2025–26 European Aquatics Challenger Cup qualification round II
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Sport | Water polo |
| Date | 13–15 February 2026 |
| Host(s) | Elektrėnai Maribor Istanbul |
| Teams | 12 (from 9 countries) |
| Website | Official website |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 12 |
The 2025–26 European Aquatics Challenger Cup qualification round II is played between 13 and 15 February 2026 to determine the 8 teams advancing to the Final Eight of the 2025–26 European Aquatics Challenger Cup.
Format
The 12 teams were placed into four groups of three. In each group, teams will play against each other once in a round-robin format. The top two in each group advance to the next round.
Teams are ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 2 points for a penalty shootout win, 1 point for a penalty shootout loss, 0 points for a loss), and if tied on points, the following tiebreaking criteria are applied, in the order given, to determine the rankings:
- Points in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
- Goal difference in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
- Goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
- Goal difference in all group matches;
- Goals scored in all group matches.
Draw
| External videos | |
|---|---|
| 2025–26 European Aquatics Challenger Cup qualification round II – Draw | |
| Draw |
The draw was on 19 November 2025 in Zagreb, Croatia.[1] The clubs that in the same group in the previous round (in both Conference and Challenger Cup) could not be drawn against each other. (H) indicates which clubs is hosting a group.
Seeding
The pots were decided by as follows:
- Pot 1 consisted of the teams eliminated from Conference Cup qualification round I
- Pot 2 consisted of the group winners of the Challenger Cup qualification round I
- Pot 3 consisted of the group runners-up of the Challenger Cup qualification round I.
| Key to colours |
|---|
| Teams advancing to Final Eight |
| Team |
|---|
| Vitória SC |
| VK Banja Luka |
| EVK Zaibas (H) |
| Galatasaray SK (H) |
| Team |
|---|
| Sliema ASC Nexawin |
| AVK Branik Maribor (H) |
| Enka Sport Club |
| RD Mouscronnois |
| Team |
|---|
| San Giljan ASC |
| Carouge Natation |
| Heybeliada ASC |
| Cetus Espoo |
Groups
Group A
13–15 February 2026, Elektrėnai, Lithuania.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | PSW | PSL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | SLI | ZAI | CET | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sliema ASC Nexawin | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 24 | +11 | 6 | Final Eight | — | — | 23–14 | |
| 2 | EVK Zaibas (H) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 31 | 23 | +8 | 3 | 10–12 | — | 21–11 | ||
| 3 | Cetus Espoo | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 25 | 44 | −19 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 13 February 2026 19:30 |
Report | EVK Zaibas | 21–11 | Cetus Espoo | Elektrėnai Swimming Pool, Elektrėnai Referees: Neven Spoljaric (BIH), Florian Antheunis (BEL) |
| Score by quarters: 5–1, 7–4, 3–3, 6–3 | |||||
| Jonkus, Vrdoljak 4 | Goals | three players 3 | |||
| 14 February 2026 19:00 |
Report | Sliema ASC Nexawin | 23–14 | Cetus Espoo | Elektrėnai Swimming Pool, Elektrėnai Referees: Emin Can Tanik (TUR), Neven Spoljaric (BIH) |
| Score by quarters: 7–4, 5–5, 5–1, 6–4 | |||||
| Cassar 4 | Goals | Krivokapic 4 | |||
| 15 February 2026 11:00 |
Report | EVK Zaibas | 10–12 | Sliema ASC Nexawin | Elektrėnai Swimming Pool, Elektrėnai Referees: Emin Can Tanik (TUR), Florian Antheunis (BEL) |
| Score by quarters: 2–3, 3–4, 2–3, 3–2 | |||||
| Bakulo, Krapić 3 | Goals | Galea 3 | |||
Group B
13–15 February 2026, Maribor, Slovenia.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | PSW | PSL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | GIL | MAR | BAN | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Giljan ASC | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 48 | 21 | +27 | 6 | Final Eight | — | — | — | |
| 2 | AVK Branik Maribor (H) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 53 | 32 | +21 | 3 | 19–21 | — | 34–11 | ||
| 3 | VK Banja Luka | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 13 | 61 | −48 | 0 | 2–27 | — | — |
| 13 February 2026 20:00 |
Report | AVK Branik Maribor | 34–11 | VK Banja Luka | Pristan Pool, Maribor Referees: Jarkko Virtanen (FIN), Georgios Lampros Kravaritis (GRE) |
| Score by quarters: 10–4, 7–2, 9–3, 8–2 | |||||
| Hadžić, Kačič 5 | Goals | Cosic 4 | |||
| 14 February 2026 19:00 |
Report | VK Banja Luka | 2–27 | San Giljan ASC | Pristan Pool, Maribor Referees: Povilas Sriubas (LTU), Jarkko Virtanen (FIN) |
| Score by quarters: 0–6, 2–7, 0–7, 0–7 | |||||
| Djukic, Kojcinovic 1 | Goals | Caruana 5 | |||
| 15 February 2026 12:00 |
Report | AVK Branik Maribor | 19–21 | San Giljan ASC | Pristan Pool, Maribor Referees: Georgios Lampros Kravaritis (GRE), Povilas Sriubas (LTU) |
| Score by quarters: 4–3, 4–6, 7–8, 4–4 | |||||
| Pevec 5 | Goals | Plumpton 6 | |||
Group C
13–15 February 2026, Istanbul, Turkey.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | PSW | PSL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | ENK | GAL | CAR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Enka Sport Club | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 21 | +14 | 6 | Final Eight | — | — | 20–7 | |
| 2 | Galatasaray SK (H) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 42 | 19 | +23 | 3 | 14–15 | — | 28–4 | ||
| 3 | Carouge Natation | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 48 | −37 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 13 February 2026 20:00 |
Report | Enka Sport Club | 20–7 | Carouge Natation | Galatasaray Kalamış Facilities, Istanbul Referees: Alex De Raffaele (MLT), Tevz Suhadolnik (SLO) |
| Score by quarters: 4–3, 5–1, 4–2, 7–1 | |||||
| Duzenli 6 | Goals | Maddern 3 | |||
| 14 February 2026 19:00 |
Report | Galatasaray SK | 28–4 | Carouge Natation | Galatasaray Kalamış Facilities, Istanbul Referees: Tevz Suhadolnik (SLO), Luis Santos (POR) |
| Score by quarters: 6–0, 8–1, 8–1, 6–2 | |||||
| Colak 5 | Goals | Ardisson 2 | |||
| 15 February 2026 12:00 |
Report | Galatasaray SK | 14–15 | Enka Sport Club | Galatasaray Kalamış Facilities, Istanbul Referees: Luis Santos (POR), Alex De Raffaele (MLT) |
| Score by quarters: 5–7, 5–2, 1–4, 3–2 | |||||
| Caner 5 | Goals | Dervisis 5 | |||
Group D
13–15 February 2026, Maribor, Slovenia.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | PSW | PSL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | VIT | HEY | MOU | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vitória SC | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 26 | +3 | 6 | Final Eight | — | — | 18–17 | |
| 2 | Heybeliada ASC | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 25 | 27 | −2 | 2 | 9–11 | — | — | ||
| 3 | RD Mouscronnois | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 33 | 34 | −1 | 1 | — | 20–21[a] | — |
Source: European Aquatics Challenger Cup
- ^ Match ended 16–16. Heybeliada ASC won 4–5 on penalties.
| 13 February 2026 18:00 |
Report | Vitória SC | 18–17 | RD Mouscronnois | Pristan Pool, Maribor Referees: Povilas Sriubas (LTU), Luis Munoz Perez (ESP) |
| Score by quarters: 5–4, 4–2, 3–7, 6–4 | |||||
| Radosavljević 4 | Goals | Canonne 7 | |||
| 14 February 2026 17:00 |
Report | Heybeliada ASC | 9–11 | Vitória SC | Pristan Pool, Maribor Referees: Luis Munoz Perez (ESP), Georgios Lampros Kravaritis (GRE) |
| Score by quarters: 3–3, 1–2, 5–4, 0–2 | |||||
| Sönmez 3 | Goals | Ramos 4 | |||
| 14 February 2026 10:00 |
Report | RD Mouscronnois | 20–21 (PSO) | Heybeliada ASC | Pristan Pool, Maribor Referees: Luis Munoz Perez (ESP), Jarkko Virtanen (FIN) |
| Score by quarters: 3–2, 3–4, 7–6, 3–4 PSO: 4–5 | |||||
| Canonne, Labreg 4 | Goals | Sönmez 5 | |||
Notes
See also
- 2025–26 European Aquatics Champions League
- 2025–26 European Aquatics Euro Cup
- 2025–26 European Aquatics Conference Cup
- 2025–26 European Aquatics Challenger Cup
- 2025 European Aquatics Super Cup
- 2025–26 European Aquatics Women's Champions League
- 2025–26 European Aquatics Women's Euro Cup
- 2025–26 European Aquatics Women's Conference Cup
- 2025–26 European Aquatics Women's Challenger Cup
- 2025 European Aquatics Women's Super Cup
References
Matchday reports
| Reference |
|---|
| Matchday 1 |
| Matchday 2 |
| Matchday 3 |
- ^ "Challenger Cup Water Polo: Route to men's and women's finals revealed after Qualification Round II draw | European Aquatics®". europeanaquatics.org. 8 December 2025. Retrieved 16 January 2026.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to 2025–26 European Aquatics Challenger Cup qualification round II.