2023–24 LEN Challenger Cup
European water polo tournament
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The 2023–24 LEN Challenger Cup was the 2nd edition of a water polo competition organised by the Ligue Européenne de Natation (LEN). It acts as the third tier, below the LEN Champions League and the LEN Euro Cup. The reigning champions are GS Apollon Smyrnis, but they won't defend their title due to their involvement in this season's Champions League and Euro Cup.
| 2023–24 LEN Challenger Cup | |
|---|---|
| |
| League | LEN Challenger Cup |
| Sport | Water polo |
| Duration | 19 October 2023 – 27 April 2024 |
| Games | 50 |
| Teams | 19 |
| Finals champions |  Galatasaray (1st title) |
| Runners-up |  Triglav Kranj |
Galatasaray won the competition, beating Slovenian side, Triglav Kranj, in the final. They become the first men's water polo team from Turkey to win a European title.[1][2][3][4][5]
Format
This is the first season under the new changes made by LEN.[6] 19 teams are grouped into 4 pools, three with five clubs, and one with four clubs. The pools are held by one of the clubs. The top 2 from every pool advances to the quarter-finals, followed by semi-finals and finals.
Rankings
Only teams below the top 12 can enter the competition.
Teams
The team were announced on 8 September 2023.[8] Starting this season, no countries ranked in the top 12 of the LEN men's club rankings can take part in this tournament.
 Royal Dauphins Mouscronnois |
 VK Banja Luka |
 KVT Komodor |
 APOEL Nicosia |
 Cetus Espoo |
 Polytechnic Water Polo Club |
City Of Manchester Water Polo Club |
 EVK Zaibas |
 Valletta[a] |
 Vitória Sport Clube |
Clube Fluvial Portuense |
Sporting Clube De Portugal |
 KVP Novaky |
Triglav Kranj |
 SC Kreuzlingen |
Carouge Natation |
| Galatasaray |
ODTU Sport Club |
Enka Istanbul |
- Valletta is actually the Maltese national team, but is playing under the name Valletta.[9]
Schedule
Rounds and dates
| Phase | Round | Round date |
|---|---|---|
| Qualification round | 19–22 October 2023 | |
| Quarter-finals | First leg | 25 November 2023 |
| Second leg | 9 December 2023 | |
| Semi-finals | First leg | 9 March 2024 |
| Second leg | 23 March 2024 | |
| Final | First leg | 6 April 2024 |
| Second leg | 27 April 2024 |
Qualification round
Draw
The draw was on 11 September 2023. H indicates which club is hosting the groups.[10][11][12][13] Teams in bold advanced to the quarter-finals. The seeding was decided by as follows:
| Pot 1 | Pot 2 | Pot 3 | Pot 4 | Pot 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Group A
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | PSW | PSL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | KRE |
TRI |
VIT |
FLU |
APO | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SC Kreuzlingen |
4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 59 | 36 | +23 | 12 | Quarter-finals | — | 10–9 | — | — | — | |
| 2 | Triglav Kranj |
4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 47 | 34 | +13 | 6[a] | — | — | 10–8 | — | 18–5 | ||
| 3 | Vitória Sport Clube |
4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 48 | 45 | +3 | 6[a] | 10–12 | — | — | — | 18–14 | ||
| 4 | Clube Fluvial Portuense (H) |
4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 39 | 51 | −12 | 6[a] | 8–21 | 11–10 | 9–12 | — | 11–8 | ||
| 5 | APOEL Nicosia |
4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 36 | 63 | −27 | 0 | 9–16 | — | — | — | — |
- Head-to-head goal difference: Triglav Kranj +1, Vitoria Sport Clube +1, Clube Fluvial Portuense –2. Head-to-head result: Triglav Kranj 10–8 Vitoria Sport Clube.
Group B
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | PSW | PSL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | CAR |
DAU |
MAN |
ODT |
BAN | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carouge Natation |
4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 59 | 34 | +25 | 11 | Quarter-finals | — | — | 11–10 | 20–9 | 20–7 | |
| 2 | Royal Dauphins Mouscronnois (H) |
4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 69 | 36 | +33 | 10 | 11–12[a] | — | 16–14 | 20–7 | 25–7 | ||
| 3 | City Of Manchester Water Polo Club |
4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 60 | 42 | +18 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 4 | ODTU Sport Club |
4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 45 | 69 | −24 | 3 | — | — | 8–13 | — | 21–16 | ||
| 5 | VK Banja Luka |
4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 37 | 89 | −52 | 0 | — | — | 7–23 | — | — |
- Match ended 8–8, Carouge Natation won 4–3 on penalties
Group C
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | PSW | PSL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | GAL |
NOV |
POL |
SPO | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Galatasaray (H) |
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 58 | 21 | +37 | 9 | Quarter-finals | — | 14–7 | 17–8 | 27–6 | |
| 2 | KVP Novaky |
3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 33 | 28 | +5 | 6 | — | — | — | 15–6 | ||
| 3 | Polytechnic Water Polo Club |
3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 25 | 32 | −7 | 3 | — | 8–11 | — | — | ||
| 4 | Sporting Clube De Portugal |
3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 16 | 51 | −35 | 0 | — | — | 4–9 | — |
Group D
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | PSW | PSL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | ZAI |
VAL |
ENK |
CET |
KOM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | EVK Zaibas |
4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 64 | 35 | +29 | 9[a] | Quarter-finals | — | — | 8–11 | 22–8 | — | |
| 2 | Valletta (H) |
4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 67 | 33 | +34 | 9[a] | 11–15 | — | 14–10 | 21–5 | 21–3 | ||
| 3 | Enka Istanbul |
4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 68 | 26 | +42 | 9[a] | — | — | — | 22–1 | 25–3 | ||
| 4 | Cetus Espoo |
4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 36 | 74 | −38 | 3 | — | — | — | — | 22–9 | ||
| 5 | KVT Komodor |
4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 20 | 87 | −67 | 0 | 5–19 | — | — | — | — |
- Head-to-head goal difference: EVK Zaibas +1, Valletta 0, Enka Istanbul –1.
Knockout stage
Draw
The draw took place on 24 October in Barcelona.[16] The seeded and unseeded clubs consist of the teams that finished first and second in the previous round respectively. The only restriction was that clubs from the same group in the previous round could not be drawn against each other.
| Seeded | Unseeded |
|---|---|
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|
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Bracket
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | |||||||||||||||
| Royal Dauphins Mouscronnois
| 7 | 7 | 14 | ||||||||||||||
| EVK Zaibas
| 17 | 18 | 35 | ||||||||||||||
| EVK Zaibas
| 8 | 9 | 17 | ||||||||||||||
| Galatasaray
| 9 | 12 | 21 | ||||||||||||||
| Valletta
| 6 | 12 | 18 | ||||||||||||||
| Galatasaray
| 10 | 15 | 25 | ||||||||||||||
| Galatasaray
| 14 | 19 | 33 | ||||||||||||||
| Triglav Kranj
| 6 | 13 | 19 | ||||||||||||||
| Triglav Kranj
| 17 | 12 | 29 | ||||||||||||||
| Carouge Natation
| 7 | 14 | 21 | ||||||||||||||
| Triglav Kranj
| 11 | 10 | 21 | ||||||||||||||
| SC Kreuzlingen
| 10 | 10 | 20 | ||||||||||||||
| KVP Novaky
| 15 | 11 | 26 | ||||||||||||||
| SC Kreuzlingen
| 14 | 13 | 27 | ||||||||||||||
Quarter-finals
| 25 November 2023 20:30 |
Report | Royal Dauphins Mouscronnois |
7–17 | EVK Zaibas |
Mouscron, Belgium Referees: Peter Radic (SVK), Luis Santos (POR) |
| Score by quarters: 0–6, 1–1, 2–5, 4–5 | |||||
| Croquet 2 | Goals | Bakulo 4 | |||
| 9 December 2023 19:00 |
Report | EVK Zaibas |
18–7 | Royal Dauphins Mouscronnois |
Elektrėnai, Lithuania Referees: Massimo Castrilli (SUI), Rok Vehovec (SLO) |
| Score by quarters: 3–4, 5–0, 7–1, 3–2 | |||||
| Bakulo, Jonkus 4 | Goals | Lukacs 2 | |||
EVK Zaibas won 35–14 on aggregate.
| 25 November 2023 19:00 |
Report | Valletta |
6–10 | Galatasaray |
Gzira, Malta Referees: Alessandro Severo (ITA), Tomi Kavcic (SLO) |
| Score by quarters: 2–2, 1–3, 2–4, 1–1 | |||||
| Galea, Gialanze 2 | Goals | Caner 3 | |||
| 9 December 2023 17:30 |
Report | Galatasaray |
15–12 | Valletta |
Istanbul, Turkey Referees: Erik Kolar (SVK), Philip Uhlig (GER) |
| Score by quarters: 4–2, 3–2, 4–4, 4–4 | |||||
| Caner 4 | Goals | Cachia, Gialanze 3 | |||
Galatasaray won 25–18 on aggregate.
| 2 December 2023 20:00 |
Report | Triglav Kranj |
17–7 | Carouge Natation |
Kranj, Slovenia Referees: Karel Dvoracek (CZE), Erkan Turkkan (TUR) |
| Score by quarters: 3–1, 6–4, 2–2, 6–0 | |||||
| Lah 4 | Goals | Blary, Roscio 2 | |||
| 9 December 2023 19:15 |
Report | Carouge Natation |
14–12 | Triglav Kranj |
Carouge, Switzerland Referees: Radosław Koryzna (POL), Boris Margeta (SLO) |
| Score by quarters: 3–2, 3–5, 3–5, 5–0 | |||||
| Blary 7 | Goals | Justin 4 | |||
Triglav Kranj won 29–21 on aggregate.
| 25 November 2023 19:00 |
Report | KVP Novaky |
15–14 | SC Kreuzlingen |
Novaky, Slovakia Referees: Massimo Angileri (MLT), Nerijus Papaurelis (LTU) |
| Score by quarters: 2–2, 3–4, 6–2, 4–6 | |||||
| Mihal, Tisaj 4 | Goals | Geiser, Pleyer 3 | |||
| 9 December 2023 20:00 |
Report | SC Kreuzlingen |
13–11 | KVP Novaky |
Kreuzlingen, Switzerland |
| Score by quarters: 2–1, 2–1, 3–4, 6–5 | |||||
| Pleyer 6 | Goals | Bielik 3 | |||
SC Kreuzlingen won 27–26 on aggregate.
Semi-finals
| 9 March 2024 19:00 |
Report | EVK Zaibas |
8–9 | Galatasaray |
Elektrėnai, Lithuania Referees: Rik Evers (NED), Gernot Haentschel (GER) |
| Score by quarters: 0–3, 2–2, 5–2, 1–2 | |||||
| Gostautas, Pumputis 2 | Goals | Acar, Naipoglu 2 | |||
| 23 March 2024 19:00 |
Report | Galatasaray |
12–9 | EVK Zaibas |
Istanbul, Turkey Referees: Daniele Bianco (ITA), Tomislav Copic (CRO) |
| Score by quarters: 4–1, 3–1, 3–5, 2–2 | |||||
| Krstic 4 | Goals | Jelača 5 | |||
Galatasaray won 21–17 on aggregate
| 9 March 2024 18:00 |
Report | Triglav Kranj |
11–10 | SC Kreuzlingen |
Kranj, Slovenia Referees: Rajmund Fodor (HUN), Jakov Blaskovic (CRO) |
| Score by quarters: 3–1, 2–2, 3–3, 3–4 | |||||
| Paunovic 3 | Goals | Pleyer 3 | |||
| 23 March 2024 20:00 |
Report | SC Kreuzlingen |
10–10 | Triglav Kranj |
Kreuzlingen, Switzerland Referees: David Gomez (ESP), Stanko Ivanovski (MNE) |
| Score by quarters: 3–0, 4–3, 2–3, 1–4 | |||||
| Herzog, Pleyer 4 | Goals | Cerar, Troppan 3 | |||
Triglav Kranj won 21–20 on aggregate
Final
| 6 April 2024 18:00 |
Report | Galatasaray |
14–6 | Triglav Kranj |
Istanbul, Turkey Referees: Rik Evers (NED), Sinisa Matijasevic (MNE) |
| Score by quarters: 3–2, 5–2, 3–1, 3–1 | |||||
| Destici 5 | Goals | Justin 2 | |||
| 27 April 2024 20:00 |
Report | Triglav Kranj |
13–19 | Galatasaray |
Kranj, Slovenia Referees: Radoslaw Koryzna (POL), Hendrik Schopp (GER) |
| Score by quarters: 3–5, 3–2, 3–5, 4–7 | |||||
| Rajlic, Stromajer 3 | Goals | Naipoglu 4 | |||
Galatasaray won 33–19 on aggregate
| 2023–24 LEN Challenger Cup Champions |
|---|
 Galatasaray First title |