# 2018–19 Men's Belgian Hockey League

The 2018–19 Men's Belgian Hockey League was the 100th season of the Belgian field hockey men's top division. It began on 2 September 2018 and it concluded with the second leg of the championship final on 12 May 2019. Dragons were the defending champions, having won the 2017–18 season.
Léopold won their 28th title by defeating Beerschot 6–5 in aggregate in the championship final (two-legged tie).

## Teams

| Team | Location | Province |
| Antwerp | Sint-Job-in-'t-Goor | Antwerp |
| Beerschot | Kontich | Antwerp |
| Braxgata | Boom | Antwerp |
| Daring | Molenbeek-Saint-Jean | Brussels |
| Dragons | Brasschaat | Antwerp |
| Gantoise | Ghent | East Flanders |
| Herakles | Lier | Antwerp |
| Léopold | Uccle | Brussels |
| Orée | Woluwe-Saint-Pierre | Brussels |
| Racing | Uccle | Brussels |
| Waterloo Ducks | Waterloo | Walloon Brabant |
| White Star | Evere | Brussels |

### Number of teams by provinces

| Province | Number of teams | Team(s) |
| Antwerp | 5 | Antwerp, Beerschot, Braxgata, Dragons, Herakles |
| Brussels | 5 | Daring, Léopold, Orée, Racing, White Star |
| East Flanders | 1 | Gantoise |
| Walloon Brabant | 1 | Waterloo Ducks |
| Total | 14 | |

## Regular season

The twelve teams are grouped in two pools of six (Pool A and Pool B) based on the previous season's ranking :
* Pool A : 1, 4, 5, 8, 9, National 1 (2)
* Pool B : 2, 3, 6, 7, 10, National 1 (1)
The teams of the same pool compete 2 times and face the teams of the other pool once. The first four of each pool are qualified for the play-offs and the last two of each pool play the play-downs.

### Pool A

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Racing | 16 | 10 | 6 | 0 | 67 | 30 | +37 | 36 | Qualification for the play-offs |
| 2 | Orée | 16 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 48 | 35 | +13 | 31 | Qualification for the play-offs |
| 3 | Beerschot | 16 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 46 | 45 | +1 | 26 | Qualification for the play-offs |
| 4 | Dragons | 16 | 7 | 2 | 7 | 40 | 35 | +5 | 23 | Qualification for the play-offs |
| 5 | Braxgata | 16 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 33 | 39 | −6 | 16 | Qualification for the play-downs |
| 6 | Antwerp | 16 | 0 | 2 | 14 | 27 | 71 | −44 | 2 | Qualification for the play-downs |

### Pool B

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Waterloo Ducks | 16 | 13 | 1 | 2 | 73 | 32 | +41 | 40 | Qualification for the play-offs |
| 2 | Gantoise | 16 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 60 | 37 | +23 | 34 | Qualification for the play-offs |
| 3 | Léopold (C) | 16 | 10 | 2 | 4 | 59 | 32 | +27 | 32 | Qualification for the play-offs |
| 4 | Herakles | 16 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 42 | 53 | −11 | 18 | Qualification for the play-offs |
| 5 | Daring (R) | 16 | 2 | 2 | 12 | 34 | 66 | −32 | 8 | Qualification for the play-downs |
| 6 | White Star (R) | 16 | 2 | 0 | 14 | 27 | 81 | −54 | 6 | Qualification for the play-downs |

## Play-offs

All rounds are played in a two-legged tie. The scheme for the quarter-finals is as follows :
* Series 1: 1A/4B
* Series 2: 2B/3A
* Series 3: 1B/4A
* Series 4: 2A/3B
The semi-finals are played between the winners of series 1 and 2 and the winners of series 3 and 4. The winners qualify for the championship final where the two teams compete to decide who will be crowned Belgian champion.

### Bracket

| Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Final | Final | Final | Final |
| Racing | 2 | 1 | 3 | | | | |
| Herakles (s.o.) | 0 | 3 | 3 | | | | |
| Herakles (s.o.) | 0 | 3 | 3 | Herakles | 3 | 2 | 5 |
| | | | | Beerschot | 3 | 4 | 7 |
| Gantoise | 2 | 0 | 2 | Beerschot | 3 | 4 | 7 |
| Beerschot | 1 | 2 | 3 | | | | | | | | |
| Beerschot | 1 | 2 | 3 | | | | | Beerschot | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| | | | | | | | | Léopold | 2 | 4 | 6 |
| Waterloo Ducks | 1 | 4 | 5 | | | | | Léopold | 2 | 4 | 6 |
| Dragons | 4 | 2 | 6 | | | | | | | | |
| Dragons | 4 | 2 | 6 | Dragons | 2 | 1 | 3 | | | | |
| | | | | Léopold | 2 | 2 | 4 | EHL play-off | EHL play-off | EHL play-off | EHL play-off |
| Orée | 1 | 4 | 5 | Léopold | 2 | 2 | 4 | EHL play-off | EHL play-off | EHL play-off | EHL play-off |
| Léopold | 5 | 3 | 8 | | | | | | | | |
| Léopold | 5 | 3 | 8 | | | | | Herakles (s.o.) | 4 | 2 | 6 |
| | | | | | | | | Dragons | 5 | 1 | 6 |

### Quarter-finals
#### (1A) Racing vs (4B) Herakles

* 14 April 2019 15:00
| Herakles | 0-2 | Racing |
| | | Boon 12', 51' |
* 28 April 2019 15:00
| Racing | 1–3 | Herakles |
| Boon 22' | | De Kerpel 11', 70' Haig 64' |
| Penalties |||
| | 1–3 | |
Herakles won series 3-3 (3-1) in aggregate after penalty shoot-out.

#### (2B) Gantoise vs (3A) Beerschot

* 14 April 2019 15:00
| Beerschot | 1–2 | Gantoise |
| Catlin 70' | | Saladino Tolini 58' |
* 28 April 2019 15:00
| Gantoise | 0-2 | Beerschot |
| | | Duvekot 12' Bull 17' |
Beerschot won series 3-2 in aggregate.

#### (1B) Waterloo Ducks vs (4A) Dragons

* 14 April 2019 15:00
| Dragons | 4–1 | Waterloo Ducks |
| Raes 32', 46' Denayer 38' van Aubel 65' | | Boccard 54' |
* 28 April 2019 15:00
| Waterloo Ducks | 4-2 | Dragons |
| Pangrazio 11' Van Oost 25' Boccard 40' Wilbers 57' | | Raes 28' Denayer 53' |
Dragons won series 6-5 in aggregate.

#### (2A) Orée vs (3B) Léopold

* 14 April 2019 15:00
| Léopold | 5–1 | Orée |
| Russell 8', 30', 42' Zimmer 56' Degroote 60' | | Domene 16' |
* 28 April 2019 15:00
| Orée | 4-3 | Léopold |
| Domene 35', 40', 43', 56' | | Degroote 6' Russell 52', 54' |
Léopold won series 8-5 in aggregate.

### Semi-finals

The semi-finals were played from 1 to 5 May 2019 at Herakles.

#### Herakles vs Beerschot

* 1 May 2019 16:00
| Herakles | 3–3 | Beerschot |
| Jenness 42' Keusters 56' Haig 68' | | Catlin 3' Rossi 38' Bull 51' |
* 5 May 2019 15:00
| Beerschot | 4–2 | Herakles |
| Carson 7', 22', 36' Perez 15' | | Hottlet 49' Haig 63' |
Beerschot won series 7–5 in aggregate.

#### Dragons vs Léopold

* 1 May 2019 17:30
| Dragons | 2–2 | Léopold |
| van Aubel 53' Willems 56' | | Brunet 59', 68' |
* 5 May 2019 15:00
| Léopold | 2–1 | Dragons |
| Baumgarten 10' Russell 46' | | O'Donoghue 50' |
Léopold won series 4–3 in aggregate.

### EHL play-off

The EHL play-off was played from 11 to 12 May 2019 at Herakles. The third place winner is qualified for the 2019–20 Euro Hockey League.
* 11 May 2019 11:00
| Herakles | 4–5 | Dragons |
| Haig 1', 57' Jenness 18' De Kerpel 68' | | Lootens 9' Uher 13' Shimmins 17' Denayer 50' Raes 51' |
* 12 May 2019 11:00
| Dragons | 1–2 | Herakles |
| Raes 59' | | Haig 5' Jenness 26' |
| Penalties |||
| | 3–5 | |
Herakles won series 6–6 (5-3) in aggregate after penalty shoot-out.

### Final

The final was played from 11 to 12 May 2019 at Herakles. Both teams are qualified for the 2019–20 Euro Hockey League.
* 11 May 2019 13:30
| Léopold | 2–2 | Beerschot |
| Russell 17' Verdussen 32' | | Rossi 5' Catlin 70' |
* 12 May 2019 13:30
| Beerschot | 3–4 | Léopold |
| Carson 6', 62' Verhoeven 41' | | Verdussen 33' Russell 43', 57' Eaton 52' |
Léopold won series 6–5.