# 2018–19 Handball-Bundesliga

The 2018–19 Handball-Bundesliga was the 54th season of the Handball-Bundesliga, Germany's premier handball league and the 42nd season consisting of only one league. It ran from 23 August 2018 to 9 June 2019.
SG Flensburg-Handewitt won their third overall and second consecutive title.

## Teams
### Team changes

| Promoted from 2017–18 2. Handball-Bundesliga | Relegated from 2017–18 Handball-Bundesliga |
| Bergischer HC SG BBM Bietigheim | TV Hüttenberg TuS Nettelstedt-Lübbecke |

### Arenas and locations

The SAP Arena in Mannheim, home of the Rhein-Neckar Löwen, is the largest venue in the league as it seats 13,200 fans in its HBL configuration. While the smallest is the Scharrena, the smaller of the two home venues of TVB Stuttgart, only being able to accommodate 2,251 fans.
| Team | Location | Arena | Capacity |
| Bergischer HC | Wuppertal Solingen Düsseldorf | Uni-Halle Klingenhalle ISS Dome | 3.200 2.800 12.500 |
| Füchse Berlin | Berlin | Max-Schmeling-Halle | 9.000 |
| SG BBM Bietigheim | Bietigheim-Bissingen Ludwigsburg | EgeTrans Arena Arena Ludwigsburg | 4.517 3.715 |
| HC Erlangen | Nuremberg | Arena Nürnberger Versicherung | 8.308 |
| SG Flensburg-Handewitt | Flensburg | Flens-Arena | 6.300 |
| Die Eulen Ludwigshafen | Ludwigshafen | Friedrich-Ebert-Halle | 2.350 |
| Frisch Auf Göppingen | Göppingen | EWS Arena | 5.600 |
| VfL Gummersbach | Gummersbach | Schwalbe-Arena | 4.132 |
| TSV Hannover-Burgdorf | Hanover | TUI Arena Swiss Life Hall | 9.850 4.460 |
| THW Kiel | Kiel | Sparkassen-Arena | 10.285 |
| SC DHfK Leipzig | Leipzig | Arena Leipzig | 6.327 |
| TBV Lemgo | Lemgo | Lipperlandhalle | 4.790 |
| SC Magdeburg | Magdeburg | GETEC Arena | 6.600 |
| MT Melsungen | Melsungen | Rothenbach-Halle | 4.300 |
| GWD Minden | Minden | Kampa-Halle | 4.059 |
| Rhein-Neckar Löwen | Mannheim | SAP Arena | 13.200 |
| TVB 1898 Stuttgart | Stuttgart | Scharrena Stuttgart Porsche-Arena | 2.251 6.211 |
| HSG Wetzlar | Wetzlar | Rittal Arena Wetzlar | 4.421 |

### Personnel and finances

| Team | Head coach | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor | Operational budget |
| Bergischer HC | Sebastian Hinze | Kristian Nippes | Salming | WKW automotive | 3.2 M€ |
| Füchse Berlin | / Velimir Petković | Hans Lindberg | Hummel | Deutsche Wohnen | 6.0 M€ |
| SG BBM Bietigheim | Ralf Bader | Patrick Rentschler | Erima | OLYMP | 1.5 M€ |
| HC Erlangen | Aðalsteinn Eyjólfsson | Michael Haaß | Kempa | HIETEC | 5.0 M€ |
| SG Flensburg-Handewitt | Maik Machulla | Tobias Karlsson | Erima | Dänisches Bettenlager | 7.0 M€ |
| Die Eulen Ludwigshafen | Benjamin Matschke | Gunnar Dietrich | Erima | Technische Werke Ludwigshafen | 1.2 M€ |
| Frisch Auf Göppingen | Hartmut Mayerhoffer | Tim Kneule | Hummel | Stahlbau Nägele | 5.2 M€ |
| VfL Gummersbach | Torge Greve | Drago Vukovic | Select | Schwalbe | 4.0 M€ |
| TSV Hannover-Burgdorf | Antonio Carlos Ortega | Kai Häfner | Adidas | CP-Pharma | 4.5 M€ |
| THW Kiel | Alfreð Gíslason | Domagoj Duvnjak | Adidas | Star | 9.5 M€ |
| SC DHfK Leipzig | André Haber | Jens Vortmann | Puma | Leipziger Gruppe | 4.9 M€ |
| TBV Lemgo | Florian Kehrmann | Andrej Kogut | Salming | Phoenix Contact | 3.5 M€ |
| SC Magdeburg | Bennet Wiegert | Christian O´Sullivan | Kempa | GETEC | 5.0 M€ |
| MT Melsungen | Heiko Grimm | Michael Müller | Salming | B. Braun | 5.0 M€ |
| GWD Minden | Frank Carstens | Dalibor Doder | Nike | Harting | 3.5 M€ |
| Rhein-Neckar Löwen | Nikolaj Jacobsen | Andy Schmid | Erima | Admiral | 6.5 M€ |
| TVB 1898 Stuttgart | Jürgen Schweikardt | Simon Baumgarten | Kempa | Kärcher | 4.0 M€ |
| HSG Wetzlar | Kai Wandschneider | Filip Mirkulovski | Mizuno | Licher | 4.0 M€ |

## Standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | SG Flensburg-Handewitt (C) | 34 | 32 | 0 | 2 | 958 | 768 | +190 | 64 | Champions League |
| 2 | THW Kiel | 34 | 31 | 0 | 3 | 1018 | 806 | +212 | 62 | Champions League |
| 3 | SC Magdeburg | 34 | 27 | 0 | 7 | 1010 | 867 | +143 | 54 | EHF Cup |
| 4 | Rhein-Neckar Löwen | 34 | 24 | 2 | 8 | 960 | 851 | +109 | 50 | EHF Cup |
| 5 | MT Melsungen | 34 | 21 | 0 | 13 | 922 | 900 | +22 | 42 | EHF Cup |
| 6 | Füchse Berlin | 34 | 19 | 0 | 15 | 923 | 898 | +25 | 38 | |
| 7 | Bergischer HC | 34 | 18 | 2 | 14 | 891 | 880 | +11 | 38 | |
| 8 | Frisch Auf Göppingen | 34 | 17 | 2 | 15 | 901 | 899 | +2 | 36 | |
| 9 | HC Erlangen | 34 | 14 | 2 | 18 | 853 | 881 | −28 | 30 | |
| 10 | HSG Wetzlar | 34 | 14 | 1 | 19 | 859 | 883 | −24 | 29 | |
| 11 | SC DHfK Leipzig | 34 | 12 | 3 | 19 | 861 | 871 | −10 | 27 | |
| 12 | TBV Lemgo | 34 | 11 | 4 | 19 | 861 | 885 | −24 | 26 | |
| 13 | TSV Hannover-Burgdorf | 34 | 12 | 2 | 20 | 935 | 960 | −25 | 26 | |
| 14 | GWD Minden | 34 | 12 | 1 | 21 | 941 | 976 | −35 | 25 | |
| 15 | TVB 1898 Stuttgart | 34 | 10 | 3 | 21 | 911 | 998 | −87 | 23 | |
| 16 | TSG Friesenheim | 34 | 5 | 4 | 25 | 802 | 955 | −153 | 14 | |
| 17 | VfL Gummersbach (R) | 34 | 6 | 2 | 26 | 809 | 963 | −154 | 14 | Relegated |
| 18 | SG BBM Bietigheim (R) | 34 | 6 | 2 | 26 | 809 | 983 | −174 | 14 | Relegated |

## Results

| Home \ Away | BRG | BER | BIE | ERL | FLE | FRI | GÖP | GUM | HAN | KIE | LEI | LEM | MAG | MEL | MIN | RNL | STU | WET |
| Bergischer HC | — | 28–26 | 26–23 | 35–26 | 24–27 | 27–23 | 25–28 | 30–28 | 25–22 | 23–27 | 27–23 | 35–26 | 23–27 | 25–24 | 26–21 | 25–30 | 29–28 | 26–22 |
| Füchse Berlin | 26–22 | — | 30–26 | 26–25 | 25–30 | 32–20 | 29–33 | 25–19 | 29–28 | 29–30 | 26–23 | 29–23 | 27–24 | 24–26 | 29–27 | 34–33 | 25–30 | 25–27 |
| SG BBM Bietigheim | 21–28 | 28–36 | — | 24–26 | 20–33 | 27–18 | 30–29 | 25–25 | 29–27 | 21–32 | 15–24 | 25–23 | 29–33 | 24–33 | 28–30 | 21–36 | 19–28 | 26–26 |
| HC Erlangen | 26–18 | 22–27 | 27–25 | — | 26–27 | 26–22 | 24–25 | 30–22 | 25–25 | 21–30 | 24–23 | 28–25 | 26–25 | 24–25 | 25–29 | 23–23 | 31–25 | 27–20 |
| SG Flensburg-Handewitt | 25–23 | 26–18 | 31–22 | 28–18 | — | 35–23 | 26–15 | 28–20 | 29–28 | 26–25 | 27–21 | 33–24 | 26–25 | 30–24 | 35–28 | 27–20 | 29–21 | 30–29 |
| TSG Friesenheim | 23–22 | 26–30 | 23–24 | 23–25 | 18–30 | — | 23–32 | 26–27 | 25–27 | 19–26 | 27–24 | 20–19 | 27–38 | 22–27 | 31–30 | 21–28 | 23–23 | 25–29 |
| Frisch Auf Göppingen | 27–30 | 21–18 | 31–27 | 25–23 | 23–28 | 30–26 | — | 35–26 | 27–26 | 25–29 | 34–27 | 20–24 | 24–31 | 27–30 | 21–21 | 25–28 | 31–25 | 22–24 |
| VfL Gummersbach | 22–29 | 20–29 | 28–21 | 25–27 | 23–33 | 20–20 | 22–26 | — | 25–26 | 22–35 | 30–28 | 25–19 | 20–31 | 23–28 | 20–25 | 28–23 | 31–28 | 19–24 |
| TSV Hannover-Burgdorf | 29–26 | 26–25 | 26–27 | 26–24 | 28–33 | 33–28 | 29–30 | 30–24 | — | 25–32 | 30–28 | 27–27 | 26–31 | 29–36 | 30–25 | 28–30 | 33–22 | 23–25 |
| THW Kiel | 32–24 | 26–22 | 34–20 | 27–21 | 20–18 | 37–21 | 28–26 | 31–25 | 30–26 | — | 27–22 | 28–24 | 25–28 | 37–20 | 39–19 | 31–28 | 32–19 | 29–19 |
| SC DHfK Leipzig | 25–25 | 32–27 | 31–24 | 26–25 | 20–21 | 28–22 | 29–25 | 28–18 | 31–26 | 24–25 | — | 22–22 | 24–25 | 26–29 | 26–25 | 28–26 | 26–27 | 21–25 |
| TBV Lemgo | 22–22 | 34–30 | 40–27 | 31–23 | 21–23 | 23–23 | 25–30 | 30–16 | 26–31 | 26–34 | 24–20 | — | 22–23 | 28–26 | 23–25 | 23–25 | 29–24 | 25–24 |
| SC Magdeburg | 32–27 | 25–27 | 23–19 | 31–25 | 24–23 | 35–26 | 28–29 | 29–24 | 34–23 | 35–30 | 28–20 | 29–24 | — | 32–24 | 40–31 | 29–32 | 37–30 | 30–25 |
| MT Melsungen | 26–23 | 26–22 | 31–24 | 27–26 | 18–24 | 30–26 | 25–22 | 33–27 | 28–25 | 25–29 | 35–27 | 31–27 | 23–28 | — | 26–21 | 23–26 | 24–26 | 26–24 |
| GWD Minden | 32–35 | 27–28 | 30–26 | 29–22 | 28–31 | 29–28 | 28–29 | 40–28 | 29–32 | 29–37 | 24–26 | 27–30 | 25–29 | 32–27 | — | 26–31 | 38–25 | 24–22 |
| Rhein-Neckar Löwen | 26–20 | 28–25 | 30–15 | 29–26 | 23–26 | 26–29 | 33–27 | 30–24 | 29–23 | 24–27 | 24–24 | 28–21 | 28–22 | 34–26 | 32–29 | — | 34–29 | 31–21 |
| TBV 1898 Stuttgart | 30–31 | 33–34 | 31–26 | 26–28 | 20–30 | 26–26 | 26–26 | 31–30 | 37–34 | 27–30 | 29–32 | 25–23 | 27–40 | 30–26 | 30–31 | 20–26 | — | 30–28 |
| HSG Wetzlar | 25–27 | 24–29 | 24–21 | 27–28 | 23–30 | 30–19 | 26–21 | 30–23 | 29–28 | 23–27 | 23–22 | 27–28 | 26–31 | 26–34 | 31–27 | 25–26 | 26–23 | — |

## Awards
### Monthly awards

| Month | Player of the Month | Player of the Month | Player of the Month | Goal of the Month | Goal of the Month |
| Month | Player | Position | Club | Player | Club |
| September | Matthias Musche | LW | SC Magdeburg | Thomas Roth | TSV Södel |
| October | Michael Kraus | CB | TBV 1898 Stuttgart | Bastian Schwengers | FC Schalke 04 |
| November | Domenico Ebner | GK | SG BBM Bietigheim | Christopher Czens | Lehrter SV |
| December | Silvio Heinevetter | GK | Füchse Berlin | Lasse Scharge | Oranienburger HC |
| February | Matthias Musche | LW | SC Magdeburg | 0 | 0 |
| März | Michael Damgaard | LB/CB | SC Magdeburg | 0 | 0 |
| April | Niklas Landin | GK | THW Kiel | 0 | 0 |
| Mai | Andreas Wolff | GK | THW Kiel | 0 | 0 |
The goal of the month award can be awarded to anyone in the league system while the player of the month award only count Bundesliga performances.

## Number of teams by state

| Rank | State | Number of teams | Club(s) |
| 1 | Baden-Württemberg | 4 | SG BBM Bietigheim, Frisch Auf Göppingen, Rhein-Neckar Löwen, TVB Stuttgart |
| 1 | North Rhine-Westphalia | 4 | Bergischer HC, VfL Gummersbach, TBV Lemgo, GWD Minden |
| 3 | Hesse | 2 | MT Melsungen, HSG Wetzlar |
| 3 | Schleswig-Holstein | 2 | SG Flensburg-Handewitt, THW Kiel |
| 5 | Bayern | 1 | HC Erlangen |
| 5 | Berlin | 1 | Füchse Berlin |
| 5 | Lower Saxony | 1 | TSV Hannover-Burgdorf |
| 5 | Rhineland-Palatinate | 1 | Die Eulen Ludwigshafen |
| 5 | Saxony | 1 | SC DHfK Leipzig |
| 5 | Saxony-Anhalt | 1 | SC Magdeburg |