The Slovak Extraliga, known as the Tipsport liga since the 2025–26 season for sponsorship reasons, is the highest-level

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

league in

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

. From 2018–19 to 2020–21, the league included one or two teams from Hungary. Teams from the Extraliga can participate in the

IIHF The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF; ; ) is a worldwide governing body for ice hockey. It is based in Zurich, Switzerland, and has 84 member countries. The IIHF maintains the IIHF World Ranking based on international ice hockey tourn ...

's annual

Champions Hockey League The Champions Hockey League is a European first-level ice hockey tournament. Launched in the 2014–15 season by 26 clubs, 6 leagues and the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), the tournament features top teams across Europe. Backgrou ...

(CHL). Participation is based on the strength of the various leagues in Europe (excluding the

KHL The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL; ) is an international professional ice hockey league founded in 2008. It comprises member clubs based in Russia (20), Belarus (1), Kazakhstan (1), and China (1) for a total of 23 clubs. It was considered in ...

). In the 2022–23 CHL season, the Extraliga was ranked the No. 10 league in Europe, so the champion of the previous season competed in the CHL. The 1993–94 season was the first of the Slovak Extraliga following the peaceful dissolution of

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

midway through the

1992–93 Czechoslovak Extraliga season The 1992–93 Czechoslovak Extraliga season was the 50th season of the Czechoslovak Extraliga, the top level of ice hockey in Czechoslovakia. 14 teams participated in the league, and HC Sparta Prague won the championship. This was the last season ...

which all Slovak and

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

teams played to completion.

Game

Every regular season game is composed of three 20-minute periods, with an intermission of a maximum of 18 minutes between periods. If the game is tied following the 60-minute regulation time, a five-minute three-on-three sudden death

overtime Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. The term is also used for the pay received for this time. Normal hours may be determined in several ways: *by custom (what is considered healthy or reasonable by society) ...

period is played. If a game is still tied after the overtime, a

shootout A shootout, also called a firefight, gunfight, or gun battle, is a confrontation in which parties armed with firearms exchange gunfire. The term can be used to describe any such fight, though it is typically used in a non-military context or to ...

decides the winner of the game. In a shootout, the team that scores the most penalty shots out of five attempts wins the game. If a game is still tied after five penalty-shot rounds, the shootout continues round by round, until one team scores while the other team fails to score.

Teams

2025–26 season

Season structure

The Tipsport Liga season is divided into a

regular season In an organized sports league, a typical season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session: for example, in Major League Baseball the season lasts approximately from the last week of March to the last week of S ...

from late September through the beginning of March, when teams play against each other in a pre-defined schedule, and

playoff The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

s from March to April, which is an elimination tournament at which two teams play against each other to win the best-of-seven series in order to advance to the next round. The winner of playoffs is crowned the Slovak champion, (''Slovenský majster'' in Slovak) and receives the Vladimir Dzurilla Trophy.

Regular season

The regular season is a round-robin and each team plays 54 games. Three points are awarded for winning in regulation time, two points for winning in overtime or a shootout, one point for losing in overtime or a shootout, and zero points for losing in regulation time. At the end of the regular season, the team that finishes with the most points is crowned the league champion. The six highest-ranked teams by points qualify directly for the playoffs. The four teams ranked 7–10 play a best-of-five series and battle for the two remaining playoffs spots. The lowest ranked team after the regular season is a relegated to the second-tier league

Slovenská hokejová liga The TIPOS Slovenská hokejová liga (TIPOS Slovak Hockey League) is a professional ice hockey league comprising twelve teams in Slovakia. It is the second highest ice hockey league in Slovakia. Game Every regular season game has three 20-minut ...

. If two or more teams end up tied in points, the seeds are determined by the following tiebreaker format: #Head-to-head points

Play-in

Starting in the 2018–19 season, the four teams ranked 7–10 in the regular season play a best-of-five series, known as play-in, and battle for the two remaining playoff spots. The seventh-ranked team faces the tenth-ranked team, and the eighth-ranked team faces the ninth-ranked team. The seventh-ranked team and the eighth-ranked team receive home-ice advantage and play three of the five games at their home venue if it is necessary to determine a winner of the series. The winners of the two best-of-five series take the two remaining playoffs spots.

Playoffs

The Tipsport Liga

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

is an elimination tournament, at which two teams battle to win a best-of-seven series in order to advance to the next round. In the first round of the playoffs (quarterfinals), the top seed faces the lowest-ranked winner of the two best-of-three series (eighth seed, ninth seed or tenth seed); the second-ranked seed faces the other winner of the two best-of-five series; the third-ranked seed faces the sixth-ranked seed; and the fourth-ranked seed faces the fifth-ranked team. In the second round (semifinals), the teams are re-seeded, with the top remaining seed playing against the lowest remaining seed, and the other two remaining teams pairing up. In the third round (finals), the two remaining teams face each other. In each series, the higher-ranked team of the two has home-ice advantage. Four of the seven games are played at this team's home venue – the first and second, and, when necessary, the fifth and seventh games and all the other games are played at the lower-ranked team's home venue.

Names and sponsorship

The name of the league is leased to sponsors and changes frequently. From 1993–94 to 1997–98, it was called ''Extraliga'', then the name changed to ''West Extraliga'' until the end of the 2000–01 season. In 2001–02, its name was ''Boss Extraliga''. From 2002–03 to 2004–05, the name was ''ST Extraliga'' and in 2005–06 the name was ''T-Com Extraliga'' (same corporate sponsor, rebranded themselves). After starting the 2006–07 season without a sponsorship, reverting to straightforward Extraliga, the name changed midway through the season to ''Slovnaft Extraliga'', when a general sponsorship agreement with

Slovnaft Slovnaft is an oil refining company in Slovakia. The company, located in Bratislava, is a subsidiary of MOL Group. History Slovnaft is the successor of the Apollo company. Apollo was established in 1895 in Bratislava. Its refinery was bombar ...

was signed on 16 January 2007; this name continued through the end of the 2010–11 season. From 2011–12 to 2014–15, it carried the two part name Tipsport Extraliga and Slovnaft Play-off, reflecting a specific sponsorship arrangement for the playoffs; this name was slightly adjusted, starting with the 2015–16 season, to Tipsport Liga and Slovnaft Play-off. Starting 2020-21, it was renamed to Tipos Extraliga. The current name, starting 2025, is Tipsport Liga.

Previous winners

Previous Slovak Extraliga playoffs winners (Slovak Champions)

*1994 –

Dukla Trenčín Dukla is a town and an eponymous municipality in southeastern Poland, in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship. As of December 2021, the town has a population of 2,017. The total area of the commune is . Dukla belongs to Lesser Poland, and until the Pa ...

*1995 – HC Košice *1996 – HC Košice *1997 –

*1998 – Slovan Bratislava *1999 – HC Košice *2000 – Slovan Bratislava *2001 –

HKm Zvolen Hokejový Klub HKM a.s. Zvolen is a professional Slovakia, Slovak ice hockey club based in Zvolen. The club has won the Slovak league championship three times (2001, 2013, 2021) and the IIHF Continental Cup in 2005. The team is nicknamed ''Rytieri ...

*2002 – Slovan Bratislava *2003 – Slovan Bratislava *2004 –

*2005 – Slovan Bratislava *2006 – MsHK Žilina *2007 – Slovan Bratislava *2008 – Slovan Bratislava *2009 – HC Košice *2010 – HC Košice *2011 – HC Košice *2012 – Slovan Bratislava *2013 –

HKM Zvolen Hokejový Klub HKM a.s. Zvolen is a professional Slovakia, Slovak ice hockey club based in Zvolen. The club has won the Slovak league championship three times (2001, 2013, 2021) and the IIHF Continental Cup in 2005. The team is nicknamed ''Rytieri ...

*2014 – HC Košice *2015 – HC Košice *2016 –

HK Nitra Hokejový Klub Nitra is a professional ice hockey club based in Nitra, Slovakia. The club has been a member of the Tipsport Liga (hockey), Slovak Extraliga since the 2003–04 Slovak Extraliga, 2003–04 season and winner of Slovak Extraliga in th ...

*2017 –

HC '05 Banská Bystrica HC, hc or H/C may refer to: Science, technology, and mathematics Medicine * Health Canada * Hemicrania continua * Hyperelastosis cutis or hereditary equine regional dermal asthenia Chemistry * Hemocyanin, a metalloprotein abbreviated Hc * ...

*2018 –

*2019 –

*2020 – ''Not held due to

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

'' *2021 –

*2022 – Slovan Bratislava *2023 – HC Košice *2024 –

*2025 – HC Košice

Previous Slovak Extraliga regular season winners

*1994 –

*1995 –

*1996 – HC Košice *1997 –

*1998 – Slovan Bratislava *1999 – Slovan Bratislava *2000 – Slovan Bratislava *2001 –

*2002 –

*2003 – Slovan Bratislava *2004 –

*2005 –

*2006 –

*2007 – HC Košice *2008 – Slovan Bratislava *2009 – HC Košice *2010 – Slovan Bratislava *2011 – HC Košice *2012 – HC Košice *2013 –

*2014 – HC Košice *2015 – HC Košice *2016 – HC Košice *2017 –

*2018 –

*2019 –

*2020 –

*2021 –

*2022 – Slovan Bratislava *2023 – HC Košice *2024 –

HK Poprad HK Poprad is a professional ice hockey team in the Slovak Extraliga, the top ice hockey league in Slovakia. It plays its games in Poprad, Slovakia. The squad's greatest successes include 2nd place in the Slovak Extraliga in 2006, 2011 and 2021. Th ...

*2025 –

HK Spišská Nová Ves HK Spišská Nová Ves is a professional Slovak ice hockey club based in Spišská Nová Ves. They currently play in the Slovak Extraliga. The club is a four-time and current winner of the second highest competition Slovak 1. Liga, as it won in ...

Video games

Teams from the league are playable in the video games

EA Sports EA Sports is a division of Electronic Arts that develops and publishes sports video games. Formerly a marketing gimmick of Electronic Arts, in which they imitated real-life sports networks by calling themselves the "EA Sports Network" (EASN) ...

' NHL series only in

NHL 09 ''NHL 09'' is the 17th video game in the NHL series released by EA Sports in 2008. This was the final NHL game to be released on the PlayStation 2 and Microsoft Windows. Gameplay Online play Players have the ability to create a player to use i ...

References

External links

Official website
– Tipsport liga
SZĽH
– Slovak Ice-Hockey Federation {{Ice Hockey Leagues Sports leagues established in 1993 1993 establishments in Slovakia Professional ice hockey leagues in Slovakia Professional ice hockey leagues in Hungary Multi-national ice hockey leagues in Europe Multi-national professional sports leagues Top-tier ice hockey leagues in Europe