June is the start of the busy season for baseball in Europe, with five tournaments in the first three weeks that will determine the winners of all four tiers of European baseball club competition. A total of 20 countries are represented in continental cups, with a quarter of these hosting one of the tournaments.
As it so frequently has been, cup tiers have been reorganized, this time due to the creation of the Baseball Champions League (BCL) Europe, which replaces the Champions Cup, European baseball’s longest-running competition https://www.mister-baseball.com/european-baseball-in-june-2026/. For 60 years, the cup determined the top baseball club in Europe, but from 2024, Europe’s top leagues were excluded from the competition. These circuits—Czech Republic, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, and Spain—now compete in the BCL.
Replacing the Champions Cup at the top of the tiered system in WBSC Europe, the Confederation Cup has effectively been moved up a tier. Slotting in below it is the new European Cup, while the Federation Cup and the Federation Cup Qualifiers form the bottom two rungs. These four cups will continue to be played as round robin tournaments at a single site over the course of a week, rather than the format of the Baseball Champions League, which is closer to the league play and playoffs played in other sports’ cup competitions.
European Cup (Cup Tier: 2/4)
The European Cup, essentially the middle rung of five levels of continental club competitions from the BCL to Fed Cup Qualifiers, is set to begin on June 1 in Wiener Neustadt (Austria). There are two pools in the event, with the two best teams from each advancing to semifinals.
Group A consists of the host Diving Ducks, Kranjski Lisjaki (Slovenia), London Mets (Great Britain), and Sundbyberg Heat (Sweden). Borgerhout Squirrels (Belgium), Dornbirn Indians (Austria), Rättvik Butchers (Sweden), and Therwil Flyers (Switzerland) comprise Group B. It is the first time a British club has been promoted above the third tier in European club competition. The tournament website is here [link]
Federation Cup Qualifier (Cup Tier: 4/4)
Jánossomorja (Hungary) will host the Federation Cup Qualifier, which runs over the same period as the European Cup. A two-pool event, Group A features Kristiansand Suns (Sweden), Lions NSA (Bulgaria), Puumat Baseball (Finland), and Utenos Titanai (Lithuania). Their counterparts in Group B are Jánossormorja Rascals, Kyiv, Tampere Tigers (Finland), and Thunder Wolves Botoșani (Romania). The tournament website is here [link].
Federation Cup (Cup Tier: 3/4)
There are two Federation Cup tournaments, both beginning June 8. The leagues of the winner of each will be promoted to the European Cup for 2027 [link]. Trnava (Slovakia) will welcome Herts Toucans (Great Britain), Sofia Blues (Bulgaria), Stal Kutno (Poland), and Vålerenga (Norway), with its own Angels Trnava rounding out the event.
The tournament website is here [link].
Federation Cup (Cup Tier: 3/4)
Meanwhile, Kaunas (Lithuania) will play host to the remaining four teams in the Federation Cup. These include Apollo Bratislava (Slovakia), Barracudas Zürich (Switzerland), Kaunas, and Silesia Rybnik (Poland).
The tournament website is here [link].
Confederation Cup (Cup Tier: 1/4)
Last up is the Confederation Cup, which will be hosted by Karlovac (Croatia) from June 15–20. Now the top tier of European baseball cups, it is unclear whether promotion to the Baseball Champions League is possible. Dutch and Italian teams may not contest the trophy, but the Czech Extraliga sends a team this year to both the BCL and Confederation Cup.
Joining Hroši Brno and host club Olimpija Karlovac are Brasschaat Braves (Belgium), Lions de Savigny (France), and Rouen Huskies (France). The tournament website is here [link].
Member countries of WBSC Europe with domestic leagues that have domestic leagues but are not represented in any cup competitions this year include Belarus, Denmark, Estonia, Ireland, Israel, Luxeumbourg, Malta, Portugal, Russia (suspended), and Serbia. All but Estonia, Israel, Luxembourg, Malta, and Portugal have competed in at least one previous Cup.