The second phase of the EHL Men KO16 weekend kicks in on Saturday morning as the battle to complete the FINAL8 line-up begins in earnest with the hosts hoping to delight Real Club de Polo.

Saturday October 11th

KO16: Western Wildcats (SCO) v Braxgata HC (BEL) – 09.45 CET

Western Wildcats will play in the EHL for a fourth successive season as they continued to rule the roost in Scotland last season, taking the national title once again.

They have lost some influential players with internationals Jamie Golden and Tommy Austin moving on, offset by the arrival of set-piece expert Iain McFadden. They are unbeaten after four games but their last build-up game last weekend was postponed due to Storm Amy.

Facing them is a Braxgata team who are making their debut in the EHL but are not short on experience in the competition with the likes of Arthur Van Doren, Loick Luypaert, Pirmin Blaak and Sébastien Dockier combining for four gold, four silver and seven bronze medals. They have helped build a three-point Belgian league lead after six games.

KO16: SV Kampong (NED) v Real Club de Polo (ESP) – 12.00 CET

A fascinating encounter with the 2016 winners playing the hosts while former Polo goalkeeper Luis Calzado makes a quick return to his home club following his summer move to Kampong.

The Utrecht side is in transition; they have five points from five games in the Hoofdklasse but there is a lot of star power in their line-up like Jip Janssen, Jonas de Geus, Lars Balk, Terrance Pieters, Derck de Vilder and Duco Telgenkamp.

For Polo, they welcomed back Marc Miralles following his spell with Real Club de Polo and also add Nicolás Alvarez and Japanese Olympian Kentaro Fukuda.

KO16: Banbridge HC (IRL) v HC Bloemendaal (NED) – 14.15 CET

The six-time winners, Bloemendaal enter the weekend on a high after a dramatic 5-4 win over Kampong with new signing Elian Mazkour scoring a peach of a winning goal. He arrived along with Belgian stars Arno Van Dessel and Max Langer and EHL legend Marco Miltkau to add to their options.

For Banbridge, it will be their first EHL meeting with Dutch opposition and they have added Irish international Adam McAllister to their panel. He joins fellow Green Machine men Peter Brown, Johnny McKee, Luke Witherow, Fergus Gibson, Luke Roleston and the Rowe twins Louis and Charlie.

KO16: Old Georgians HC (ENG) v HC Olten (SUI) – 16.30 CET

Old Georgians – the 2024 bronze medalists – will aim to regain the England Hockey league title and get back into the EHL mix with a couple of standout  additions like goalkeeper James Mazarelo, striker Henry Croft and Spaniard Pablo Usoz. Sam Ward has already struck eight times in four league matches to date in England.

They meet HC Olten who will become the newest EHL side after they defied the odds to win the Swiss title last season. Since then, there have said a fond farewell to coach Chris Elste who steps away after a transformative three years in the role. The side has a healthy international outlook with Lukas Hengartner, Nico Muggli, Lorenz Gassner and Maurizio Ribaudo all part of the Swiss team

Sunday, October 12th

Ranking Match: Western Wildcats/Braxgata HC v SV Kampong/Real Club de Polo – 09.45 CET

KO8: Western Wildcats/Braxgata HC v SV Kampong/Real Club de Polo – 12.00 CET

Ranking Match: Banbridge/Bloemendaal v Old Georgians/Olten – 14.15 CET

KO8: Banbridge/Bloemendaal v Old Georgians/Olten – 16.30 CET

Cesar Curiel sent Club de Campo de Madrid into raptures as he kept his nerve in a sudden death shoot-out to send them through to the FINAL8, seeing off Royal Léopold 4-3 after normal time ended 3-3.

It concluded a fabulous match in which Léo made the early impact but Campo finished strong.

Dylan Englebert opened the scoring with a remarkable upright shot on his backhand after an overhead ball into the circle was never fully cleared in the third minute.

Either side of that, Campo had a series of good chances in Q1 with Rafael Vilallonga, Thijs van Pelt and Alvaro Iglesias all having strong efforts. Léo, meanwhile, had the ball in the goal from a Gaspard Baumgarten shot but the video review showed it hit a team mate’s body en route to goal.

The third quarter belonged to Campo who penned Léo in their own 23-metre zone for most of the 15 minutes with precious few avenues out of defence.

The equalising goal within seconds of the restart of the big break with Alvaro Iglesias touching in a cross from Nicolas Poncelet.

But they could not make further use of a set of three penalty corners, one of which Tanguy Zimmer somehow took off the line after ping-pong in the circle.

Léopold settled in the final quarter but could not find the next from a couple of corners while Campo continued to threaten but to no avail.

During that phase, Iglesias also showed an incredible piece of sportsmanship when Léo were faced with a yellow-card for Dimitri Cuvelier after a video review when his stick hit Enrique Gonzalez’s neck.

The Campo captain said the yellow was not warranted and was accidental with the umpires agreeing not to impose the sanction.

It meant a shoot-out in which Léo took the early advantage but the first series of five ended level at 3-3. The next round was blank while round seven saw Louis De Backer denied by Rafa Revila before Curiel scored for a second time for the winning moment.

Wimbledon and CAM92 took the spoils from their respective Ranking Match showdowns, earning 13th place overall for their nations and important points for the EHL Ranking Table.

Sam Hooper’s quartet of goals saw Wimbledon run up an 8-1 win over SK Slavia Prague to win the extra ranking points on offer for England and finish in 13th place overall for this EHL season.

He opened the scoring from the penalty spot, the first of three strokes he would score on the day, in addition to a corner drag-flick.

Jules Bournac added a rebound off the impressive Jakub Bogar’s pads in the first quarter while James Vallely tapped in en route for a 5-0 half-time lead.

Louis Tipper and Eddie Harper also got in on the act in the second half as they came within close-range of one of the biggest EHL wins for an English club.

East Grinstead’s record remains intact at 8-0 against Montrouge in 2012; Wimbledon did beat SV Arminen on a 9-0 margin during the second where field goals counted for two points, netting five times in that game.

In the second ranking game, Antonin Igau’s glorious hat trick propelled CAM 92 to a memorable 3-2 win over a HC Wien side bouyed by their large travelling crowd.

It looked comfortable for a while as Igau’s drag-flick in the first quarter and then a stroke in Q2 gave them a healthy advantage.

But Wien came out firing in the second half and cut the deficit through Max Meisel in the 39th minute and the Austrian side made lots of moves to try and get an equaliser.

The defining moment, however, came from Igau who broke forward from halfway with the ball and then fired the ball into the roof of the net.

Kai Kokolakis did get one back for Wien to the delight of their crowd on the final hooter but it was CAM who had the victory.

Hamburger Polo Club were in electrifying form as they swept past the challenge of Saint Germain to reach next Easter’s EHL Men FINAL8.

Tim Brand fired a hat trick while they led from start to finish en route to a 7-2 win despite some lively moments from the French side.

Kane Russell got two as well, the first of them coming in just the third minute from a penalty stroke and the Justus Weigand slotted in another in the 12th minute.

And any chance of Saint Ger making a game of it ended in the minute before half time as Russell’s corner goal was quickly added to by Brand from Niklas Bosserhoff’s race around the right baseline.

Paul Smith tacked on the fifth as he kept his balance and push in after a flowing move. Brand got the sixth and seventh from close range before the French team rallied.

Hugo Dolou got a brilliant goal back following Jules Verrier’s lovely skill and Thomas Assoignon fired in a corner to reduce the gap further.

But Polo were well clear and content to take home the ticket to the FINAL8 next Easter.

When the EHL draw was made in the summer, SV Kampong’s date with hosts Real Club de Polo was almost immediately pegged as one of the standout clashes.

Two of the EHL’s most frequent competitors, the contest had the added Luis Calzado-related intrigue. The giant goalkeeper was set to return to his family club just a few months since his summer move, the club where his grandfather was club president and he learned his trade to become one of the world’s best between the posts.

In the week before that showdown, he reflects on this early comeback.

“Returning to Eduardo Dualde will always be special for me,” he said. “It is the field where I experienced many important moments, where I have grown as a player and as a person.

“It will feel strange to be on the visiting bench after seven seasons in the first team defending that shirt, but I am also looking forward to meeting friends, teammates and all the people at the club who helped me so much along my path.

“Dualde will always be a place to return to with a smile. From the club that supported me so much in my development in this beautiful club.⁠”

As for the challenge, he says there will be no room for sentiment as he dons his new colours in Barcelona.

“We face the game with great motivation,” he adds. “We are very aware of Polo’s level and the boost that playing at home gives them, supported by their fans; it will be a demanding match.

“We will have to perform at our best if we want to have a chance of winning. Our goal is to offer quality hockey and help spectators enjoy this magnificent club competition.”