CEFL Championship is continuing with 5 games of the second round, all scheduled for this Saturday. Games in Poland, Switzerland, Italy and France will feature 8 very different contestants. None of the teams playing those individual matchups have met each other in the CEFL before, which is quite unusual in relatively closed European quarters. As always, all games will be live-streamed and there’s going to be something for everyone’s taste.

 

CEFL Championship, Round 2
Saturday, 16 May, 16:30 CET
Warsaw Eagles — Bristol Aztecs
Live stream: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmc4ugc7Gds

Warsaw Eagles are entering the tournament as the most pleasant surprise of last season. That time they’ve taken Stockholm by storm, beating the Mean Machines by 40–21. An even bigger shock came in Schwäbisch Hall, where they conquered the heavily favored Unicorns by 6 points. The Poles ended their 2025 journey in Switzerland in the semifinals, losing to Calanda Broncos.

Those exploits have allowed them to be seeded and skip the opening round now. Everything’s going well for them this season. They’re 6–0 in the national league, overpowering their rivals by large margins, and totaling a 193–44 scoring difference. A skillful British team with equally big plans will be a good first international test for them. This will be a very interesting matchup to watch.

The visitors, Bristol Aztecs, are arriving to the Poland’s capital city with a huge win. A newcomer to the CEFL Championship – and also the first Irish team to join the competition – wasn’t up to the task. Bristol Aztecs have hosted the Irish champion, Belfast Trojans, shutting them out 31–0. There’s no doubt that the British champion will have a much tougher test in Poland.

The Aztecs are going strong in their national league too. In the two duels they’ve played and won there thus far they’ve slated an 80–20 point difference. They sit atop the BAFA Premiere South division at the moment and anyone trying to challenge them will have to work very hard for it. Having lost in the second round of the CEFL Championship last season, they want to jump over that hurdle now.

American quarterback Vidal Woodruff will call the plays for the home team. Meril Zéro, an experienced French tailback will work from the backfield. Their defense will be led by an import linebacker Dexter Fitzpatrick Jr.

British visitors have equally impressive international players. Their offensive leader, Ethan Gretzinger posted 3 passing touchdowns in the first round, connecting with different receivers. Running back Josh Breece added one over the ground.

 

CEFL Championship, Round 2
Saturday, 16 May, 18:00 CET
Calanda Broncos — Badalona Dracs
Live stream: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYjR9cpdeyA

An afternoon matchup in Warsaw will be followed by a trio of evening games. In Switzerland, Calanda Broncos will start a new CEFL Championship season with their eyes on the prize. They advanced to the big game three times already, including the past season. After blanking Kragujevac Wild Boars and dispatching Warsaw Eagles, they fell to Thonon Black Panthers by a touchdown in CEFL Bowl XIX.

The Swiss champion is doing well domestically, though they’ve shown a rare chink in the armor. A few weeks ago they suffered an uncharacteristic loss to Bern Grizzlies. Other teams couldn’t resist them so their 6–1 record puts them in the lead of the national league. This first international contest will be a litmus test to see how they’ll fare in the CEFL Championship this year.

Spanish visitors, Badalona Dracs, are arriving fresh from their national finals. They are the newest European vice-champions of the 2026 campaign. In their last-season’s CEFL Championship opener in Thonon they gave way to the Black Panthers. It was their second time yielding to French teams after their inaugural 2022 effort, when they lost in the first round to Flash de La Courneuve.

If their closest neighbors were tough matchups for them previously, they hope to do better against the Swiss now. While they know who they are this season and what to expect from each and every athlete on their team, the Catalans might also be at a disadvantage. Reality teaches that players are known to lose interest after their national seasons end, while imports often go back home.

Talking about that, Calanda Broncos have brought in offensive help represented in tight end Thomas Smith. Their defensive commander on the field will be linebacker Cole Brockwell. Team’s quarterback is a dependable domestic player Robin Sennrich.

Taking snaps on the other side of the field will be Pol Singleton Planas. Dracs’ RB is an American player Jashaun Foster, who will run behind an international O-line. Felix N’Twa is the team’s defensive lineman with lots of experience from different continental leagues.

 

CEFL Championship, Round 2
Saturday, 16 May, 18:00 CET
Guelfi Firenze — Belgrade Blue Dragons
Live stream: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzmTcn5UjI4

Guelfi joined the CEFL Championship back in 2023, when they lost their first game to Thonon Black Panthers. Next season they did better, knocking out Belgrade Vukovi in the first round, only to be dealt with by that season’s champions, Danube Dragons. They took a break from international contests last year and now we’ll see if they’ll do equally well versus another Belgrade team as they did in 2024.

The Italian champions are the current leaders of their national competition with a 6–0 record. Going undefeated with a 282–91 scoring difference it’s hard to imagine anyone dethroning them. There are 2 more games left to play until the end of the regular part of the Italian season so they’re all but certain to skip the wild card round of their playoffs and go directly to the semifinals.

Meanwhile, Belgrade Blue Dragons are competing in the Hungarian football league for the first time. They play all of their games there as visitors, so this tour in Italy will be more of the same for them, since they’re used to such rough rides. At the mid-point of the regular season in Hungary they’re 1–2, but so is half the league there. With 3 more games yet to play they could still make the playoffs.

This is the Blue Dragons’ inaugural season in the CEFL Championship after 2017, when they appeared in the CEFL Cup. They left quite an impression in the first round, beating Kragujevac Wild Boars, who became one of the staples of that competition over the years. Such outcomes between those two opponents were very few and far apart when they both played in the Serbian league.

Florentines’ homegrown under center, Andrea Fimiani will have outstanding assets down the field in two import wide receivers, Eystin Salum and Frank Stola. Add to that a stable of domestic rushers and that makes the Guelfi team an offensive force to be reckoned with.

The Blue Dragons are not without an arsenal either. Their quarterback, Michael Cornwell showed great skill in the first round scoring every touchdown for the team, 5 in total. Airing the ball, he will look to his compatriots Elijah Smoot and Varsey Bright.

 

CEFL Championship, Round 2
Saturday, 16 May, 19:00 CET
Thonon Black Panthers — Manchester Titans
Live stream: https://fffa.tv/sportitem/69fc81a8288e35cca53882bd (free registration and free live stream)

Thonon Black Panthers are coming back to the CEFL Championship triumphantly, as the winners of last season’s CEFL Bowl XIX. In their fifth season overall, they first beat Badalona Dracs by a huge margin, then survived Carlstad Crusaders’ raid by 2 points, to finally best Calanda Broncos in the big game. Now it’ll be very interesting to see how they’ll cope with one of the best British teams in recent history.

The French championship will soon conclude its regular season, though the Black Panthers have already played all of their games. They finished the regular part of the season on the top branch, going 9-1 and placing directly in the semifinals. That single loss came in their last matchup, when they scored only 9 points. Whether that spells trouble for them remains to be seen on Saturday.

Mancunians are revisiting the CEFL Championship after their first stint in 2024. The Titans had a tough time in the opener of that season against Stockholm Mean Machines, who overwhelmed them 42–14. They’re coming back now, looking for their first success in the tournament while facing another challenging opponent on the Lake Geneva shoreline.

The Titans are currently atop the BAFA Premiere North division with a 2–0 record. Even though they play in the same 2 competitions, Mancs are not sure to cross paths with the Aztecs in either of them. In the British league they might meet in the playoffs, coming from two different conferences that don’t mix during the regular season. In the CEFL Championship, they could clash only in the bowl game. 

The Black Panthers’ play-caller is Mateo Renteria, who will be well-known to the Titans, as he led the Mean Machines’ team that expelled them from the 2024 CEFL Championship. One of the targets in front of him will be an American tight end, Justin Marcus.

In contrast, the Titans have put all of their hopes in homegrown talent. It would be inconsiderate to single out any individual players. They themselves will want to be seen as a cohesive unit, and that is exactly what they’ll need to be in order to knock out the champions.