[FuzzyRussianHat]

Brussels finished atop the European Second League’s Western Conference at 104-58, earning back-to-back playoff trips. Stuttgart was second at 98-64, followed by Liverpool at 96-66. It was the fourth straight playoff trip for the Silver Sabres, who were one of the few teams still to never be promoted at least once. Stuttgart set a new E2L record during the season with their offense drawing 693 walks. The Phantoms ended a three-year playoff drought and were also shooting for their first-ever promotion.

There was a tie for the final playoff spot at 93-69 between Turin and Malta. The Tanks won the tiebreaker game to end a nine-year playoff drought, while the Marvels had only just been demoted. Turin, another team yet to be promoted, posted the second-best team OBP in conference history at .329. Toulouse was also in the playoff mix at 91-71, but fell just short.

Brussels bombarded the field in the Round Robin at 6-0 to advance to the Western Conference Championship for the first time. Turin and Stuttgart both were 3-3, while Liverpool went 0-6. The Tanks advanced to their third-ever conference final (2005, 2017) but promptly got swept 4-0 by the Beavers. Brussels guaranteed promotion back to the European Baseball Federation Elite after a six-year stay in E2L.



Bratislava led the way at 107-55 in the Eastern Conference for back-to-back playoff berths. Krakow was a very strong second at 100-62 with Lviv a powerful third at 97-65. The Canines had just gotten relegated the prior year and hoped for an immediate escape. The Lunkers only previous promotion was in 2018, followed by a demotion back the next year. In 2027, Lviv set a new E2L team record with 255 home runs.

Yerevan claimed the fourth and final spot at 89-73, fending off last year’s conference runner-up Helsinki by one game. It was the Valiants’ first playoff spot since getting relegated to E2L for 2020. A notable collapse was last year’s first place finisher Dnipro, dropping to 15^th at 68-94. Last place Varna (59-103) was another notable plummet as they had been at or above 80 wins for the prior five years.

The #1 and #4 seeds advanced out of the Round Robin with Bratislava and Yerevan both at 4-2. Krakow was 3-3 and Lviv finished 1-5. In the Eastern Conference Championship, the Blue Falcons defeated the Valiants 4-2. Bratislava secured its second promotion, having been stuck in E2L since 2013 apart from the 2020 campaign. In the 23^rd Second League Championship, Bratislava defeated Brussels 4-1. It was notably the first time since 2019 that both #1 seeds made it to the finale.





Over in the EBF Elite, five teams finished with 100+ losses, opening up five promotion slots out of E2L. This meant conference finalists Turin and Yerevan were also promoted. The fifth slot went to Krakow as the winningest playoff team that didn’t make the final four. For the Canines, this E2L stint ended up being a one-and-done. The Valiants earned their first promotion since getting relegated to E2L starting in 2020. The Tanks earned their first-ever promotion, leaving Liverpool, Stuttgart, and Lodz as the only E2L originals to never move up at least once.

Other notes: Stuttgart’s Alexander Hamann became the first in league history to win Pitcher of the Year four times. Edinburgh’s Yuriy Sapay had the fifth hitting Triple Crown in E2L history with a .336 average, 38 homers, and 108 RBI. Edinburgh’s Mattia Dallapiccola became the third to have a four home run game. Nottingham’s Leonid Bostan became the first E2L player with 2000 career hits.