Sportklub CEFL Championship is coming to the end of its 2024 journey. There’s one final game to play and the hosting rights have just been awarded. CEFL Bowl XVIII will be played on Saturday, 22 June at 19:00 CET. Calanda Broncos will welcome Danube Dragons Vienna to decide the 2024 champion.
CEFL Bowl XVIII
Saturday, 22 June, 19:00 CET
Calanda Broncos – Danube Dragons Vienna
Live stream: https://vimeo.com/event/4401774
The Swiss team has been one of the pillars of the CEFL Championship ever since their first appearance in 2019. That was their best season yet in which they also hosted the CEFL Bowl XIV, losing to Swarco Raiders Tirol in one of the most exciting finishes to date. Now, as Switzerland league’s best from last year, they’re facing another Austrian contender, hoping for a different outcome.
The Broncos have started their voyage by beating Copenhagen Towers in the first round. They traveled to Parma Panthers next to play the rematch of the 2022 campaign when they lost to them in the semis. Now they’ve dropped their Italian host and confronted Flash de La Courneuve in the penultimate round. In a game dominated by defenses they came out on top by two TDs, blanking the French rival.
Home teams’ 21-year-old homegrown phenom Robin Sennrich was a revelation of the season. A real dual threat QB, he scored 8 touchdowns, 5 by connecting with receivers and 3 rushing. His most dependable option was American, Maxwell Gray, who followed him in production with 5 scores.
Season 2022 was the Danube Dragons’ entrance into the CEFL Championship. They’ve played both of their games away that time. First they went to Belgrade and triumphed against SBB Vukovi. Then they visited E-R Parma Panthers in the quarterfinals, which sent them packing. Outdoing that performance by placing in the CEFL Bowl XVIII this time around won’t stop them from going for it all.
As one of the seeded teams in the current schedule, Danube Dragons have skipped the opener. In the second round they’ve rolled out the red carpet for the Guelfi Firenze. Their team was not as welcoming on the field though, dispatching their Italian opponent with a 25 point difference. In the semifinals, on a trip to Thonon Black Panthers, the Viennese prevailed in a low-scoring affair in the second half.
Two signal-callers split duties behind the center for the Danube Dragons. Their native, Alexander Thury was good for 3touchdowns in the second round and German, Lukas Schramm started in the semifinals. American import Madre London added 3 touchdowns of his own in 2 CEFL Championship games.
After their emergence last year, 2024 was again marked by European offensive leaders. Next to those from the Broncos and Danube Dragons, 4 other teams played with homegrown quarterbacks. Badis Grami started for Flash de La Courneuve, Alexander Kronborg Bjerre for the Copenhagen Towers, Sam Bloomfield for Manchester Titans and Andrea Fimiani was in rotation for Guelfi Firenze.
This season was contested by the CEFL Bowl XVII winner, 8 national league champions and 3 other top-of-the-line candidates. Austrian and Danish teams have returned to the competition, while the British champion participated for the first time. The trophy holder from last year is Flash de La Courneuve.
