Challenge Cup Starts This Weekend
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- Published Date 11 Sep 2025
The pre-season is over, and the real games start this weekend with two Challenge Cup matches - Saturday away to the Nottingham Panthers and then home on Sunday to the Sheffield Steelers. The Challenge Cup is split into 2 groups divided by geography to ensure local rivalries and reduce additional travel. This is why there is one group of 6 teams and one group of 4 teams.
Group A
- Cardiff Devils
- Coventry Blaze
- Guildford Flames
- Manchester Storm
- Nottingham Panthers
- Sheffield Steelers
Group B
- Belfast Giants
- Dundee Stars
- Fife Flyers
- Glasgow Clan
Group A play each other once home and away for a total of 10 games. Group B play each other twice home and away for a total of 12 games.
The winners of both groups advance to the semi-finals and are seeded 1 and 2 based on their winning percentage in the group stage. The team finishing 2nd in Group A also advances to the semi-finals. The other semi-finalist is determined by a one-off Elimination game between the 3rd place team in Group A and the 2nd place team in Group B.
The semi-finals are two-legs with the 1st seed playing the 4th seed in one semi-final, and the 2nd and 3rd seeds playing in the other. The Final is a one-off game.
Last year, the Devils played the Belfast Giants in the Challenge Cup Final with the Giants winning the Cup on home ice. The Devils have played in 7 of the last 10 Challenge Cup Finals, winning it twice in 2015 and 2017, both times against the Steelers.