The current Challenge Cup format, and how it should have been done

As a Panthers fan, some of my fondest memories have come from the Challenge Cup, in which the club have historically thrived in. 

I started supporting the club in the 2010/11 season, when the Panthers were in the thick of an all out domination of the competition. Between 2010 and 2016, Corey Neilson would guide the club to winning it 6 times in 7 attempts, a remarkable feat however you look at it. 

That's what makes the current state of the competition even more frustrating. 

Whilst there has been backlash for the joke of a format the league have opted for this season, I don't think it's to the extent it should be. Those who gave a group stage where 8 out of 9 teams qualify the green light, where the majority of the games meant nothing, have made a mockery of the fans. 

Of course, Glasgow Clan abruptly pulling out (a completely understandable decision given their circumstances) wasn't ideal, but neither is playing 3+ dead rubber games. 

It's really hindered my enthusiasm for the season as a whole in all honesty. Every week I would look at the fixture list and roll my eyes when I saw yet another group game having qualified (what felt like) an age ago. I wasn't even aware that we were playing the Steelers last Saturday until I checked Twitter...after the first period. 

A large chunk of the campaign so far has felt like an extended preseason. Whilst the league would inevitably cash in after the losses of the pandemic, a professional sports league of any kind needs to have competitive integrity high on their list of priorities. 

It says a lot that fans started to vote with their feet, and well, just look at the crowd when the puck dropped against Manchester at home.... 

One word, yikes. Has this killed off the hype for the knockout stages too? I certainly am not jumping for joy about our quarter final matchup with Guildford. 

So that begs the question, how should it have been done? An odd number of teams participating means their can't exactly be an overly straightforward format. I acknowledge that it's challenging, but their needs to be a balance between making up for the losses of the pandemic and making the competition actually worthwhile. My proposed format is the best case scenario I could think of that addresses both of these, without making any drastic changes. 

So, what have I kept the same? 

First off, the three groups of three, and amount of games played (6) in the group stage remain the same. This ensures that the league's chances of making the same revenue they intended to with this season's format aren't majorly tampered with. I don't know the economics of it all, so I've left it untouched. 

That's the same reason that I have kept the quarter final stage too, so 8 out of 9 teams would still qualify. I know, it's not ideal, but for the leagues financial interests, lessening the games is a big no no. 

The key change that I have made to the group stage, is that initially, only 5 teams will advance. This would be the 3 first placed teams, and the two best second placed teams. More is therefore now at stake in these games. That's the biggest box ticked. 

What follows is that the remaining 4 teams would go into an extra knockout round to advance to the quarter finals, and after, the competition would continue as normal. This gives 4 teams the chance to make further revenue, without overloading the schedule. 

It's a few small tweaks upon reflection, which doesn't exactly seem like rocket science to think of. The EIHL board have shown a clear lack of effort and a naivety to the fans intelligence with this year's format, and I hope lessons can be learnt should this situation arise again.