Gantoise will meet Waterloo Ducks in the Belgian men’s championship final knowing they already have an EHL ticket in the back pocket.

That is thanks to their respective semi-final wins over Royal Léopold and KHC Dragons last weekend.

For reigning champions Gantoise, they only scraped into the playoffs via a late miracle in the regular season but they were good value in defeating table-toppers Léo in both legs last weekend.

They won 2-1 in Ghent and then prevailed 3-2 in the second leg thanks to goals from Antoine Kina, Emile Esquelin and the clincher from Etienne Tynevez.

Pascal Kina told Le Soir said his side were deserved winners: “We controlled the [second] game and kept the ball. I have to highlight the great performance of my players even though I was well aware of what they were capable of.

“It was no coincidence to beat Leopold twice. And that’s impossible if you’re not in great shape. I knew that we would be stronger than the Ucclois during this second semi-final. We had analysed our opponents well and we had discovered the vulnerabilities to exploit.”

For Waterloo, they trailed 3-2 after game one but bounced back with a perfect performance to win 3-1 with a hat trick from captain Victor Charlet.

It sets up a rematch of the 2023 decider on Saturday at 4pm (CET). Whoever wins will advance straight to the EHL FINAL8 while the runner-up will compete in the KO16.

CAM92 look like the side to beat in the French men’s final phase this weekend after they finished the regular season dropping just four points from 18 games.

Indeed, they went unbeaten to top the table ahead of Lille by six points, closing out the title with a 10-0 win over Wattignies having secure top spot a week earlier when they best Lille 4-0.

The dominance saw them occupy three of the top four positions on the goalscoring charts with Louis Poupee (24 goals), Corentin Sellier (18) and Antonin Igau (14) all having prolific seasons.

They are now looking forward to a semi-final date with Saint Germain on Saturday afternoon while second placed Lille are up against Racing Club de France.

Both semi-finals will take place at Lille Métropole with the winners going through to Sunday’s final.

Montrouge have obtained a European ticket of some description as a result of their efforts. With France losing one EHL spot this year, though, only the winner of Sunday’s final will go to next season’s EHL KO16.

On the women’s side, Saint Germain were dominant, winning the regular season with seven points to spare. They already had the title assured going into the final game where they beat their nearest rivals, Cambrai, 2-1 via goals from Clemence Cadot and Maria Louise Rockall.

Saint Ger will play Lille in the final four while Cambrai are up against Racing with the final taking place on Sunday.

Den Bosch hold all the aces going into the final round of the women’s regular Hoofdklasse season following their 1-1 draw with AH&BC Amsterdam last weekend.

It means they have a two-point advantage over chasers SCHC who are the only side who can now catch them in this race.

Michelle Fillet did give Amsterdam a dream start when she finished off a pitch-length move in the second minute of the contest.

Frédérique Matla, however, equalised in the second quarter and despite some huge chances at either end, neither side could find a winner, meaning a share of the spoils.

SCHC, therefore, kept their interest in the title alive when they eased to a 6-1 win over hdm with Ginella Zerbo scoring a hat trick, adding to a double from Yibbi Jansen.

And the quartet of playoff contenders was completed by SV Kampong who got the best of Pinoké 3-1 with Luna Fokke’s pair of penalty corners giving them daylight at half-time.

Anouk Stam pulled one back but a Noor van den Nieuwenhof goal made the result safe, leaving Pinoké seven points back in fifth spot.

The regular season concludes on Sunday afternoon with Den Bosch facing 11th-placed Tilburg knowing a win will assure them the title.

Otherwise, a door could open for SCHC who must win against Kampong if they are to have any chance of landing the title.

The Dutch men’s playoff situation has taken on a clearer picture with Kampong and Rotterdam earning their place in the final four with reigning Dutch and EHL champions Pinoké missing out.

Kampong won their direct battle with Pinoké 5-3 with Duco Telgenkamp scoring twice to add to cracking strikes from Rik Sprengers, Jip Janssen and Derck de Vilder.

It helped them come back from a 1-0 deficit in the 21st minute and then 2-2 with 16 minutes left.

The result means Pinoké are three points adrift of Rotterdam but cannot overtake them as they have won less games than their rivals – the important method of defining positions in the table – with one game remaining.

Rotterdam, meanwhile, put HGC to the sword with a thumping 12-0 win with both Jeroen Hertzberger and Pepijn van der Heijden scoring hat tricks.

Bloemendaal moved within touching distance of the title when they drew 2-2 with nearest rivals Oranje-Rood courtesy of Marc Miralles’s equaliser with four minutes to go.

It ended Bloemendaal’s winning run but it does mean they stay three points clear of the Eindhoven club with one game to go so a draw against Klein-Zwitserland will rubber-stamp their place at the head of the regular season table.

Gantoise’s women are one step away from a fourth consecutive Belgian women’s title while their final opponents have landed a debut ticket to the EHL FINAL12 next season.

Both won through to the final following wins over Waterloo Ducks and KHC Dragons respectively in two-legged fixtures over the weekend.

As Gantoise were also the Ion Hockey League regular season winners, it means Braxgata are assured of joining them in Europe next season, meaning both will contest the EHL FINAL8.

For Gantoise, they overcame the WatDucks 7-2 on aggregate, starting off with a 3-1 win away from home. They did fall behind in the 11th minute but strikes from Alexi van Remortel, Alix Gerniers and Astrid Bonami gave them the advantage late on.

In game two, they got further impetus very early on with Alex Gerniers scoring in the second minute with Anne-Sophie Vanden Borre putting them further clear. Ambre Ballenghien’s double helped them to a 4-1 win.

For Brax, they also won two from two, though the scorelines were much tighter. Saturday ended 2-1 in the Boom club’s favour with Astrid Vandermeiren’s equalisers and a Lyne Van Dieren goal etching out a narrow lead.

Dragons were made to rue nine penalty corners which they could not convert and they could not turn things around in game two.

That one saw Louise Dewaet score twice to help them secure a 2-0 victory and keep up their hopes of winning a first title since 2017.