The first-ever edition of the Baseball Champions League (BCL) Europe begins tomorrow in Regensburg, Germany, and Rotterdam, Netherlands. The BCL is modelled after a similar tournament of domestic champions in the Americas that has been contested since 2023, and there are hopes for a global tournament one day [link]. The competition effectively replaces the long-time Champions Cup, which ceased to include Dutch or Italian clubs in 2024 [link] and is now effectively defunct.
Eight teams are placed into two groups in the First Round, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the Final Four. The First Round is scheduled for May 22–24. 2026 and will be played as two separate round-robin competitions. The Final Four is set for September 26–27, 2026, with the host to be determined following the completion of the First Round. The winner will be considered the European baseball club champion.
Group A will be hosted Rotterdam’s Familiestadion and includes Curaçao Neptunus (Netherlands’ Honkbal Hoofdklasse), Heidenheim Heidekoepfe (Deutsche Baseball Liga), Nettuno B.C. 1945 (Italy’s Serie A), and Tenerife Marlins (Spanish Baseball League). Regensburg’s Armin-Wolf-Arena is the site of Group B competition, which features 1949 Parma Baseball (Italy’s Serie A), Draci Brno (Czech Extraliga), Regensburg Legionäre (Deutsche Baseball Liga), and Twins Oosterhout (Netherlands’ Honkbal Hoofdklasse).
From 1963 to 2023, the Champions Cup featured the winners of Europe’s top domestic leagues and cups and the title-holder was the European club champion. Over time, other cups were brought into promotion and relegation for the Champions Cup, with three tiers below. In 2024 and 2025, the Champions Cup was contested only by Czech and German teams. Those countries’ top circuits now feature in the BCL. Neither press releases not the Tournament Regulations [link] stipulate how the teams are selected or if promotion and relegation exists.
For 2026, four cups in a tiered system continue to exist, with the BCL as a separate entity. These include three previously contested cups: the Confederation Cup, the Federation Cup, and the Federation Cup Qualifier. A new cup, the European Cup, has been added.