In three weeks, the first phase of the national competition will be over. But what happens next?

We investigated for you, as there is quite some excitement and sometimes a bit of confusion with the new competition formula. This is partly because, for the men, the fight is for four spots in the decisive postseason, while the women are competing for a place among the top six. While the top six teams are almost set for the women, there are still many possibilities for the men. Let's see what lies ahead in the coming weeks at the top of the rankings.

Men
The ten teams of League A conclude the regular season after 18 matches. The top four teams then participate in the BeNe Conference and also automatically qualify for the quarterfinals of the Belgian playoffs. Four Belgian teams and four Dutch teams take part in this BeNe Conference. The results of the Belgian teams in the previous regular season are carried over at the start.

The four Belgian teams then play against the four Dutch teams in home-and-away matches. After these eight matches, a final ranking is established.

Meanwhile, in Belgium, the Challenge playoffs are played by the teams ranked 5th to 10th in the regular season. The 5th starts with 5 points, the 6th with 4 points, the 7th with 3 points, and so on. Each team plays 10 matches, and a ranking is established afterward.

The final phase of the competition proceeds as follows:
¼ Finals PO:
The 3rd and 4th ranked Belgian teams from the BeNe Conference play against the 1st and 2nd from the Challenge PO in a best of 3 series.
3rd BNC – 2nd CHPO
4th BNC – 1st CHPO
The 3rd and 4th from the BeNe Conference play at home first and have the home advantage in a possible third match.

½ Finals PO:
The 1st and 2nd ranked Belgian teams from the BeNe Conference and the winners of the ¼ finals in a best of 3 series.
2nd BNC - winner ¼ final (3rd BNC – 2nd CHPO)
1st BNC – winner ¼ final (4th BNC – 1st CHPO)
The 1st and 2nd from the BeNe Conference play at home first and have the home advantage in a possible third match.

PO Final:
The winners of the ½ finals PO.
Best of 5.
The highest-ranked team among the ½ final winners plays at home first.

Ranking after 15 match days:
Roeselare 35, Achel 32, Maaseik and Menen 29, Haasrode 28, Aalst 27…

Remaining matches:
Achel – Roeselare, Menen – Guibertin, Maaseik – Haasrode, Waremme – Aalst…
Gent - Achel, Antwerp – Aalst, Roeselare - Maaseik, Waremme – Menen, Haasrode – Guibertin…
Gent – Roeselare, Menen – Antwerp, Aalst – Maaseik, Achel – Haasrode…

Women
No BeNe Conference for the women.
After the regular season (18 matches), the top six play the Champions PO, and the bottom four play the Challenge PO. Both competitions are played in a double round-robin format. Half of the points obtained during the regular season are carried over.

The first and second of the Champions PO play the PO final in a best of 3 series.
The 4th, 5th, and 6th of the Champions PO and the first of the Challenge PO continue in the Europe PO.

The 3rd of the Champions PO finishes the competition and earns a European ticket. The 2nd, 3rd, and 4th of the Challenge PO also end the competition here.

The progression of the Europe PO is as follows:
Round 1:
a) The 1st of the Challenge PO plays against the 4th of the Champions PO in a home-and-away series and plays at home first. Possibly a golden set.
b) The 6th of the Champions PO plays against the 5th of the Champions PO. The sixth plays at home first. Possibly a golden set here as well.

Round 2:
a) The winners of matches a and b in round 1 play in a home-and-away series with possibly a golden set for the final ranking.
b) The losers of matches a and b in round 1 do the same for the next two places in the final ranking.

Ranking after 14 match days:
Tchalou/Asterix 34, Bevo Roeselare/Charleroi 32, Oudegem 22, Gent 20…

Remaining matches:
Roeselare – Geel, Tchalou – Oudegem, Asterix – Charleroi
Asterix – Oudegem, Michelbeke – Roeselare
Gent – Tchalou, Oudegem – Roeselare
Roeselare – Asterix, Charleroi – Gent…

Text: Fernand Walder