2018 German Football League

The 2018 German Football League season was the 40th edition of the top-level American football competition in Germany.

2018 German Football League
LeagueGerman Football League
SportAmerican football
Duration21 April–13 October 2018
Number of teams16
Top scorerMitchell Paige (156)
Promoted to GFLDüsseldorf Panther
Relegated to GFL 2Hamburg Huskies
Regular season
GFL North championsNew Yorker Lions
GFL South championsSchwäbisch Hall Unicorns
German Bowl XL
ChampionsSchwäbisch Hall Unicorns
  Runners-upFrankfurt Universe

The regular season started on 21 April and finished on 9 September 2018, followed by the play-offs. The season culminated in the German Bowl XL, which was held on 13 October 2018 in Berlin.[1][2]

Modus
Location of teams in the German Football League 2018

During the regular season each club plays all other clubs in its division twice, home and away, resulting in each team playing 14 regular season games. There are no games between clubs from opposite divisions, interconference games having been abolished after the 2011 season.[3]

The best four teams in each division qualify for the play-offs where, in the quarter finals, teams from opposite divisions play each other, whereby the better placed teams have home field advantage. The first placed team plays the fourth placed from the other division and the second placed the third placed team. From the semi-finals onwards teams from the same division can meet again.[3]

The eighth placed team in each division enter a two-leg play-off with the winner of the respective division of the German Football League 2, the second tier of the league system in Germany. The winners of this contest qualify for the GFL for the following season.[3]

League tables

GFL

The league tables of the two GFL divisions:

North
Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA PD PCT Qualification or relegation
1 New Yorker Lions 14 11 1 2 526 178 +348 .821 Qualification to play-offs
2 Dresden Monarchs 14 11 1 2 507 287 +220 .821
3 Berlin Rebels 14 11 0 3 367 211 +156 .786
4 Cologne Crocodiles 14 7 1 6 376 403 −27 .536
5 Potsdam Royals 14 6 0 8 403 360 +43 .429
6 Kiel Baltic Hurricanes 14 4 1 9 297 394 −97 .321
7 Hildesheim Invaders 14 4 0 10 145 446 −301 .286
8 Hamburg Huskies 14 0 0 14 157 499 −342 .000 Relegation play-offs to GFL2
Updated to match(es) played on 9 September 2018. Source: Football-aktuell, GFL.info
Rules for classification: 1) Winning percentage,[notes 1] 2) Head-to-head results

South
Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA PD PCT Qualification or relegation
1 Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns 14 14 0 0 558 163 +395 1.000 Qualification to play-offs
2 Frankfurt Universe[south 1] 12 10 0 2 504 143 +361 .833
3 Allgäu Comets 14 8 0 6 403 488 −85 .571
4 Munich Cowboys[south 2] 14 6 0 8 290 373 −83 .429
5 Marburg Mercenaries[south 2] 14 6 0 8 366 438 −72 .429
6 Ingolstadt Dukes 14 4 1 9 350 401 −51 .321
7 Kirchdorf Wildcats 14 3 1 10 167 372 −205 .250
8 Stuttgart Scorpions 14 2 0 12 226 486 −260 .143 Relegation play-offs to GFL2
Updated to match(es) played on 9 September 2018. Source: Football-aktuell, GFL.info
Rules for classification: 1) Winning percentage,[notes 1] 2) Head-to-head results
  1. The Frankfurt Universe were charged two wins for violating licensing regulations.
  2. The Munich Cowboys scored 75–50 points against the Marburg Mercenaries, both teams won their home match.

GFL 2

The league tables of the two GFL 2 divisions:

North
Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA PD PCT Qualification or relegation
1 Düsseldorf Panther 14 13 0 1 383 155 +228 .929 Qualification to promotion play-off
2 Solingen Paladins 14 10 0 4 493 332 +161 .714
3 Elmshorn Fighting Pirates 14 8 0 6 538 466 +72 .571
4 Rostock Griffins 14 8 0 6 373 304 +69 .571
5 Langenfeld Longhorns 14 6 0 8 305 398 −93 .429
6 Lübeck Cougars 14 6 0 8 258 330 −72 .429
7 Paderborn Dolphins 14 3 0 11 317 487 −170 .214 Relegation to Regionalliga
8 Berlin Adler 14 2 0 12 226 421 −195 .143
Updated to match(es) played on 9 September 2018. Source: Football-aktuell, GFL.info
Rules for classification: 1) Winning percentage, 2) Head-to-head results

South
Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA PD PCT Qualification or relegation
1 Ravensburg Razorbacks 14 11 1 2 661 414 +247 .821 Qualification to promotion play-off
2 Saarland Hurricanes 14 10 1 3 550 297 +253 .750
3 Straubing Spiders 14 10 0 4 496 329 +167 .714
4 Nürnberg Rams 14 8 0 6 467 509 −42 .571
5 Wiesbaden Phantoms 14 7 0 7 342 392 −50 .500
6 Gießen Golden Dragons 13 3 3 7 337 323 +14 .346
7 Albershausen Crusaders 14 2 1 11 350 582 −232 .179 Relegation to Regionalliga
8 Montabaur Fighting Pirates 13 1 0 12 177 534 −357 .077
Updated to match(es) played on 16 September 2018. Source: Football-aktuell, GFL.info
Rules for classification: 1) Winning percentage, 2) Head-to-head results

Relegation and Promotion round
DivisionGFL TeamGFL2 Team1st leg2nd legTotal
NorthHamburg HuskiesDüsseldorf Panther 10–3621–3431–70
SouthStuttgart ScorpionsRavensburg Razorbacks 72–3448–6120–40

Play-offs
Quarterfinals Semifinals German Bowl
         
N1 New Yorker Lions 59
S4 Munich Cowboys 14
New Yorker Lions 17
Frankfurt Universe 20
S2 Frankfurt Universe 6
N3 Berlin Rebels 5
Frankfurt Universe 19
Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns 21
S1 Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns 37
N4 Cologne Crocodiles 14
Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns 23
Dresden Monarchs 7
N2 Dresden Monarchs 51
S3 Allgäu Comets 19

Notes
  1. The official standings of the GFL actually use points (plus two for a win, one positive and one negative for a draw and minus two for a loss) instead of winning percentage, which sometimes produce different results if teams have unequal numbers of games played
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gollark: I just need to store "unresolved labels", swap out the addresses when the label is found, and error if there are unresolved ones at the end.
gollark: Yes, it is.
gollark: Hmm, I think I can actually do this in one pass(ish) with some *mild* eldritch horrors.
gollark: That would work, I think?

References
  1. "German Bowl XL am 13.10.2018 in Berlin". germanbowl.de (in German). 8 November 2017. Retrieved 7 March 2018.
  2. "GFL Spielplan – GFL". www.gfl.info (in German). Retrieved 2018-03-07.
  3. "GFL 2018". football-aktuell.de (in German). Retrieved 7 March 2016.
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