The wait is over! Sportklub CEFL Championship starts this Saturday with 4 games of the opening round. First on the program is a game in Scandinavia where the newcomer will test the tournament waters. Three well-known teams will make their comebacks to the competition in the following games.

CEFL Championship, Round 1
Saturday, 20 April, 13:00 CET
Stockholm Mean Machines — Manchester Titans
Live stream: https://www.swe3play.se/livestream/s-cefl-stockholm-mean-machines-manchester-titans-x08era

Stockholm Mean Machines have been dominating their national league since 2021, staying unbeaten for two whole seasons. Last year they’ve staged a couple of big excitements in the CEFL Championship. First they outlasted Kuopio Steelers in the first round by 3 points and then fell to the favored Unicorns in the final seconds.

They’re currently sitting atop the Swedish league with a 2-0 score. Playing a huge role in the team’s success are three of their imports. Quarterback Mateo Renteria is leading the offense and his favorite target is Matthew Retzlaff, who’s coming back for another year with the team. Their compatriot, Kamar Greenhouse will help in the defensive backfield.

Manchester Titans have had almost equally impressive marks in the British national league. Their impeccable record in the past two years has just a single L in 2022. That time they fells to Tamworth Phoenix, one of the few teams with international experience. Interestingly, Mancunians have just started their domestic season last week thrashing the same opponent with a 38-0 score.

This year, the Titans are going one step further, presenting their talents to the European viewership. The Northern clash will take everything of their whole team, growing their players’ skills to the next level. With no help from overseas, they’ll have to rely on their own forces, aided by three of their European international additions.

CEFL Championship, Round 1
Saturday, 20 April, 14:00 CET
Guelfi Firenze — Belgrade SBB Vukovi
Livestream: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRRPfZig2OA

As the 2022 national champions, Guelfi Firenze were seeded last season in the CEFL Championship. They skipped the first round and lost in the second to Thonon Black Panthers who went to the big game. In 2023 they lost in the national finals which took place in the USA. That has placed them in the first round this time.

Guelfi are 4-1 so far in the Italian league, downing all their rivals very convincingly. Their only blemish came from Varese Scorpions, a team which is becoming a force to reckon with. Homegrown signal caller Andrea Fimiani will have an import receiver, Ryan Deluca to look at. Dejion Lynch is making a comeback as the defensive back.

Belgrade SBB Vukovi have beaten Budapest Wolves in their first outing last season. Next, they fell to Parma Panthers and are now facing another Italian adversary. This is their record 15th season playing in the top CEFL competition. The early years were especially fruitful for the team, with 6 trophies in their cases from back then.

Coming to the CEFL Championship as the 2023 national runners up, the Belgraders are now sporting a 3-1 score. Their eternal rival, Kragujevac Wild Boars have dealt them the only blow and they will surely meet again in the Serbian playoffs. Vukovi have brought back their 2022 quarterback, Ryan Barabe to lead to team again and Devion Young will be the starting running back.

CEFL Championship, Round 1
Saturday, 20 April, 15:00 CET
Thalheim Graz Giants — Kragujevac Wild Boars
Live stream: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxndOCZZo34

The Giants are returning to the CEFL Championship after winning the whole thing in their first and only junket in 2016. They squeezed through past SBB Vukovi by 3 points to lift the trophy in one of the most exciting CEFL Bowls ever. Last year they lost in the semifinals to the Danube Dragons in Austria and now they’re entertaining their international ambitions.

This season is going as planned for the team which is sitting pretty in the AFL with a 4-0 record. However, the toughest national matchups seem to be ahead of the team and this international test will help them hone their skills. They will have help from their import offensive leader Nicolas Visser and Devonte Myles will work in the secondary.

Kragujevac Wild Boars are also coming back since they last played in 2021. That stint didn’t go so well for them, as they suffered a blowout by Vienna Vikings. Now they’re returning as the national champs and the winners of the 2023 CEFL Cup. It would be unjust to forget that this team captured the first title in the inaugural season of CEFL back in 2006.

With a 3-0 score, the Wild Boars are occupying the top spot in their national league at the moment. They are slated to meet SBB Vukovi again during the regular season in a matchup that will surely decide the home field for the finals. Team’s import quarterback, Corey Fields will have a lot of help in the backfield embodied in running back Aphonso Thomas.

CEFL Championship, Round 1
Saturday, 20 April, 18:00 CET
Calanda Broncos — Copenhagen Towers
Live stream: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_daWAxJ0Mc

Calanda Broncos have been the staple of the CEFL Championship since 2019. It was also their best season in the tournament as they appeared in the CEFL Bowl XIV and almost surprised the favored Swarco Raiders Tirol. Last season they were upended by Thonon Black Panthers in the first round, sustaining a 3 point loss.

Currently, the Broncos are 3-0 in the Swiss league. Everything is going their way so far and now the Danes will try to disrupt that idyll. Robin Sennrich will play behind the center and Maxwell Gray, who’s returning for yet another season, will be a familiar face in front of him. Another import, Andre Blackett Jr. will lead the defense as a linebacker.

The Superfinal game between the CEFL and NEFL champions was the first time that the Copenhagen Towers crossed paths with the competition. It was in 2018 and they were dealt a blow by the CEFL maven of that time, the Raiders. The Towers first came to the CEFL Championship in 2022 and that time they fell to Sweden’s Örebro Black Knights.

The team is now returning as the 2023 Danish champions. They went undefeated the whole season too, with a 10-0 score including the finals. Their national league hasn’t started yet, so this will be their first test of the year. Their roster is based on domestic players with the only import being an offensive lineman Steven Schwartz.