European Champions Cup (baseball)
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The Baseball European Champions Cup (BECC), formerly called the Champions Cup and European Cup, is an annual baseball tournament, sanctioned and created by WBSC Europe. The tournament features the top teams of the professional baseball leagues in Europe, and is the first tier of the four competitions organized by WBSC Europe, alongside the second-tier European Cup, third-tier Federation Cup, and fourth-tier Federation Cup Qualifiers, which operate with a promotion and relegation system for its federations.
The first edition of the tournament was held in 1963 and was won by the Picadero JC Barcelona.
Starting in 2008, the tournament was held in two locations. The best two teams from each tournament then compete in the European Champion Cup "Final Four", with the winner receiving the European Champion Cup.
Between 2013 and 2015, the "Final Four" format was replaced with a best-of-three series between the winners of each tournament. In the 2015 tournament, six teams competed in the Paris group, while six other teams competed in Rotterdam. The best two teams then competed in the "Final Four" in Italy, in a best-of-three series, for the championship.
In early 2024, WBSC Europe announced a restructuring of its European club competitions, with the top tier Baseball European Champions Cup now being played in a full-season format at each team's venues, instead of a tournament hosted in one location. The inaugural tournament under the new format featured only 4 teams, two each from Germany and Czech Republic, with expansion planned for the future. Teams from the two countries with the most medals in the tournament, Italy and the Netherlands, no longer competed. The lower-tier competitions kept their tournament structure, with promotion and relegation for its federations.
In 2026, the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), the parent organization of WBSC Europe, announced a new top-level club tournament, Baseball Champions League Europe, which includes Dutch and Italian teams. The tournament may lead to a global tournament that also includes the Baseball Champions League Americas.
Results
Most championships
| Team | Number of championships | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Italy Parma | 15 | 1977, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1992, 1995, 1998, 1999, 2021, 2022 |
| Netherlands Neptunus | 10 | 1994, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2015, 2017, 2018 |
| Italy Nettuno | 7 | 1965, 1972, 1974, 1991, 1997, 2008, 2009 |
| Italy Unipolsai Bologna | 6 | 1973, 1985, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2019 |
| Italy Milan | 3 | 1969, 1970, 1971 |
| Italy Rimini | 3 | 1976, 1979, 1989 |
| Netherlands Haarlem Nicols[nl] | 3 | 1966, 1975, 1990 |
| San Marino T&A San Marino | 3 | 2006, 2011, 2014 |
| Spain Piratas de Madrid | 2 | 1964, 1967 |
| Spain Picadero Barcelona | 2 | 1963, 1968 |
| Netherlands ADO Den Haag | 1 | 1993 |
| Italy Grosseto | 1 | 2005 |
| Netherlands Kinheim | 1 | 2007 |
| Netherlands Amsterdam Pirates | 1 | 2016 |
| Netherlands HCAW | 1 | 2023 |
| Czech Republic Draci Brno | 1 | 2024 |
| Germany Heidenheim | 1 | 2025 |
Medals (1963–2024)
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Italy | 35 | 32 | 20 | 87 |
| 2 | Netherlands | 17 | 18 | 20 | 55 |
| 3 | Spain | 4 | 2 | 5 | 11 |
| 4 | San Marino | 3 | 2 | 3 | 8 |
| 5 | Germany | 1 | 5 | 5 | 11 |
| 6 | Czech Republic | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| 7 | Belgium | 0 | 1 | 5 | 6 |
| 8 | France | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Totals (8 entries) | 61 | 61 | 63 | 185 |
Note: two bronze medals were awarded in 2013, 2014, and 2015.
See also
- Confederation Cup
- European Baseball Championship
- Asia Series
- Latin American Series
- Caribbean Series
- Baseball awards § Europe
External links
- 2015-01-18 at the Wayback Machine
- 2020-10-01 at the Wayback Machine