The 2024 World Ball Hockey Championship was hosted in Visp and Raron, Switzerland. This was the third ISBHF World Championship hosted in Switzerland, Sierre was the first Swiss city to host an ISBHF event at the 2003 WBHC, the second WBHC hosted in Switzerland was in the summer of 2015 which saw teams travel to Zug. The 2015 WBHC in Zug was one of, if not the greatest, World Ball Hockey Championships the world has ever seen, and this year’s World Championship lived up to the same hype.

In the Men’s division, 16 teams participated across two brackets: Men’s A and Men’s B. In the 2024 Men’s A division, Slovakia, Canada, Greece, Switzerland, Great Britain, Haiti, USA, Czechia, Italy, and Finland competed for the A Gold Medal while Armenia, France, Portugal, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, and Lebanon competed for the B Gold Medal.

An important thing to note here is that teams who finished at the top of a Men’s B pool group, or at the bottom of a Men’s A pool group, would play for cross over qualification, granting a Men’s B team the shot at gold in the A bracket.

Group play

At the conclusion of group play, so many memories had been made and more were to come. Canada finished atop the Group A1 pool with an undefeated record and a goal differential of +20 after just 4 games! The Czech Men would top Group A2 with an undefeated record and just 6 goals against, 3 of which came in one game.

Meanwhile, Portugal and Lebanon would dominate in B but both would fall in their cross over qualification games leaving them in their original bracket. Although they did not qualify for A, Lebanon put up an impressive 5-0 record, +23 goal differential, and looked poised to take home the Men’s B Gold Medal. Portugal was also stellar in their group play games, falling only to Lebanon in a heated match. Portugal would tuck 24 goals on their way to the B pool playoffs.

Quarter finals

As the 2024 World Ball Hockey Championship continued, the intensity began to rise as players, coaches, and fans sensed the chance at glory. The US and Slovak Men would meet in our first Men’s A quarter final, after a scoreless first period coach Cory Herschk instilled a sense of urgency in his men and the USA squad came out flying in the second, scoring 4 goals and taking a three goal lead into the third. The Slovaks would tally two in the third, but USA added three more and advanced to the Men’s A semi final.

Czechia would handle Haiti 8-0 which would set up a rematch between the Czechs and US Men in the A pool semi final while Canada brought Finland to their knees in a 7-1 win to help them advance. Dalimil Zvonek would be the player who stepped up for Czechia in their QF match against Haiti where he scored three and added an assist. Justin Maiolino would be the unsung hero for Canada in their quarter-final match as he assisted on the first, second, and sixth for his Canadian counterparts.

Greece and Switzerland would be the closest and most exciting of the Men’s A quarter-finals with the Swiss advancing after a 3-2 victory over the Greeks. Mario Paulik would score the game winning goal for his country as the Swiss fans erupted, knowing that their team was so close to history. Aneglos Ekonomakis did all he could for the Greeks in this one, making 34 saves in a disappointing defeat.

Meanwhile, the Lebanese and Portuguese dominated once again, winning 7-2 and 5-0 as they would advance to the Men’s B pool semi-final. The Italians and British, who were relegated from Men’s A, both won their matches with Italy handling Armenia 10-1, and Great Britain squeaking one out against Bermuda: 6-4.

Semi finals

The Brits would fall in their semi-final match against Lebanon, while Italy felt they still had something to play for, defeating Portugal 5-1. This would leave Italy and Lebanon at the top of Men’s B, and they would meet in the B bracket gold medal match.

On the other side of our 2024 Men’s bracket, Czechia would once again take down USA in a dominant 7-1 display. Jan Cejka would stand out once again for the Czechs in this one but young Nicolas Langr was also noticeable as he scored 2, helping his team advance to the 2024 final. Canada would also score 7 and allowed 0, as they took down Switzerland thanks to another memorable game by goaltender Christian Lantin.

Final

Czechia and Canada would meet in the Men’s A final and there are simply not enough words to describe this game. Czechia would score the critical opening goal, and who else but Jan Cejka to do it. However, another rising star, Jean-Philippe Moquin, would tally two and helped the Canadian Men carry a lead into the third. The Czechs would find an answer in the third with a crisp passing play that saw Ondrej Prazak tie the game at two. The teams knew that the next mistake would be fatal and neither side faltered in regulation. Not one but TWO overtime periods were required and the man who finished off this historic Gold Medal Match would be Josh Anderson, who posted up in front and banged home a rebound generated by Karl Leveille. Canada would take home the gold in thrilling fashion while the Czech Men left disappointed but still proud with silver

Prior to the Men’s A pool concluding, Italy would defeat Lebanon 4-2 with Anthony Roberto Rinaldi scoring the game winning goal for his Italian brothers. This win would mark the first gold medal in Italian Ball Hockey history!

Congratulations to all the incredible athletes who participated in the Men’s A and B World Ball Hockey Championship!

Final rankings