Final Four Champions League 16/05/2025

This year's Final Four Volleyball Champions League 2025 will be held in the Polish city of Łódź. The Final Four teams will play in the fantastic Atlas Arena, which can hold up to 10,400 people and has 11 VIP boxes. Expect the Atlas Arena to be packed with crazy Polish volleyball fans for the match between JSW JASTRZEBSKI Wegiel (Poland) – Aluron CMC Warta ZAWIERCIE (Poland) on May 17 at 2:45 PM. The second match will be on May 16 at 8:00 PM between Sir Sicoma Monini Perugia (Italy) – Halkbank Ankara (Turkey).

Sir Sicoma Monini Perugia (Italy) – Halkbank Ankara (Turkey) 16/05/2025 at 20:00

Perugia dominated the group stage with five convincing 3-0 wins and a 2-3 home defeat to Halkbank, their performances were strong enough to secure them a direct place in the quarter-finals.
In the quarter-finals they made a clean sheet against Volley Monza with 3-1 in both legs.
Perugia played their last match before the Final Four on 3 May, when they were in action in the bronze medal final of the Italian play-offs. There they won 2-0 on aggregate against Piacenza. They have been given two weeks off before the semi-final against Halbank.
The two key players for Perugia in this year's Champions League season are midfielder Simone Ginnelli and winger Yuki Ishikawa with 93 attacking points in eight games. Yuki Ishikawa was also named MVP in the final play-off match where Perugia won 3-2 and thus took third place in Italy.

 

Halkbank took second place in the group stage after a strong 3-2 win against Perugia in the final group stage. This gave them a place in the play-off to the quarter-finals, where they faced Milan. The first match at home in Turkey ended with a solid 3-1 win for Halkbank. In the return match in Italy, Milan won by the same score, 3-1, and thus everything had to be decided in a nerve-wracking Golden Set. Halkbank took the long straw and won 15-13, which secured them a quarter-final ticket against Projekt Warszawa.
Halkbank played their last match on April 20, when they narrowly missed a loss against Spor Toto. This means that the team has not been in match mode for almost a month – which makes it extra exciting to see how it turns out when they face Perugia.
The two most important players for Halbank in this Champions League season are winger Yoandy Leal (Brazil) who has 67% attack efficiency and diagonal player Marek Šotola (Czech Republic) who has 60% attack efficiency.

 

 

Team ratings show the same as the odds market that Perugia are big favorites in this semi-final against Halbank. At the time of writing, Perugia is 1.11 to go to the final.
There is a class difference between the teams and considering that Halbank has not played a significant match in a month does not help either. I think Halkbank can cause problems for Perugia and especially with players Yoandy Leal and Marek Šotola in the team. There is a possibility that Halbank will get a set at 1.70 and that is tempting.

 

Jastrzebisk Wegiel (Poland) – Aluron CMC Warta ZAWIERCIE (Poland) 17.05.2025

In the group stage, Jastrzebski made a clean sheet by winning all six matches 3-0 or 3-1. In the quarter-finals, they knocked out Olympiacos Piraeus first by losing 2-3 away and winning 3-1 at home, thus qualifying for the Final Four of the CEV Champions League 2025.
Two of the most important players for Jastrzębski are German midfielder Anton Brehme and Polish winger Tomasz Fornal. At 206 cm, Brehme is a powerful weapon in the middle and has recorded 64 offensive points in eight Champions League matches. Fornal has been the team's most consistent point picker and stands with an impressive 111 points in as many matches. Jastrzębski Węgiel has struggled with injuries in the last half of the season, and the absence of their regular libero has created major challenges in both reception, defense and blocking. Libero Jakub Popiwczak is expected to be back against Zawiercie.

Aluron Zawiercie made a clean sheet with six wins, five of which were 3-0 and one match 3-1.
In the quarter-finals, they faced the German Lüneburg, who had surprisingly made it to the quarter-finals. First, there was a convincing 3-0 away win, before Aluron Zawiercie secured advancement with 3-1 at home in Poland.
Aluron Zawiercie has been hit hard by injuries, and even had to bring in the experienced German national team player György Grozer on a medical exemption. György Grozer goes straight into the team in the diagonal position with his powerful attack. The other key player for Zawiercie is the American national team player Aaron Russel, who has 86 attack points in eight matches in the CL. At the time of writing, Aluron Zawiercie is playing the play-off final in Poland against Lublin. After three matches, Zawiercie is down 1-2 in the final series, but amidst the pressure there are also positive elements. For an Aluron team that has been plagued by injuries throughout the spring, the final matches provide valuable match practice and interaction. Each match is an opportunity for Grozer to find his rhythm and build relationships with his new teammates before the Final Four in the Champions League.

This match promises to be an exciting experience for all volleyball fans, with intense competition and an electric atmosphere created by the passionate Polish supporters. Whether you cheer for Jastrzębski Węgiel or Aluron CMC Warta Zawiercie, this is a match you don't want to miss. Because I think it will be an incredibly even match and you can see from the team evaluation that there are two even teams that met in this Final Four semi-final. For the team that succeeds in making it to the final, I think it will be the key players – as highlighted in the team analysis – who will have to perform at a very high level and take the heavy points during the match. I strongly believe that the winner of this match will end up lifting the Champions League trophy

 

Outright's Final four 18.05.2025

Perugia (1.60)

• Clear favorite with the bookmakers with over 60% probability.
• Strong team with broad experience from the Champions League.

Jastrzębski Coal (4.70)

• Polish top team with final experience from previous CL years.
• Good option if they win the semi-final against their Polish rivals in Warta Zawiercie.

Warta Zawiercie (5.00)

• New force in Polish volleyball, but struggling with the health of several key players.
• Aluron Zawiercie has been hard hit by injuries, and even had to bring in experienced German national team player György Grozer on a medical exemption.

Halkbank (18.00)

• Turkish outsider – if they beat Perugia, they are suddenly my favorite to win the CL.
• Low probability, but high return on surprise.

Warta Zawiercie have had an upward curve of form heading into the Final Four after they brought in experienced German international György Grozer. They have also got back Aaron Russel who has started to regain his form after the injury break. Therefore we take Warta Zawiercie to win the Final Four.

Final Four Volleyball Champions League at 20:00: Warta Zawiercie wins the Final Four (5.00)

 

There will be alternative games during the next week before the match between Sir Sicoma Monini Perugia (Italy) – Halkbank Ankara (Turkey) on 16.05.2025 at 20:00. There may also be other useful information coming in towards the Final Four weekend. Information will then be posted in the discord to 90minutefamily: https://discord.gg/cPUjACa8b3