Having won the first leg against Kielce at home (26-23), the other Hungarian club involved in the play-offs, Szeged, managed to keep their noses in front despite a draw in Poland that could have turned into a nightmare (32-32). Michael Apelgren's men, ahead at half-time (30': 17-19), suffered a setback in the second half and were even virtually eliminated when Kielce scored four goals late on (54': 31-27).
With the help of a spectacular finish, the Hungarians managed to make up the deficit and clinch qualification at the death. Sporting CP also followed up their first-leg win (33-29) against Plock, but had less trouble in Poland than Szeged, despite losing by a goal (28-27). Ricardo Costa's side held on to maintain their aggregate lead and join Aalborg in the Champions League quarter-finals.
There will be a French club in the quarter-finals - thanks to Nantes' impressive 40-28 victory over GOG at The H Arena. After winning at the buzzer in the first leg, Nantes pulled out all the stops to avoid a nasty surprise against a talented but under-experienced Danish side. The victory does not mean an easy draw for Grégory Cojean's side, who are now preparing for a prestigious double-header against Barcelona.
The first legs will take place on 29 and 30 April, with the return legs scheduled for a week later, on 6 and 7 May. The sides who came through the Play-offs will all play the first leg at home. Nantes take on Barcelona while Veszprém have their work cut out against Berlin, as do Szeged against Magdeburg and Sporting against Aalborg.