SEHA – Gazprom League 2019/2020 Playing system

New season

In the 2019/2020 season, the SEHA – Gazprom League will be played in a new playing system. There will be a total of 12 teams, that are going to be divided into two groups, Group A and Group B. Each group will feature six teams, with ten matches scheduled for each team in the Group Phase. The competition will be played in four phases, starting in September, and finishing in April. Each team is guaranteed to play a minimum of twelve matches in the 2019/2020 SEHA – Gazprom League season. 

Phase 1: Group Phase (September – December)
In the Group Phase, each team will play ten matches within their respective groups. Five matches will be played at home, and five matches away. The final position after the ten rounds will determine if a club will play in the Play off phase or if they will earn a direct placement to the Quarter finals phase. The teams that finish first or second in the groups, will proceed directly to the Quarter finals, while the teams that finish from third to sixth in their groups will participate in the Play off phase. 

Phase 2: Play off (February)
The Play off phase will be made up of two matches for each participating team, one match played at home and one match played away. The teams that finish the Group Phase in positions 3-6 will play in the Play off phase, in the following principle. The team that finishes 3rd in Group A (A3), will play against the team that finishes 6th in Group B (B6). The 4th team from Group A (A4), will play against the 5thfrom Group B (B5). Equally, the 3rd and 4th from Group B (B3, B4), will play versus the 5th and 6th from Group A (A5, A6). 

Therefore, the Play off pairings shall be: 
B6 – A3
B5 – A4
A5 – B4 
A6 – B3

The home court advantage will be held by teams A3, A4, B3 and B4, which means they will play the first match away, and the second Play off match at home.

The winners from the Play off matches are going to earn a placement to the Quarter finals, where the teams that finish first and second after the Group Phase will await (A1, B1, A2, B2).

Phase 3: Quarter finals (March)
There will be eight teams competing in the Quarter finals phase. Four teams will have earned a direct placement after the Group Phase, and four additional teams will have earned a Quarter finals spot through the Play off phase. The Quarter finals phase will be made up of two matches for each participating team, one played at home, and one played away.

The Quarter final pairings shall be as follows:
QF1: A5/B4 – A1
QF2: B5/A4 – B1
QF3: A6/B3 – A2
QF4: B6/A3 – B2

The home court advantage will be held by teams A1, B1, A2 and B2, which means they will play the first match away, and the second Quarter final match at home. 

The winners from the matches QF1, QF2, QF3 and QF4 are going to earn a placement to the Final 4, which is the fourth and final phase of the competition. 

Phase 4: Final 4 (April)
The pinnacle of the season will once again be the SEHA – Gazprom League Final 4 tournament. The four teams, winners of the Quarter final matchups, will play at the Final 4, competing for the title of the SEHA – Gazprom League champion. The SEHA – Gazprom League Final 4 will remain unchanged, a single-match semi-final, final and the 3rd place match. The Final 4 pairings shall be determined in the following way. 

Semi-finals: 
Semi-final 1: QF1 winner – QF4 winner
Semi-final 2: QF2 winner – QF3 winner

Final match:
Semi-final 1 winner – Semi-final 2 winner

3rd place match:
Semi-final 1 losing team – Semi-final 2 losing team

The winners from the semi-final match will play in the final match of the SEHA – Gazprom League, and the teams who lose in the semi-final will play in the 3rd place match. The winner of the final match will be the SEHA – Gazprom League champion.