With over half the line-up for the upcoming Champion Hockey League season already filled, the race to qualify for the 2023/24 season is entering a decisive second phase in which teams will battle to secure their place in Europe's elite ice hockey competition through their domestic playoffs.
But before that happens, let's take a look at who's already punched their ticket for the much-revised upcoming season.
The very first team to qualify for 2023/24 were 2022/23 CHL Champions Tappara Tampere who beat Swedish side Luleå Hockey 3-2 in the 2023 Final played in Luleå, Sweden to take the European Trophy back to Finland for the first time since 2018.
The 18-time Liiga champions are one of only three teams to have qualified for each and every CHL season since the 2014/15 season alongside Swiss side EV Zug and Swedish team Frölunda Gothenburg.
And come the start of the upcoming season, they could become the only team to have done so since both Zug and Frölunda have yet to confirm their place in 2023/24.
The second qualifier for the upcoming season came just one day after the end of the 2022/23 season when Czech Extraliga side Dynamo Pardubice sealed their place in the line-up for 2023/24, marking their spectacular return to the European stage for the first time since 2017!
“We're really excited to play in the CHL again"Pardubice's Patrik Poulíček
The Czechs were quickly followed by ICE Hockey League side HC Bolzano who earned their place in the CHL the very same day.
Bolzano, who won the ICE HL regular season, have competed in three seasons of the CHL and are the only Italian team to have competed in the elite club ice hockey competition.
DEL regular season winners Red Bull Munich were up next, qualifying for their eighth CHL season back in late February.
The 2019 CHL Runners-Up had a tough season on the European stage last season, dropping out already in the Round of 16 following a shocking 2-10 aggregate series loss to Zug.
But the in form German mega club are hunting their national championship and very much looking forward to turning last season's losses to wins in the Champions Hockey League.
The fifth qualifier for 2023/24 was a team that had last participated in the CHL back in 2016, but a huge rise in form (possibly off the back of an appearance in the 2021/22 NL final) has seen them return to the pan-European stage for a third stint - Genève-Servette.
The Geneva-based club qualified for the 2020/21 season but missed out on their big CHL return since the season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Red Bull Salzburg filled in spot #6, qualifying for their eighth CHL season.
The 2019 CHL Semi-Finalists are one of the strongest teams in the ICE HL and are always a dark horse on the European stage, qualifying for the Playoffs in each of their participations.
Tune in next week for more Race for 2023/24 content, including a breakdown of our other qualifiers and an outlook on who could fill in the remaining spots in the line-up for the upcoming season.