ELF Playoff Scenario: It comes down to the final weekend of play

With the final weekend of play in the 2024 European League of Football regular season coming up and 14 of the 17 teams still with one game left, the playoff picture is almost set.

With their unbeaten, 12-0 record, the Vienna Vikings are guaranteed a semifinal spot. The other guaranteed berth is still up for grabs with both the Rhein Fire and Stuttgart Surge in the running.

For the Wild Card Round, the Paris Musketeers have locked in their spot although home field advantage is still not set. Meanwhile, the Munich Ravens and Raiders Tirol as well as the Madrid Bravos are all still battling.

Semifinalists:

1) Vienna Vikings (12-0):

The Vienna Vikings pummeled the Fehervar Enthroners 48-0 in their last regular season game securing the top playoff seed. With their unblemished record, they earned a bye into the semifinals and also home field advantage in the semifinals.

2) Rhein Fire (11-1):

Although the Rhein Fire wrapped up their season with a 48-14 win over the Berlin Thunder, they still have to wait to see what happens this coming weekend. They are currently the #2 seed but with the Stuttgart Surge getting set to play the 1-10 Helvetic Mercenaries, it is likely the Fire will get bumped down to the Wild Card Round. All the Surge needs is a win.

Wildcard Round:

Munich Ravens (#6, 8-3) @ Stuttgart Surge (#3, 10-1):

The Munich Ravens easily defeated the Helvetic Mercenaries 38-13 but with one game to go, their fate is still uncertain. The Raiders Tirol jumped past them in the standings but a win over the Raiders in the final regular season would secure the #5 seed.

The Surge only need a win against the Mercenaries to earn a bye into the semifinals.

Raiders Tirol (#5, 8-3) @ Paris Musketeers (#4, 9-2):

The Raiders sit second in the ELF Central with an 8-3 record, identical to the Ravens. They defeated the Milano Seamen 30-0 this past weekend but it was their thrilling 45-42 win over  Stuttgart the week before that kept their playoff hopes alive. They still have to beat the Ravens though in the final regular season game to be certain.

For the Musketeers, who face a faltering Frankfurt Galaxy squad in the last regular season game, the path would seem to be clear. As it stands, they have home field advantage in the Wild Card Round but a loss to Frankfurt would jeopardize their chances as either the Ravens or Raiders could ease past them.

Madrid Bravos (7-4) still alive?

After their excruciating 15-12 overtime loss to the Paris Musketeers, the Madrid Bravos have seemingly fallen out of the playoff race. Even a Week 14 win against the Hamburg Sea Devils might not be enough to secure a playoff spot. With the Raiders Tirol and Munich Ravens facing each other in the last game of the regular season, the Bravos chances are slim. Although they could finish 8-4 which would be the same as either the Ravens or Raiders they would likely lose out lose out due to tiebreakers.