Following the completion of Rounds 1a and 1b, The Euro Hockey League is delighted to announce that Germany’s UHC Hamburg – also known as Uhlenhorster – will be the host club for KO16 of the 2008/09 season. The knock-out phase features the 16 teams remaining in this year’s competition, and takes place over Easter between Friday 10 and Monday 13 April.

Hamburg is the second-largest city in Germany and also the most populous city in the European Union that is not a national capital. It is home to approximately 1.8 million inhabitants and has a fine tradition of producing outstanding hockey teams both at home and in Europe. UHC Hamburg are the reigning EHL champions, and it seems only fitting that they are the hosts of Germany’s first Euro Hockey League event. Since 1905 the club has become famous for organising big international hockey tournaments, and during the last 18 years Uhlenhorster has hosted the famous Hamburg Masters International Tournament on no less than 11 occassions.

The first phase of KO16 sees the 16 remaining EHL teams face each other in Round 2, to be played on 10/11 April. The draw for this round will take place in the coming weeks and will be available to follow on the EHL website. However, we can confirm that the teams lucky enough to have won their pool in Round 1 will avoid other pool winners in this round of the competition, instead playing against a Round 1 pool runner up.

Round 1 Pool Winners: HC Bloemendaal (NED), East Grinstead (ENG), Düsseldorfer HC (GER), Club Egara (ESP), HC Rotterdam (NED), Amsterdam H&BC (NED), KHC Leuven (BEL), RC Polo Barcelona (ESP)

Round 1 Pool Runners Up: Der Club an der Alster (GER), St Germain HC (FRA), WKS Grunwald Poznan (POL), Cannock HC (ENG), Reading HC (ENG), Waterloo Ducks (BEL), UHC Hamburg (GER), Three Rock Rovers (IRL)

The winners of the Round 2 knock-out stage will reach the Quarter Finals, with matches being played on 12/13 April. Due to the structure of the EHL draw, some potential fixtures include HC Bloemendaal v East Grinstead, Düsseldorfer HC v Club Egara, and H.C. Rotterdam v Amsterdam H&BC. However, all of these teams will be challenged for Quarter Final places by their opponents in Round 2. Regardless of the outcomes, KO16 will be an incredible four days of arguably the finest club hockey in the world.

For more Euro Hockey League information, visit www.ehlhockey.tv.

Source: EHL