Real Club de Polo mathematically secured their place at the top of the Spanish men’s league to qualify for the EHL KO16.

They did so after beating third placed Atlètic Terrassa at the Eduardo Dualde Stadium with a 21st-minute goal from Xavi Lleonart, their eighth consecutive victory which has them six points clear with round to go

Club de Campo dropped back with its second consecutive draw, this time at the Pla del Bon Aire against Egara by 3-3. Campo will now – most likely – play Atlèti in the semi-finals of the playoffs.

Fourth-placed Junior added three more points in Las Palmas by defeating UD Taburiente 5-2. The Sant Cugat club are now 11 points clear of CD Terrassa in fifth spot.

Junior finish off the regular campaign this weekend against Club Egara; Polo go to CD Terrassa while Campo host UD Taburiente on Sunday.

The second EHL ticket to the KO16 will be confirmed at the playoffs in a couple of weeks time.

One of the EHL’s most decorated players, Marco Miltkau will join HC Bloemendaal next season, bringing his predatory instincts to bolster their forward line.

The experienced German striker comes over from Klein Zwitserland, bringing with him an impressive track record, including a silver medal at the Paris Olympics in 2024, a World Cup in 2023 and a European championship in 2013.

In the EHL, he won the title twice with UHC Hamburg (2010 and 2012) and once with Rot-Weiss Köln (2017) as well as picking up silver medals in 2009 and 2019. In total, he scored 35 times in 46 games in the EHL, putting him second on the all-time goalscorer list.

“It has always been a dream to play for Bloemendaal,” he said of the move. “This step, at this point in my career, feels like pure pleasure.

“Every competition has its own style. That has made me richer. I hope that I can use all that baggage to contribute to the hockey that makes Bloemendaal so strong.”

Bloemendaal top hockey board member Michiel Hilders added: “Of course I am very happy with Marco’s arrival in Bloemendaal. He has been internationally known for years as a very strong striker, a real goalgetter.

“As a person I know for sure that he will fit in very well with the group. He is a real team player who is also coming to Bloemendaal to improve our young attackers with his quality and experience.”

Braxgata’s women earned an EHL-return trip next season as they won against KHC Dragons in the Belgian semi-finals, setting up a showdown with Gantoise.

It was a tough battle as the first leg ended 1-1 with Stephanie Vanden Borre’s 46th minute stroke earning parity on Saturday. A day later, they played out an epic 4-3 result with Lyne van Dieren’s 63rd minute strike the ultimate factor between the teams.

They had trailed 3-1 after 20 minutes but Sanne Caarls and Louise Dewaet set up the stunning turnaround to get their final spot.

For Gantoise, Alix Gerniers’ single goal gave them the edge against KHC Leuven on Saturday and they pulled away on Sunday with a 5-0 victory, taking the tie 6-0 on aggregate.

Royal Léopold will join Gantoise in the Belgian men’s final and next season’s EHL into the bargain after they won a thrilling tussle with Braxgata over the weekend.

The key win for Léo came on Saturday when they recovered from a 1-0 deficit at half-time to win 3-1 with Arthur Verdussen scoring twice either side of a Tom Boon goal.

On Sunday, they moved further clear as they edged 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2 in front with Jose Basterra scoring twice before Brax produced a rousing finale. Loick Luypaert’s drag-flick put them ahead in the tie 4-3 with three minutes to go but they could not find another and so Léo won 6-5 on aggregate.

In the other semi-final, Gantoise kept alive their chances of an EHL/Belgian title double when they had just enough to beat Waterloo Ducks.

Game one ended level at 2-2 while the second contest finished 2-1 with Alexander Hendrickx scoring two corners.

Waterloo will play Brax for the third EHL Men’s ticket on offer in Belgium next weekend.

SCHC will play in their fourth successive EHL after they defeated Pinoké 6-1 on aggregate to advance to the Dutch women’s championship final against Den Bosch.

The damage was done on Saturday with the Bilthoven club picking up a 5-0 away win with Pien Dicke’s double setting them on their way against Pinoké.

Lisa Post, Lotte Ruts and Yibbi Jansen helped pull them further away, giving the Amstelveen club which they were not able to climb on Sunday, ending with a 1-1 draw.

For Den Bosch, they kept alive their chances of yet another title as they defeated AH&BC Amsterdam 6-2 on aggregate.

The first leg was a close-run battle with Amsterdam snagging a first half lead 2-1 via Alessia Norbiato and Maria Verschoor but Sanne Koolen and Frédérique Matla replied to make it 3-2 at the end of the first leg.

And they made the final spot safe with a 3-0 with Pien Sanders, Teuntje de Wit and Joosje Burg putting them out of the sight.

The first leg of the women’s final will be played next Saturday in Bilthoven with the second leg taking place on Thursday, May 29.

AH&BC Amsterdam and SV Kampong have qualified for next season’s EHL Men after they made it through to the Dutch championship final.

For Amsterdam, they went through a weekend rollercoaster to defeat Den Bosch 6-5 on aggregate following their double-header.

On Saturday, they built a 2-0 lead only to be pegged back to 2-2 before Brent van Bijnen won the tie 3-2 with two minutes to go.

It proved a vital moment in the final reckoning. Den Bosch – on home turf – built a 3-1 lead in the first half of the second leg with a double from Timo Boers but Boris Burkhardt completed a hat trick to level the tie at 3-3.

It means Amsterdam are back in the EHL for the first time since October 2022’s KO16 in Hamburg.

For Kampong, their passage to the final was surprisingly simpler as they ran up a 5-2 home win on Saturday afternoon against HC Bloemendaal – the regular season winners – thanks to four goals from Jip Janssen.

A day later, they stayed out of range with a 3-1 win for an 8-3 aggregate victory. The sides will play the first leg of the final on Saturday with the second leg being played the following Thursday.