The CEV Champions League resumes its Playoff 12 round today. It is referred to as Playoff 12 because there are 12 teams battling to move on to the next round, which is aptly titled Playoff 6. Each series in the Playoff 12 is decided by a miniature two-game series. If the series is tied after two matches, they decided it by a “golden set,” or essentially a third match. Today is the beginning of the second matches, as teams try to either officially move on to the next round, or cling to life and hope for a third match. All matches today are in the Men’s competition. Killontwo covered the first round, and the results can be found here: day one, day two, and day three.

Dinamo MOSCOW vs. TOURS VB (live stream)

In the first game of the day, Dinamo MOSCOW play TOURS VB. TOURS VB came out of the first match on top, meaning Dinamo, who are often thought of as a powerhouse in both women’s and men’s CEV competition, are playing for their lives. Last time out, they lost on TOURS turf, and this time the Russian team seems confident that they will turn it around. CEV’s home page quotes the Dinamo coach on why the team fell apart:

The Russians want to show that their defeat in France was partly due to the long travel and the busy schedule they have been going through in recent times. Asked why his guys collapsed in the tie-break last week in Tours, coach Yuri Cherednik says: “We fell asleep. As we started playing the tie-break, it was already midnight for our time zone here in Moscow and our players felt it. Many of our mistakes were due, in my opinion, to the late start of the match”.

The game starts at 11 am ET.

JASTRZEBSKI Wegiel vs. Generali UNTERHACHING (live stream)

The next match will be between Jastrzebski Wegiel SA and Generali UNTERHACHING. The German squad, UNTERHACHING won the first match in Bavaria 3-1, and now look to put away the series so they can move on to the Playoff 6 round. Jastrzebski have been having a rougher campaign throughout their year, and will enter this match as the underdog. They’ll be hard pressed to move on, as they’ll have to look almost perfect in two straight matches to have a hope.

The game starts at 12 am ET.

Budvanska Rivijera BUDVA vs. Noliko MAASEIK (live stream)

The final match of the day is between Noliko MAASEIK and Budvanska BUDVA. The team from Belgium, MAASEIK, already won the first match on the visitors soil in Montenegro. All that is left is for them to win at home. With the crowd on their side, and the momentum and confidence from already beating their competition, Noliko MAASEIK are definitely the heavy favourite going in.

This match begins at 2:30 pm ET.

UPDATE:

Dinamo MOSCOW (RUS) vs. TOURS VB (FRA) 3:1 (25-21, 25-23, 18-25, 25-22); golden set: 15-11

Dinamo MOSCOW advances to the Playoff 6 round.

JASTRZEBSKI Wegiel (POL) vs. Generali UNTERHACHING (GER) 3:1 (25-21, 25-22, 22-25, 25-19); golden set: 15-9

JASTRZEBSKI Wegiel advances to the Playoff 6 round.

Noliko MAASEIK (BEL) vs. Budvanska Rivijera BUDVA (MNE) 3:1 (25-18, 23-25, 25-17, 28-26)

Noliko MAASEIK advances to the Playoff 6 round.