# 2021–22 Håndboldligaen

The 2021–22 Håndboldligaen (known as the HTH Herreligaen) was the 86th season of the Danish Handball League, the top men's handball league in Denmark. A total of fourteen teams contested this season's league, which began on 10 September 2021 and concluded on 12 June 2022.
GOG won their eighth title. TMS Ringsted and Skive fH were relegated.

## Format

Under normal circumstances the league is made up of 14 teams. However, for this season only the team had 15 teams. This was because the previous season 2020-21, Aarhus Håndbold had gone bankrupt and was forced to leave the league.
The team TMS Ringsted finished last in the regular season, and should therefore under normal circumstances have been relegated. They decided however to appeal the relegation, and it was found that due to Aarhus Håndbold's bankruptcy, they had the right to remain in the league. Simultaniously, Nordsjælland Håndbold had won the First Division, and Skive fH had won the First Division play-off round and thus had to meet the worst placed team in the Håndboldligaen relegation round. This would be Aarhus Håndbold, as they had not competed, and thus had not gained any points at all. This was however decided after Skive fH had already secured promotion, as Aarhus Håndbold could not compete. This meant that only one team was relegated, but two were promoted. Therefore it was decided that for the 2021–22 Håndboldligaen, the league would have 15, not 14 teams.
In the 15 team league format, it meant that two teams, instead of the usual one team, was relegated directly after the regular season. The regular season also had two rounds more than usual.

## Teams
### Arenas and locations

The following 15 clubs competed in the Håndboldligaen during the 2021–22 season:
| Team | Location | Arena | Capacity |
| Aalborg Håndbold | Aalborg | Jutlander Bank Arena | 5,009 |
| Bjerringbro-Silkeborg | Bjerringbro | Silkeborg-Hallerne | 2,845 |
| Fredericia Håndboldklub | Fredericia | Fredericia Idrætscenter | 2,225 |
| GOG | Gudme | Gudme-Hallerne | 2,265 |
| KIF Kolding | Kolding | Tre-For Arena | 5,182 |
| Lemvig-Thyborøn Håndbold | Lemvig | Vestjysk BANK Arena | 1,400 |
| Mors-Thy Håndbold | Nykøbing Mors Thisted | Jyske Bank Mors Arena Thy Hallen | 2,296 1,284 |
| Nordsjælland Håndbold | Helsinge Hillerød | Helsinge-Hallen Royal Stage | 1,600 3,000 |
| Ribe-Esbjerg HH | Esbjerg Ribe | Blue Water Dokken Invactor Arena | 3,386 1,976 |
| Skanderborg Aarhus Håndbold | Skanderborg Aarhus | Fælledhallen Ceres Arena | 1,700 5,000 |
| Skive fH | Skive | Interfjord Arena | 2,100 |
| Skjern Håndbold | Skjern | Skjern Bank Arena | 3,264 |
| SønderjyskE | Sønderborg | Broager Sparekasse Skansen | 2,200 |
| TTH Holstebro | Holstebro | Idrætscenter Vest | 3,250 |
| TMS Ringsted | Ringsted | Ringsted-Hallen | 1,600 |

## Regular season
### League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | GOG | 28 | 25 | 2 | 1 | 929 | 794 | +135 | 52 | Qualification to Championship round |
| 2 | Aalborg Håndbold | 28 | 23 | 1 | 4 | 931 | 808 | +123 | 47 | Qualification to Championship round |
| 3 | Skjern Håndbold | 28 | 18 | 1 | 9 | 810 | 751 | +59 | 37 | Qualification to Championship round |
| 4 | Skanderborg Aarhus Håndbold | 28 | 17 | 2 | 9 | 800 | 775 | +25 | 36 | Qualification to Championship round |
| 5 | Bjerringbro-Silkeborg | 28 | 16 | 1 | 11 | 846 | 805 | +41 | 33 | Qualification to Championship round |
| 6 | Fredericia Håndboldklub | 28 | 14 | 1 | 13 | 833 | 831 | +2 | 29 | Qualification to Championship round |
| 7 | Mors-Thy Håndbold | 28 | 12 | 2 | 14 | 819 | 798 | +21 | 26 | Qualification to Championship round |
| 8 | Ribe-Esbjerg HH | 28 | 12 | 0 | 16 | 798 | 815 | −17 | 24 | Qualification to Championship round |
| 9 | Lemvig-Thyborøn Håndbold | 28 | 9 | 4 | 15 | 774 | 838 | −64 | 22 | Qualification to Relegation round |
| 10 | Nordsjælland Håndbold | 28 | 8 | 5 | 15 | 769 | 810 | −41 | 21 | Qualification to Relegation round |
| 11 | SønderjyskE Herrer | 28 | 9 | 3 | 16 | 779 | 801 | −22 | 21 | Qualification to Relegation round |
| 12 | KIF Kolding | 28 | 7 | 5 | 16 | 800 | 856 | −56 | 19 | Qualification to Relegation round |
| 13 | TTH Holstebro | 28 | 9 | 1 | 18 | 820 | 858 | −38 | 19 | Qualification to Relegation round |
| 14 | TMS Ringsted (R) | 28 | 8 | 3 | 17 | 805 | 872 | −67 | 19 | Relegated to 1st Division |
| 15 | Skive fH (R) | 28 | 6 | 3 | 19 | 751 | 842 | −91 | 15 | Relegated to 1st Division |
* 1 2 Nordsjælland Håndbold is ahead of SønderjyskE Herrer on head-to-head results: 54–50.
* 1 2 KIF Kolding is ahead of TTH Holstebro on head-to-head results: 56–56 (a).

## Second round
### Championship round
#### Group 1

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | GOG | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 175 | 171 | +4 | 12 | Advance to playoffs |
| 2 | Bjerringbro-Silkeborg | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 184 | 160 | +24 | 10 | Advance to playoffs |
| 3 | Skanderborg Aarhus Håndbold | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 165 | 172 | −7 | 5 | |
| 4 | Ribe-Esbjerg HH | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 167 | 188 | −21 | 0 | |
* ↑ GOG were added two point for in honoration of the Regular season's standings.
* ↑ Skanderborg Aarhus Håndbold were added one point for in honoration of the Regular season's standings.

#### Group 2

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Aalborg Håndbold | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 190 | 176 | +14 | 12 | Advance to Playoffs |
| 2 | Skjern Håndbold | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 181 | 163 | +18 | 9 | Advance to Playoffs |
| 3 | Mors-Thy Håndbold | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 193 | 193 | 0 | 4 | |
| 4 | Fredericia Håndboldklub | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 165 | 197 | −32 | 2 | |
* ↑ Aalborg Håndbold were added two point for in honoration of the Regular season's standings.
* ↑ Skjern Håndbold were added one point for in honoration of the Regular season's standings.

### Relegation round

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 9 | SønderjyskE Herrer | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 144 | 118 | +26 | 9 | |
| 10 | Nordsjælland Håndbold | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 124 | 121 | +3 | 7 | |
| 11 | Lemvig-Thyborøn Håndbold | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 123 | 127 | −4 | 6 | |
| 12 | KIF Kolding | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 122 | 127 | −5 | 3 | |
| 13 | TTH Holstebro (O) | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 121 | 141 | −20 | 1 | Qualification for Relegation play-offs |
* ↑ SønderjyskE Herrer were added one point for in honoration of the Regular season's standings.
* ↑ Nordsjælland Håndbold were added two point for in honoration of the Regular season's standings.
* ↑ Lemvig-Thyborøn Håndbold were added two point for in honoration of the Regular season's standings.
* ↑ KIF Kolding were added one point for in honoration of the Regular season's standings.

## Playoffs
### Semifinals

Semifinals were played best-of-three format.
| Team 1 | Series | Team 2 | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 |
| GOG | 2–1 | Skjern Håndbold | 33–23 | 27–30 | 34–29 |
| Aalborg Håndbold | 2–0 | Bjerringbro-Silkeborg | 24–22 | 26–31 | – |

### Finals

| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| GOG | 52–51 | Aalborg Håndbold | 25–25 | 27–26 |

#### Game 1

| 8 June 2022 (2022-06-08) 20:30 | GOG | 25–25 | Aalborg Håndbold | Phønix Tag Arena, Gudme Attendance: 1,952 Referees: Pedersen, Nygaard |
| 8 June 2022 (2022-06-08) 20:30 | Tollbring 6 | (14–11) | Pálmarsson, Claar 4 | Phønix Tag Arena, Gudme Attendance: 1,952 Referees: Pedersen, Nygaard |
| 8 June 2022 (2022-06-08) 20:30 | 1× 4× | Report | 1× 3× | Phønix Tag Arena, Gudme Attendance: 1,952 Referees: Pedersen, Nygaard |

#### Game 2

| 12 June 2021 (2021-06-12) 17:00 | Aalborg Håndbold | 26–27 | GOG | Gigantium, Aalborg Attendance: 5,020 Referees: Madsen, Hansen |
| 12 June 2021 (2021-06-12) 17:00 | three players 5 | (16–13) | Tollbring 8 | Gigantium, Aalborg Attendance: 5,020 Referees: Madsen, Hansen |
| 12 June 2021 (2021-06-12) 17:00 | 4× | Report | 1× 3× | Gigantium, Aalborg Attendance: 5,020 Referees: Madsen, Hansen |
GOG won the Finals 52–51 on aggregate.

### Third place series

| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Skjern Håndbold | 59–64 | Bjerringbro-Silkeborg | 28–30 | 31–34 |

## Promotion/relegation play-offs

The 13th-placed teams of the Håndboldligaen faces the 2nd and 3rd-placed team of the 1st Division. The Promotion/relegation play-offs were played best-of-three format. The winner of these tournament was promoted to Håndboldligaen and the other teams relegated to 1st Division.
| Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Finals | Finals | Finals |
| I/13 | TTH Holstebro | w/o | | | |
| | | | I/13 | TTH Holstebro | 2 |
| | | | II/2 | HØJ Elite | 0 |
| II/2 | HØJ Elite | 2 | II/2 | HØJ Elite | 0 |
| II/3 | Grindsted GIF Håndbold | 1 | | | |

## Final standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | GOG (C) | 39 | 33 | 3 | 3 | Qualification for Champions League group phase |
| 2 | Aalborg Håndbold | 38 | 30 | 2 | 6 | Qualification for Champions League group phase |
| 3 | Bjerringbro-Silkeborg | 38 | 23 | 1 | 14 | Qualification for European League first qualifying round |
| 4 | Skjern Håndbold | 39 | 23 | 1 | 15 | Qualification for European League group phase |
| 5 | Skanderborg Aarhus Håndbold | 34 | 19 | 2 | 13 | Qualification for European League second qualifying round |
| 6 | Mors-Thy Håndbold | 34 | 14 | 2 | 18 | |
| 7 | Fredericia Håndboldklub | 34 | 15 | 1 | 18 | |
| 8 | Ribe-Esbjerg HH | 34 | 12 | 0 | 22 | |
| 9 | SønderjyskE Herrer | 32 | 13 | 3 | 16 | |
| 10 | Nordsjælland Håndbold | 32 | 10 | 6 | 16 | |
| 11 | Lemvig-Thyborøn Håndbold | 32 | 11 | 4 | 17 | |
| 12 | KIF Kolding | 32 | 7 | 7 | 18 | |
| 13 | TTH Holstebro (O) | 34 | 11 | 2 | 21 | |
| 14 | TMS Ringsted (R) | 28 | 8 | 3 | 17 | Relegated to 1st Division |
| 15 | Skive fH (R) | 28 | 6 | 3 | 19 | Relegated to 1st Division |

## Statistics
### Top goalscorers

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Jerry Tollbring | GOG | 203 |
| 2 | Bjarke Christensen | Mors-Thy Håndbold | 174 |
| 3 | Martin Risom | TMS Ringsted | 167 |
| 4 | Lasse Mikkelsen | Skjern Håndbold | 146 |
| 5 | Erik Thorsteinsen Toft | Mors-Thy Håndbold | 136 |
| 6 | Magnus Bramming | TTH Holstebro | 136 |
| 7 | Lukas Sandell | Aalborg Håndbold | 136 |
| 8 | Peter Balling | KIF Kolding | 135 |
| 9 | Jacob Lassen | Bjerringbro-Silkeborg | 132 |
| 10 | William Bogojevic | Bjerringbro-Silkeborg | 132 |

### All-Star team

The all-star team was announced on 1 June 2022.
| Position | Player | Club |
| Goalkeeper | Christoffer Bonde | Skjern Håndbold |
| Left wing | Jerry Tollbring | GOG |
| Left back | Simon Pytlick | GOG |
| Centre back | Felix Claar | Aalborg Håndbold |
| Pivot | Oscar Bergendahl | GOG |
| Right back | Jacob Lassen | Bjerringbro-Silkeborg |
| Right wing | Oskar Vind Rasmussen | TMS Ringsted |