Mladost Defend the Title, Branik the Main Favourite
The final tournament of the fourth edition of the Alpe Waterpolo League will take place from Friday to Sunday at the Pristan swimming pool in Maribor. Last year’s champions, Mladost Zagreb, will defend their title, but they already face a quarterfinal match on Friday against ASV Ströck Wien. In the second quarterfinal, Opatija will play Triglav Kranj.
The winner of the first quarterfinal will meet Ljubljana Slovan in Saturday’s semifinal, while the winner of the second quarterfinal will face the host team Branik Maribor.
Maribor finished first in the regular season standings with only one defeat. In the close battle for second place, which guaranteed a direct place in the semifinals, Ljubljana Slovan finished one point ahead of the Zagreb side. Opatija, who were in the best position for second place before the final regular-season tournament in Rijeka, dropped to fourth place after two defeats. Mladost overtook them and moved into third place, and so far they remain the only team to have defeated Branik this season.
Triglav Kranj, winners of the first two AWL tournaments of the season, finished fifth, while ASV Ströck Wien moved up to sixth place after their victory over Opatija.
In addition to the three Slovenian teams that qualified for the Final Tournament, two more Slovenian clubs also competed in the league this season. Koper-Hanna finished in eighth place, while Calcit Volley ended the competition in eleventh.
Aljaž Troppan: The Hardest Road to the Final
The most difficult path to the semifinals – and potentially to the final – awaits Triglav Kranj, who will face Opatija in the quarterfinals. In the regular season, they narrowly lost that match 13:14.
“Perhaps we didn’t show everything we are capable of during the regular season. We also had quite a few injury problems. Our team is even younger than last year, but if we want to achieve our goal, it doesn’t really matter whether we need two or three games to do it,” said Aljaž Troppan, who is not overly concerned about the quarterfinal match.
Troppan is currently the top scorer of the AWL with 40 goals, sharing the lead with Marcel Lipnik of Ljubljana Slovan.
An even tougher opponent could await Kranj in the semifinals.
“Although Branik has already beaten us twice this season, we are not without chances, since we also managed to beat them once. We know they are a quality team, but I still think the match will be open. It is true, however, that playing in Maribor is always difficult,” said the 23-year-old captain of the Kranj team, speaking ahead of the first major highlight of the season.
He also commented on the competition itself:
“I think the goal of the competition has been achieved. The teams are evenly matched, the games are interesting and of good quality. It is also an opportunity for younger players to gain international experience. Without AWL matches we would have too few competitive games, and in that sense the national team benefits as well,” added Troppan.
Aljaž Pevec: Chasing the First Trophy of the Season
Branik Maribor, the current Slovenian national champions, travelled to their final regular-season AWL match with an incomplete squad, which resulted in a defeat against Mladost.
“Since the Challenger Cup Final Tournament in Turkey awaits us next Thursday, we didn’t go to Rijeka with our full squad, so some of the younger players got their opportunity,” explained Aljaž Pevec, the experienced Maribor player who was among those who stayed at home.
“Even before the start of the AWL we knew we had a strong team, stronger than last year, so our goal was to finish first. That remains our main goal for the final tournament as well, although we know it won’t be easy,” added Pevec, who expects Triglav Kranj to be their semifinal opponent.
“They beat us in the first part of the Slovenian league season, although at that time we were focused on the Challenger Cup tournament. The situation is somewhat similar now, since we have the final tournament of that European competition next week. The tournament in Maribor will also be a good preparation for Turkey, where our first goal is to reach the semifinals, so we cannot afford any slip-ups,” said the 33-year-old Pevec, who expects Mladost Zagreb to reach the final.
“A lot will depend on whether Ljubljana come to Maribor with their first goalkeeper Jure Beton. When he has a good day and closes the goal, they can beat anyone. But if Jure does not play, Mladost will have a significant advantage.”
Enej Potočnik: First Goal – Reaching the Final
Two days before the Rijeka tournament, Ljubljana Slovan lost at home to Mladost, which suggested their fight for second place might already be over. However, in the decisive match for second place they defeated Opatija, proving they can be dangerous even without Beton.
“We are mainly to blame ourselves for the defeat against Mladost. I’m thinking especially about our defensive play, since we conceded 20 goals in regular time, which is definitely too many. In Rijeka we corrected that. Our additional motivation was to avoid the quarterfinal match, because last year we experienced how demanding it is to play three matches in three days. I think the win against Opatija is a good sign ahead of the Maribor tournament,” said Enej Potočnik, one of the key players of the Ljubljana team.
He also spoke about a potential semifinal opponent:
“I wouldn’t be surprised if it were Ströck. They have a quality and experienced team. Last year Zagreb arrived at the final tournament with players who hadn’t played during the regular season, so a lot will depend on the squad they bring to Maribor. But regardless of who they bring, we can beat them and reach the final. A lot will depend on our defensive play. If we are solid in defense, it will also make things easier for our two young goalkeepers,” said Potočnik, who made his debut for the Slovenian national team at the European Championship in January.
In the other semifinal he expects a clash between the hosts and Triglav.
“I think Triglav will beat Opatija, and against Maribor they are not completely without chances either, although the home pool certainly gives the hosts an advantage,” added the 22-year-old third-year political science student at the Faculty of Social Sciences in Ljubljana.
AWL 2026 Final Tournament Match Schedule
Friday, 6 March 2026 – Quarterfinals
18:30 – HAVK Mladost vs ASV Ströck Wien
20:00 – VK Opatija vs AVK Triglav Kranj
Saturday, 7 March 2026
17:00 – Match for 5th place: Loser QF1 vs Loser QF2
18:30 – Semifinal 1: VK Ljubljana Slovan vs Winner QF1
20:00 – Semifinal 2: AVK Branik Maribor vs Winner QF2
Sunday, 8 March 2026
10:00 – Third place match: Loser SF1 vs Loser SF2
12:00 – Final: Winner SF2 vs Winner SF1
Author Miha Štamcar
Photo Aleksander Sokler
