Paukuk 2024 Ice Hockey World Cup play-offs: Program and results

The fight for medals at the World Hockey Championship will return to the Czech Republic after nine years. The semi-finals, the match for third place and the final will take place on the weekend of May 25 and 26, 2024 in Prague’s O2 Arena. CNN Prima NEWS offers an overview of this year’s playoffs, including a breakdown of the spider, an explanation of the game system, and the results of all elimination games. Who could the Czech team face in the quarterfinals?

Playoffs

In the current form of the game system of the World Ice Hockey Championship, the elimination part (play-offs in English) decides the medalists. A total of 16 elite teams are first divided into two eight-member basic groups. The top four teams from each group advance to the quarterfinals. This is when the playoffs begin. The draw for the quarterfinals is then determined based on placement.

In the year 2024, as in recent years, the so-called cross rule will apply. The first from group A runs into the fourth from group B and vice versa. The matches in the quarter-finals will therefore be as follows: 1A-4B, 2A-3B, 1B-4A, 2B-3A. The four defeated quarter-finalists bid farewell to the tournament. The winner will have a one-day break, followed by the medal matches.

Who could be the opponent of the Czech Republic in the quarter-finals?

Since the Ice Hockey World Championship is played with a system of basic groups and then an elimination round of the eight best countries, the Czech team has never wavered and has always advanced to the quarterfinals. He will want to continue this tradition at this year’s domestic championship.

Who could the Czechs, who will play in Prague’s Group A, face in the quarterfinals? Among the unequivocal favorites of the Ostrava Group B are the Americans and the Swedes. According to the bookmakers, Germany should be the next advancing group. And the Slovaks will also have an exceptionally strong team this year, who will rely on reinforcements from the NHL. It is very likely that the Czech Republic will play the key match that decides success or failure with someone from the mentioned four.

Program of the quarter-finals of the World Cup 2024

Date	Time	Place
May 23, 2024	4:20 p.m	Prague
May 23, 2024	4:20 p.m	Ostrava
May 23, 2024	20:20	Prague
May 23, 2024	20:20	Ostrava

If the Czech Republic advances to the quarterfinals, it will play from 20:20 in Prague.

Schedule of the 2024 World Cup semi-finals

Date	Time	Rivals	Result	Place
May 25, 2024	2:20 p.m			Prague
May 25, 2024	18:20			Prague

If the Czech Republic advances to the semi-finals, it will play from 14:20.

Who is playing whom in the semi-finals?

Even in 2018, the teams were seeded for the semi-finals according to the spider, which was created after the groups were played. However, there is now a new system based on a mini-table of all semi-finalists, with first playing fourth and second playing third. The current spider thus reflects more the results of the basic groups.

What decides the seeding for the semi-finals?

placement in the basic group
points gained in the basic group
score in the base group
the number of goals scored in the basic group
pre-tournament IIHF rankings

If the paper prerequisites are fulfilled and the first two teams from groups A and B advance to the semi-finals, it may happen that opponents who have already played in the basic group meet each other. For example, it is enough for the winner of group A to have more points than the winner of group B, and vice versa the runner-up from group B is better than the runner-up from group A. The winners of the semi-final matches can look forward to the battle for the most valuable gold metal. The tournament does not end for the losers – they still have a duel for the bronze medal.

The match for the 3rd place of the World Cup 2024