2022–23 LEN Challenger Cup

2022–23 LEN Challenger Cup
League	LEN Challenger Cup
Sport	Water Polo
Duration	11 November 2022 – 29 April 2023
Number of games	35
Number of teams	15 (from 11 countries)
Finals champions	GS Apollon Smyrnis (1st title)
Runners-up	CN Terrassa

The 2022–23 LEN Challenger Cup was the inaugural edition of a water polo competition organised by the Ligue Européenne de Natation (LEN). It acts as the third tier, below the LEN Champions League and the LEN Euro Cup. GS Apollon Smyrnis of Greece became the first champions, defeating CN Terrassa of Spain in the final.^[1][2]

Creation

In June 2022, LEN announced the introduction of the LEN Challenger Cup. This tournament was designed to help developing countries and club grow and play more European club games.^[3][4]

Format

Fifteen teams, who had been eliminated from the Champions League and Euro Cup, were divided into three groups of four and one group of three. The groups were held in one country. At the end of the group stage, the top two teams advanced to the Knockout Stage. In the Knockout Stage, the ties were played in a home and away format.

Composition of teams

(CL: Eliminated in Champions League; EC: Eliminated in Euro Cup).

Participating teams

VK Banja Luka (CL)	VK Invictum Sarajevo (CL)	SK KVIK Kastrup (CL)	SV Ludwigsburg 08 (EC)
GS Apollon Smyrnis (EC)	NC Ydraikos (EC)	ASA Tel Aviv (CL)	ZPC Het Ravijn (CL)
KVP Nováky (CL)	SKP Košice (EC)	Triglav Kranj (EC)	CN Terrassa (EC)
Tenerife Echeyde (EC)	Enka Istanbul (CL)	Galatasaray (CL)

Schedule

Rounds and dates

Phase	Round	Round date
Group Stage	Group Stage	11–13 November 2022
Quarter-Finals	First Leg	24–25 January 2023
	Second Leg	8–18 February 2023
Semi-Finals	First leg	1 March 2023
	Second leg	22 March 2023
Final	First Leg	19 April 2023
	Second Leg	29 April 2023

Draw

The draw took place on the 26th of October.^[5]

Group Stage

Group A

• 11–13 November 2022, Novaky, Slovakia.

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		TEN	GAL	YDR	NOV
1	Tenerife Echeyde	3	3	0	0	40	30	+10	9	Knockout Stage		—	15–11	—	—
2	Galatasaray	3	2	0	1	42	30	+12	6			—	—	—	—
3	NC Ydraikos	3	1	0	2	44	49	−5	3			11–14	15–18	—	—
4	KVP Nováky (H)	3	0	0	3	33	44	−11	0			9–12	6–13	18–19	—

Source: LEN
(H) Hosts

11 November 2022 17:00	[1]	NC Ydraikos	11–14	Tenerife Echeyde	Novaky, Slovakia Referees: Ralf Mueller (GER), Ghislain Dehon (FRA)
		Score by quarters: 3–4, 3–4, 2–3, 2–2
		Suzuki 3	Goals	Magana 4

11 November 2022 18:30	[2]	KVP Nováky	6–13	Galatasaray	Novaky, Slovakia Referees: Lukasz Krol (POL), Blaz Radonjic (SLO)
		Score by quarters: 0–1, 1–3, 2–4, 3–5
		Tasaj 2	Goals	Destici 5

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12 November 2022 17:00	[3]	NC Ydraikos	15–18	Galatasaray	Novaky, Slovakia Referees: Ralf Mueller (GER), Lukasz Krol (POL)
		Score by quarters: 4–4, 3–3, 3–8, 5–3
		Rompopoulos 7	Goals	Senemoglu 5

12 November 2022 18:30	[4]	KVP Nováky	9–12	Tenerife Echeyde	Novaky, Slovakia Referees: Ghislain Dehon (FRA), Blaz Radonjic (SLO)
		Score by quarters: 3–3, 2–1, 3–5, 1–3
		Bielik 3	Goals	Lifante 4

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13 November 2022 09:30	[5]	Tenerife Echeyde	15–11	Galatasaray	Novaky, Slovakia Referees: Ralf Mueller (GER), Blaz Radonjic (SLO)
		Score by quarters: 2–3, 5–3, 6–3, 2–2
		Lifante, Lopez 4	Goals	Destici 4

13 November 2022 11:00	[6]	KVP Nováky	18–19	NC Ydraikos	Novaky, Slovakia Referees: Lukasz Krol (POL), Ghislain Dehon (FRA)
		Score by quarters: 4–5, 3–5, 7–5, 4–4
		Zatovic 5	Goals	Rompopoulos 7

Group B

• 12–13 November 2022, Terrassa, Spain.

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		TER	HET	ASA
1	CN Terrassa (H)	2	2	0	0	28	17	+11	6	Knockout Stage		—	16–13	12–4
2	ZPC Het Ravijn	2	1	0	1	26	20	+6	3			—	—	—
3	ASA Tel Aviv	2	0	0	2	8	26	−18	0			—	4–14	—

Source: LEN
(H) Hosts

12 November 2022 10:00	[7]	CN Terrassa	12–4	ASA Tel Aviv	Terrassa, Spain Referees: Karel Dvoracek (CZE), Alexandros Chatzigoulas (GRE)
		Score by quarters: 2–0, 4–1, 4–2, 2–1
		Baches 4	Goals	four players 1

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12 November 2022 18:00	[8]	CN Terrassa	16–13	ZPC Het Ravijn	Terrassa, Spain Referees: Robert Prelovsky (SVK), Karel Dvoracek (CZE)
		Score by quarters: 6–3, 3–3, 4–3, 3–4
		Baches 5	Goals	Gottmaker 3

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13 November 2022 10:30	[9]	ASA Tel Aviv	4–14	ZPC Het Ravijn	Terrassa, Spain Referees: Robert Prelovsky (SVK), Alexandros Chatzigoulas (GRE)
		Score by quarters: 1–6, 1–4, 1–2, 1–2
		Schlein 2	Goals	Wouters 5

Group C

• 11–13 November 2022, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		ESK	KOS	SAR	BAN
1	Enka Istanbul	3	3	0	0	74	22	+52	9	Knockout Stage		—	22–10	19–6	33–6
2	SKP Košice	3	2	0	1	59	36	+23	6			—	—	21–6	28–8
3	VK Invictum Sarajevo (H)	3	1	0	2	29	52	−23	3			—	—	—	17–12
4	VK Banja Luka	3	0	0	3	26	78	−52	0			—	—	—	—

Source: LEN
(H) Hosts

11 November 2022 19:00	[10]	VK Invictum Sarajevo	17–12	VK Banja Luka	Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina Referees: Oriol Jaumandreu (ESP), Tomas Kaseta (LTU)
		Score by quarters: 7–5, 3–2, 4–3, 3–2
		Hadzic 7	Goals	Djugum, Cosic 3

11 November 2022 21:00	[11]	Enka Istanbul	22–10	SKP Košice	Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina Referees: Martin Sand Kristensen (DEN), Maxim Gerasimov (GBR)
		Score by quarters: 6–2, 6–5, 6–2, 4–1
		Baskaya, Obradovic 4	Goals	Motyl 4

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12 November 2022 18:00	[12]	VK Invictum Sarajevo	6–19	Enka Istanbul	Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina Referees: Maxim Gerasimov (GBR), Tomas Kaseta (LTU)
		Score by quarters: 1–7, 0–3, 2–5, 3–4
		Hadzic 2	Goals	Alkan, Kaner 4

12 November 2022 20:00	[13]	SKP Košice	28–8	VK Banja Luka	Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina Referees: Oriol Jaumandreu (ESP), Martin Sand Kristensen (DEN)
		Score by quarters: 7–1, 4–3, 7–1, 10–0
		Orem 6	Goals	Ganic 3

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13 November 2022 09:00	[14]	Enka Istanbul	33–6	VK Banja Luka	Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina Referees: Martin Sand Kristensen (DEN), Tomas Kaseta (LTU)
		Score by quarters: 9–1, 4–1, 11–2, 9–2
		Albayrak, Duzenli 7	Goals	Kojcinovic, Vujkovic 2

13 November 2022 11:00	[15]	VK Invictum Sarajevo	6–21	SKP Košice	Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina Referees: Oriol Jaumandreu (ESP), Maxim Gerasimov (GBR)
		Score by quarters: 4–5, 2–7, 0–5, 0–4
		Hadzic 2	Goals	Dily, Orem 4

Group D

• 11–13 November 2022, Kranj, Slovenia.

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		APO	LUD	KRA	KAS
1	GS Apollon Smyrnis	3	3	0	0	68	20	+48	9	Knockout Stage		—	11–10	—	37–4
2	SV Ludwigsburg 08	3	2	0	1	41	28	+13	6			—	—	—	—
3	Triglav Kranj (H)	3	1	0	2	30	42	−12	3			6–20	11–13	—	13–9
4	SK KVIK Kastrup	3	0	0	3	19	68	−49	0			—	6–18	—	—

Source: LEN
(H) Hosts

11 November 2022 18:30	[16]	GS Apollon Smyrnis	11–10	SV Ludwigsburg 08	Kranj, Slovenia Referees: Robert Horvath (SVK), Eurico Silva (POR)
		Score by quarters: 5–2, 2–2, 2–5, 2–1
		Hernandez 4	Goals	four players 2

11 November 2022 20:15	[17]	Triglav Kranj	13–9	SK KVIK Kastrup	Kranj, Slovenia Referees: Alper Ozerengin (TUR), Sander Ransjean (NED)
		Score by quarters: 3–1, 3–4, 3–3, 4–1
		Troppan 5	Goals	Koska 5

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12 November 2022 18:00	[18]	GS Apollon Smyrnis	37–4	SK KVIK Kastrup	Kranj, Slovenia Referees: Eurico Silva (POR), Sander Ransjean (NED)
		Score by quarters: 8–1, 11–2, 9–2, 9–0
		Myrilos 9	Goals	Koska 2

12 November 2022 20:15	[19]	Triglav Kranj	11–13	SV Ludwigsburg 08	Kranj, Slovenia Referees: Alper Ozerengin (TUR), Robert Horvath (SVK)
		Score by quarters: 3–2, 0–5, 4–1, 4–5
		Justin 4	Goals	Hernandez 4

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13 November 2022 10:00	[20]	SK KVIK Kastrup	6–18	SV Ludwigsburg 08	Kranj, Slovenia Referees: Eurico Silva (POR), Alper Ozerengin (TUR)
		Score by quarters: 1–5, 2–2, 2–4, 2–7
		Lange 4	Goals	Andelic, Dzaja 3

13 November 2022 11:45	[21]	Triglav Kranj	6–20	GS Apollon Smyrnis	Kranj, Slovenia Referees: Robert Horvath (SVK), Sander Ransjean (NED)
		Score by quarters: 5–4, 1–5, 0–5, 0–6
		Justin, Lah 2	Goals	Bogdanovic, Goniotakis Korderas 4

Knockout Stage

The draw for the Knockout Stage was made on the 20 November 2022.^[6]

Bracket

	Quarter-finals						Semi-finals						Final
	Tenerife Echeyde	22	13	35
	SKP Košice	8	8	16
							Tenerife Echeyde	11	8	19
							GS Apollon Smyrnis	10	18	28
	GS Apollon Smyrnis	9	16	25
	Galatasaray	5	8	13
													GS Apollon Smyrnis	12	18	30
													CN Terrassa	11	14	25
	CN Terrassa	16	15	31
	Ludwigsburg 08	7	12	19
							CN Terrassa	15	12	27
							Enka Istanbul	12	8	20
	Enka Istanbul	14	15	29
	ZPC Het Ravijn	8	16	24

Quarter-Finals

25 January 2023 20:15	[22]	Tenerife Echeyde	22–8	SKP Košice	Tenerife, Spain Referees: Erkan Turkkan (TUR), Philip Uhlig (GER)
		Score by quarters: 4–1, 8–1, 3–2, 7–4
		Lifante 7	Goals	three players 2

8 February 2023 20:00	[23]	SKP Košice	8–13	Tenerife Echeyde	Košice, Slovakia Referees: Spyridon Achladiotis (GRE), Tomi Kavcic (SLO)
		Score by quarters: 0–2, 3–3, 2–5, 4–3
		Haluska, Muzhychuk 3	Goals	Lopez 5

Tenerife Echeyde won 35–16 on aggregate

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25 January 2023 20:00	[24]	GS Apollon Smyrnis	9–5	Galatasaray	Athens, Greece Referees: Sander Ransjean (NED), Vuk Milovic (SRB)
		Score by quarters: 3–0, 2–1, 3–4, 1–0
		Gardikas 3	Goals	Colak, Destici 2

18 February 2023 20:15	[25]	Galatasaray	8–16	GS Apollon Smyrnis	Istanbul, Turkey Referees: Mihai George Balanescu (ROU), Boris Obradovic (MNE)
		Score by quarters: 1–4, 2–2, 1–5, 4–5
		Acar 3	Goals	Bogdanovic 4

GS Apollon Smyrnis won 25–13 on aggregate

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24 January 2023 19:30	[26]	SV Ludwigsburg 08	7–16	CN Terrassa	Ludwigsburg, Germany
		Score by quarters: 2–4, 2–3, 1–4, 2–5
		Bauer 3	Goals	Alarcon Tevar 4

8 February 2023 20:00	[27]	CN Terrassa	15–12	SV Ludwigsburg 08	Terrassa, Spain Referees: Haldun Toygarli (TUR), Rajmund Fodor (HUN)
		Score by quarters: 3–3, 4–3, 6–3, 2–3
		Baches, Martinez 4	Goals	Blazevic, Hernandez 3

CN Terrassa won 31–19 on aggregate

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25 January 2023 18:30	[28]	Enka Istanbul	14–8	ZPC Het Ravijn	Istanbul, Turkey Referees: Julien Bourges (FRA), Levan Berishvili (GEO)
		Score by quarters: 3–0, 4–4, 2–2, 5–2
		Obradovic 6	Goals	Muller, Wouters 3

8 February 2023 18:00	[29]	ZPC Het Ravijn	16–15	Enka Istanbul	Het Ravijn, Netherlands Referees: Luca Castagnola (ITA), Alex Marquez (ESP)
		Score by quarters: 5–3, 3–4, 3–3, 5–5
		Loos 6	Goals	Obradovic 5

Enka Istanbul won 29–24 on aggregate

Semi-Finals

1 March 2023 20:15	[30]	Tenerife Echeyde	11–10	GS Apollon Smyrnis	Tenerife, Spain Referees: Daniele Bianco (ITA), Hajmund Fodor (HUN)
		Score by quarters: 1–3, 3–1, 4–3, 3–3
		Lifante, Lopez 4	Goals	Gardikas 5

22 March 2023 20:00	[31]	GS Apollon Smyrnis	18–8	Tenerife Echeyde	Athens, Greece Referees: Peter de Jong (NED), Veselin Miskovic (MNE)
		Score by quarters: 6–1, 3–3, 5–2, 4–2
		Bogdanovic, Gardikas 4	Goals	Magana 3

GS Apollon Smyrnis won 28–19 on aggregate

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1 March 2023 20:00	[32]	CN Terrassa	15–12	Enka Istanbul	Terrassa, Spain Referees: Andreja Stanojevic (SRB), Gernot Haentschel (GER)
		Score by quarters: 5–1, 4–6, 2–3, 4–2
		Fernandez 5	Goals	Ozbek 3

22 March 2023 18:30	[33]	Enka Istanbul	8–10	CN Terrassa	Istanbul, Turkey Referees: Gabor Vogel (HUN), Julien Bourges (FRA)
		Score by quarters: 2–3, 2–2, 3–3, 1–2
		Obradovic, Ozbek 3	Goals	Fernandez 5

CN Terrassa won 25–20 on aggregate

Final

19 April 2023 19:45	[34]	GS Apollon Smyrnis	12–11	CN Terrassa	Athens, Greece Referees: Tamas Kovacs-Csatlos (HUN), Julien Bourges (FRA)
		Score by quarters: 3–2, 3–4, 4–2, 2–3
		Bogdanovic, Gardikas 4	Goals	Fernandez, Tevar 3

29 April 2023 18:00	[35]	CN Terrassa	14–18	GS Apollon Smyrnis	Terrassa, Spain Referees: Raffaele Colombo (ITA), Andreja Stanojevic (SRB)
		Score by quarters: 3–4, 4–4, 4–7, 3–3
		Baches 4	Goals	Vickovic 5

GS Apollon Smyrnis won 30–25 on aggregate

2022–23 LEN Challenger Cup Champions
GS Apollon Smyrnis 1st title

See also

• 2022–23 LEN Champions League
• 2022–23 LEN Euro Cup
• 2022–23 Women's Champions League
• 2022–23 Women's LEN Euro Cup
• 2022 LEN Super Cup
• 2022 Women's LEN Super Cup

References

1. Boado, Carlitos. "Apollon stun Terrassa, claim historical trophy".
2. "LEN Challenger Cup Season 2022-2023". len-ws.microplustimingservices.com.
3. Curcic, Ivan (June 16, 2022). "New system of LEN competition for clubs; first Challenger Cup starts in season 2022/23".
4. Curcic, Ivan (July 18, 2022). "LEN Challenger Cup - opportunity for everyone".
5. "Teams Ready To Rock In LEN's New Challenger Cup Competition". SwimSwam. October 27, 2022.
6. Curcic, Ivan (November 20, 2022). "LEN Challenger Cup, quarterfinals draw: Greek-Turkish derby - Total Waterpolo".

External links

• Official website
• Detailed report on the LEN Challenger Cup
• Total Water Polo report on the LEN Challenger Cup