Under 19: Men's European Junior Championships 2014 - Tbilisi, Gerogia

The men's Juniors have gathered in Georgia's capital Tbilisi for the climax of what appeared to be a busy summer. After several participants of the men's 19 & under European title this week participated in the world 18 & under championships in Istanbul just weeks ago, they have to have recharged the batteries for another heated battle. Knowing that the top 8 teams of the 18 & under Worlds were all European teams, it's easy to predict the race for the European title will be as equally tight and heavy. The last 19 & under European champions were Italy winning the 2012 tournament, played in Canet-en-Roussillon, France. The team went on an incredible run also winning the inaugural 2012 18 & under World Youth championships and the 20 & under World Juniors next year in Szombathely, Hungary. Things were different for the Italians in Istanbul this year however finishing only 7th. Coming in as high favorites are Hungary who claimed the gold medal in Istanbul and thus are the reigning 18 & under world champs. Spain finished runners-up while both Russia and Serbia, 3rd and 4th ranked respectively, proved to be title contenders as well. Most of these players will appear in this European Junior Championships as well, in case of Serbia's Gavril Subotic even with playing the senior FINA World Cup tournament in Almaty, Kazakhstan this week as well. In the 16-team competition format claiming 1st place in the group will save you a quarterfinal qualification round and could ease up the tournament. Several favorites however will see fierce opposition in that objective. Both Hungary and Spain were drawn in group B while Serbia and Russia meet in the prelims in group D. Meanwhile Italy headlines group A but Montenego and Croatia look to battle for the top spot in group C after coming off an 5th and 8th place finish at the recent World Youth championships in Istanbul. Can they do better with the 19 & under squad? Germany is a respected outsider in the group, both will realise.

Tbilisi, Georgia

24-31 August

Group A: Italy, Georgia, Greece, Turkey
Group B: Hungary, Spain, Netherlands, Slovakia
Group C: Montenegro, Croatia, Germany, France
Group D: Serbia, Russia, Romania, Ukraine.

Schedule

Sunday, 24 August

09.00 (07.00 cet): Serbia vs. Ukraine
10.40  (08.40 cet): Russia vs. Romania
12.20  (10.20 cet): Hungary vs. Slovakia
14.00 (12.00 cet): Spain vs. Netherlands
15.40 (13.40 cet): Montenegro vs. France
17.20 (15.20 cet): Croatia vs. Germany
19.00 (17.00 cet): Italy vs. Turkey
21.00 (19.00 cet): Georgia vs. Greece

Monday, 25 August
09.00: Germany vs. Montenegro
10.40: France vs. Croatia
12.20: Romania vs. Serbia
14.00: Ukraine vs. Russia
15.40: Greece vs. Italy
17.20: Slovakia vs. Spain
19.00: Netherlands vs. Hungary
20.40: Georgia vs. Turkey

Tuesday, 26 August

09.00: Hungary vs. Spain
10.40: Netherlands vs. Slovakia
12.20: Greece vs. Turkey
14.00: Germany vs. France
15.40: Serbia vs. Russia
17.20: Romania vs. Ukraine
19.00: Montenegro vs. Croatia
20.40: Georgia vs. Italy

Wednesday, 27 August

11.00: B4 vs. D4 - RM1
12.40: A4 vs. C4 - RM2
14.30: A2 vs. C3 - RM3
16.00: C2 vs. A3 - RM4
17.40: B2 vs. D3 - RM5
19.20: D2 vs. B3 - RM6

Thursday, 28 August - quarterfinal round

11.00: LRM3 vs. LRM5 - QF1
12.40: LRM4 vs. LRM6 - QF2

Quarterfinals
14.20: WRM3 vs. D1 - QF3
16.00: WRM4 vs. B1 - QF4
17.40: WRM5 vs. C1 - QF5
19.20: WRM6 vs. A1 - QF6

Friday, 29 August - semi-final round

11.00: LQF3 vs. LQF5 - SF1
12.40: LQF4 vs. LQF6 - SF2

Semi-finals
14.20: WQF3 vs. WQF5 - SF3
16.00: WQF4 vs. WQF6 - SF4

Saturday, 30 August

13.00: LRM1 vs. LRM2 - (15th/16th place)
14.40: WRM1 vs. WRM2 - (13th/14th place)
16.20: LQF1 vs. LQF2 - (11th/12th place)
18.00: WQF1 vs. WQF2 - (9th/10th place)

Sunday, 31 August - final day

13.00: LSF1 vs. LSF2 - (7th/8th place)
14.40: WSF1 vs. WSF2 - (5th/6th place)
16.20: LSF3 vs. LSF4 - (3rd/4th place)
18.00: WSF3 vs. WSF4 - (1st/2nd place)