Horse Racing stats man, Andy has contributed to OLBG for 18 years - An Ipswich fan and F1 fanatic, he also contributes EFL football and Motor Sport opinion.
2025-26 DEL Preview
The Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL) moves into its 32nd season with the 2025-26 season, where defending champions Eisbären Berlin will be looking to defend their crown.
Their win in 2025 was their fourth in the last five seasons, and looking back at their history, they will be looking to repeat their success in 2011-13 when they won back-to-back-to-back championships!
Düsseldorfer EG have been relegated to DEL2 and replacing them are the DEL2 champions, Dresdner Eislöwen.
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How often do Favourites win in DEL?
How do the Favourites Compare?
The German league has moved up the list of the top six leagues, with it now sitting in third place, moving above the Liiga & NHL for winning favourites when comparing six of the most popular leagues in ice hockey.
- Russian KHL: 62.96%
- Swiss NLA: 62.44%
- German DEL: 61.49%
- Finnish Liiga: 61.29%
- USA NHL: 61%
- Swedish SHL: 59.04%
Which teams are the most and least reliable?
The most reliable team when it comes to favourites in the DEL over the past five seasons is Eisbaren Berlin. They have a win rate of 67.50% when priced up by the bookmakers as favourites, with 162 wins from a total of 240 games.
At the other end of the scale is Iserlohn Roosters with a win rate of 47.06%. That has come from 51 games producing 24 wins, they are maybe the team in this league to avoid when they are priced up as favourites.
DEL Favourite Statistics by Season
| 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | 2024-25 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home Favs | 66.67% | 61.77% | 62.91% | 59.35% | 68.32% |
| Away Favs | 64.36% | 53.38% | 63.11% | 49.21% | 58.45% |
| Overall Favs | 65.84% | 58.96% | 62.96% | 56.19% | 64.85% |
*Favourite statistics only include regular-season games
Past DEL Regular Season Winners
The regular season top point scorers tend to be successful in the playoffs.
Since 2016, of the nine playoffs completed, the champions have been the regular season winners on six occasions, and only two have failed to make the finals.
Here are the last ten regular-season champions and how they went on to perform in the playoffs.
| Season | Team (Points) | Playoff Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| 2024–25 | ERC Ingolstadt (113) | Lost in Semi-Finals |
| 2023–24 | Fischtown Pinguins (107) | Lost in Finals |
| 2022–23 | EHC Red Bull München (122) | DEL Champions |
| 2021–22 | Eisbären Berlin (112) | DEL Champions |
| 2020–21 | Adler Mannheim (87) | Lost in Semi-Finals |
| 2019–20 | EHC Red Bull München (108) | Playoffs not completed |
| 2018–19 | Adler Mannheim (116) | DEL Champions |
| 2017–18 | EHC Red Bull München (107) | DEL Champions |
| 2016–17 | EHC München (107) | DEL Champions |
| 2015–16 | EHC München (94) | DEL Champions |
Past DEL Champions
The champions of the DEL in Germany get presented with the Meisterschale, which means "Champion's Bowl" and since 1995 which is the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL) era it has been Eisbären Berlin who has been most successful.
During that time, they are the only team to have won double-figure championships, with their 2025 win moving them on to eleven titles. That is four ahead of Adler Mannheim on seven, and they have not won a title since 2019.
The dominance of those two teams is plain to see, with the fact that only two other teams have won multiple championships, which are EHC Red Bull München (x4) and Kölner Haie (x2).
Here are the last ten DEL Champions
| Year | Champions | Series | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | Eisbären Berlin | 4-1 | Kölner Haie |
| 2023-24 | Eisbären Berlin | 4-1 | Fischtown Pinguins |
| 2022-23 | EHC Red Bull München | 4-1 | ERC Ingolstadt |
| 2021-22 | Eisbären Berlin | 3-1 | EHC Red Bull München |
| 2020-21 | Eisbären Berlin | 2-1 | Grizzlys Wolfsburg |
| 2019-20 | No competition | ||
| 2018-19 | Adler Mannheim | 4-1 | EHC Red Bull München |
| 2017-18 | EHC München | 4-3 | Eisbären Berlin |
| 2016-18 | EHC München | 4-1 | EHC Wolfsburg |
| 2015-16 | EHC München | 4-0 | EHC Wolfsburg |
2024-25 Playoff Bracket
German DEL Teams
2025-26 Teams in the DEL
| Team | City | Arena | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adler Mannheim | Mannheim | SAP Arena | 13,600 |
| Augsburger Panther | Augsburg | Curt Frenzel Stadium | 6,218 |
| Dresdner Eislöwen | Dresden | EnergieVerbund Arena | 4,200 |
| EHC Red Bull München | Munich | SAP Garden | 11,000 |
| Eisbären Berlin | Berlin | Uber Arena | 14,200 |
| ERC Ingolstadt | Ingolstadt | Saturn Arena | 4,815 |
| Fischtown Pinguins | Bremerhaven | Eisarena Bremerhaven | 4,674 |
| Grizzlys Wolfsburg | Wolfsburg | Eis Arena Wolfsburg | 4,660 |
| Iserlohn Roosters | Iserlohn | Eissporthalle Iserlohn | 5,000 |
| Kölner Haie | Cologne | Lanxess Arena | 18,500 |
| Löwen Frankfurt | Frankfurt | Eissporthalle Frankfurt | 6,000 |
| Nürnberg Ice Tigers | Nuremberg | Arena Nürnberger Versicherung | 7,810 |
| Schwenninger Wild Wings | Villingen-Schwenningen | Helios Arena | 6,215 |
| Straubing Tigers | Straubing | Eisstadion am Pulverturm | 6,000 |
Author Information
Andy Powell manages this Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL) Preview & Betting Guide and other hockey content in this section of the site, as well as the Ice Hockey Tipsters in the OLBG tipster competition, in his role in the OLBG Expert Team. Andy meticulously updates the date and results for these pieces and is an erstwhile Penguins fan in the NHL. He provides Ice Hockey betting advice in our bookmaker reviews as well as providing a huge contribution to the Best Ice Hockey Betting Sites Guide.
Andy Powell
Content Editor
