AUDIO: Final Four in Hamburg: Opponents for Kiel and Flensburg have been determined (6 min)
Final Four drawn in Hamburg
As of: May 8, 2026 12:28 p.m
Curious draw in the Handball European League: At the Final Four in Hamburg there will be the same games in the semi-finals as last year. SG Flensburg-Handewitt meets MT Melsungen, THW Kiel meets Montpellier HB.
The Final Four will take place again in the Hanseatic city this year. The semi-finals will be played on May 30th, the final a day later. And well-known duels await the spectators. Defending champion Flensburg plays against Bundesliga rival Melsungen. The second semi-final will be contested by the German record champion THW Kiel and the French representative Montpellier HB. This was the result of the draw at the European Handball Federation (EHF) on Friday in Vienna.
Exactly the same constellation existed last year. At that time, Flensburg and Montpellier prevailed in the semi-finals. The SG won the title by winning the final against the French.
THW managing director Szilagyi: “Open duel” against Montpellier
“It will be an open duel for the final, even if we managed two wins against Montpellier in the group phase,” said THW managing director Viktor Szilagyi: “Experience has shown that such tournaments have their own character, and the greater will and the form of the day decide. We now have three weeks to prepare for our dream.”
European League firmly in German hands
The European League has been a German affair for years. Since 2004, the winner has only been out of the Bundesliga twice (Lisbon 2022, Pick Szeged 2014), most recently Flensburg triumphed two years in a row.
Kiel, FrischAuf Göppingen and SC Magdeburg are record winners with four titles. Flensburg has won the second most important European club competition after the Champions League three times, Melsungen and Montpellier have never won.
