Regensburg’s Guggenberg Legionnaires Ready for European Champions Cup Challenge

After the marathon weekend is before the European Cup. Before the Guggenberg Legionnaires can take a break at Pentecost, the international baptism of fire is on the agenda this season. The European Champions Cup begins in the new format on Wednesday. The Regensburg team will first play away against Czech record champions Draci Brno. The game starts at 7 p.m.

The journey east begins in the morning. For the Schwabelweiser, it is the first appearance on the European stage since 2017. With their victory in the German Cup last year, the Upper Palatinate team qualified for the competition.

During the European Championship last September, the decision was officially announced on the homepage of WBSC Europe – the European baseball association -: The European Cup will be reformed. Instead of taking the form of a tournament with an organizer as before, the next step should be taken. By being held in a league format, “the Baseball European Champions Cup offers top European clubs the opportunity to play in front of their home crowd at a high international level and thus appeal more to fans, sponsors and interest groups,” said the WBSC Europe statement. At that time, the associations of Germany, the Czech Republic, Italy and the Netherlands had agreed on this.

Duo backs down

Six months later, Germany and the Czech Republic remained. “I can’t give any reliable information about why the other two parties have now backed down,” explains Philipp Wuerfel, the game operations manager of the German Baseball and Softball Association. “We are definitely happy to be a part of it. The competition is designed with a perspective in mind and is expected to grow over the next few years,” continues Wuerfel.

In fact, in recent years there have been repeated calls for a restructuring of European club competitions. The financial burden of a full European Cup week abroad was difficult for many clubs to cope with. There have been repeated attempts to install a league. Now, for the first time, WBSC Europe has taken this into its own hands.

For the future, there are even thought games regarding a global comparison of club teams. The world association (WBSC) recently announced the “Baseball Champions League Americas”, which will be held for the first time in 2024. Something like a Club World Cup is being sought. “The talks are ongoing,” reveals cubes: “An agreement has not yet been reached for 2024, which is why the European version cannot yet run under the name Champions League.”

At the moment, four teams are fighting for the crown in European club baseball. In last year’s edition – still in the tournament format with eight teams – HCAW Bussum from the Netherlands prevailed. The German clubs from Bonn and Paderborn took fourth and seventh place.

In the new format, the Bundesliga clubs’ chances of winning the highest European club title have increased. Legionnaires’ trainer Martin Helmig approaches the task with corresponding motivation. “It is an enrichment that we are playing internationally again. It’s also always very pleasant in the summer when we have home games on Wednesdays. It’s another challenge and of course we want to present ourselves as well as we can in Europe,” explains Helmig.

Highly decorated opponent

With Draci Brno, a highly decorated opponent is immediately waiting for the Upper Palatinate team. The “Dragons” from Brno have won the Czech championship 24 times (most recently twice in a row) and are regular guests on Europe’s baseball stage. Matt Vance and Devon Ramirez are spared for the Regensburg team. On the pitcher’s mound, Helmig relies on Scott Harkin, Aljo Sujak and Joe Cedano de Leon.

The European Cup schedule15. May, 7 p.m.: Heidenheim heideköpfe – Eagles Praha, Draci Brno – Guggenberg Legionnaires Regensburg

June 5th, 7 p.m.: Regensburg – Prague, Brno – Heidenheim

June 12th, 6:30 p.m.: Prague – Regensburg; 19.00: Heidenheim – Brno

July 17, 6:30 p.m.: Prag – Heidenheim; 19.00: Regensburg – Brno

August 14th, 7 p.m.: Brno – Prague, Heidenheim – Regensburg

August 21st, 6:30 p.m.: Prague – Brno; 19.00: Regensburg – Heidenheim

Finale: September 28th, 3 p.m

2024-05-14 16:07:38
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