaments for the season. They do not continue in either the Champions League or the CEV Cup.
| Group | Team (4th place) | Points | Wins | Losses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | Tours VB | 3 | 1 | 5 |
| B | Halkbank Ankara | 4 | 1 | 4 |
| C | VK Lvi Prague | 3 | 0 | 6 |
| D | Sporting Lisbon | 6 | 2 | 4 |
| E | Volley Haasrode Leuven | 1 | 0 | 6 |
