[FuzzyRussianHat]

Lisbon and Nantes dominated the European Second League’s Western Conference field all year. The Clippers narrowly got the #1 spot at 102-60 while the Trappers were next at 101-61. It was Lisbon’s fourth consecutive playoff trip as they try to end their 12-year E2L stint. Nantes earned their first playoff berth since getting relegated back for 2036.

Solid back ends for Rome (95-67) and Stuttgart (93-69) gave them the other playoff spots. The Red Wolves got their second playoff trip in four years, while the Silver Sabres earned back-to-back. Geneva was a distant fifth at 86-76, notably outperforming their expected win/loss by ten games. The Gold Tigers became the first of the charter European Tier Three teams to post a winning season in E2L.

Sheffield was by far the worst in the WC at 50-112, dropping them to ET3 for the first time. The Steelhounds had been in the European Baseball Federation’s Elite Tier from 2029-37, but their fall was fast. Nottingham at 67-95 ended up with the second demotion, while 68-94 Turin narrowly escaped. The North Stars would’ve had the tiebreaker had they ended even, but the Tanks won their season finale 3-2 in 18 innings over Luxembourg. Nottingham had gotten demoted to ET3 in 2036 as well, but escaped after one year.



At the all-star break in the Eastern Conference, Brno and Tirana were tied for first at 57-42, while both Sarajevo and Copenhagen were one back. The Corsairs was a lousy 28-35 on the back-end, ultimately dropping to seventh at 84-78. The other three did well enough to hold onto playoff spots. The Bandits notably ended on an 11-game winning streak to claim first at 97-65, earning repeat playoff berths.

The Salukis were second at 93-69 and the Trojans third at 91-71. Tirana had just gotten relegated to E2L for 2039, while Sarajevo was trying to end a six-year run. It was a big rally for Ljubljana to take fourth place at 90-72. The Juggernauts were one below .500 at the break, but went 41-22 to close the year. They were in their second season back in E2L. The first teams out were Dnipro and Vilnius both at 86-76.

By far the worst in the east was Kyiv at 52-110, who had only just climbed out after three years in ET3. It remains a brutal era for the Kings, who won ten titles between EBF and EPB between the 20^th Century and early 2000s. Dresden’s 21-42 finish dropped them to 66-96 for the second demotion slot, eight games behind their closest foe Bratislava. This was the Diesel’s second time in E2L, but once again they were relegated right back to ET3.