Tatabanya and Ohrid seek historic European Cup title

FINAL, FIRST LEG

MOL Tatabanya KC (HUN) vs GRK Ohrid (MKD)

Sunday 24 May, 17:00 CEST, live on EHFTV

• MOL Tatabanya have won seven of their matches in their 2025/26 campaign, while securing one draw and taking two losses; GRK Ohrid have collected nine wins and only one loss on the road to the final
• the sides experienced similar scares in the semi-finals, losing their respective first legs; while Tatabanya turned their two-goal deficit around with a 37:34 win against HC Izvidac, Ohrid had to endure a dramatic penalty shoot-out against Celje to reach the final
• both clubs are participating in a European club final for the first time
• for the second consecutive season, a team from North Macedonia has reached the EHF European Cup final — and also for the third time in history, as HC Alkaloid won the trophy last season and RK Pelister Bitola lost in the final of the Challenge Cup 2001/02
• GRK Ohrid enter the showdown for the title boasting the best defence with 21.8 goals conceded per game, while Tatabanya have conceded 31.4 goals on average; both teams have a similar offensive output, scoring 33.7 (Tatabanya) and 33.2 (Ohrid) goals per match
• Tatabanya left back Benedek Éles is his team’s top scorer with 38 goals, while Ohrid’s Ante 
  Ivanković leads his side’s charts with 42 strikes
• Tatabanya are the first team from Hungary to reach the duel for the title in this competition and its predecessors

History in the making

A new EHF European Cup Men champion will be crowned on 31 May in North Macedonia. MOL Tatabanya were founded in 1942 and their best finish yet in a European competition was a semi-final appearance in the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1978/79. The Hungarian side celebrated their most recent success in 2017 and 2019, reaching the quarter-finals of the former EHF Cup.

GRK Ohrid are only playing their second year in a European competition. After being eliminated in round 2 last season, they have impressed this time around, eliminating experienced clubs such as Olympiacos SFP and RK Celje on the road to the final.

Photos © MOL Tatabanya KC (main), GRK Ohrid (in-text)