The 2024-2025 UEFA Champions League (UCL) knockout stages of European soccer's “War of the Stars” will finally kick off on June 18th.
This season, the UCL has undergone a major transformation. The number of teams in the competition has increased from 32 to 36, and the total number of matches has expanded from 125 to 189.
The 36 teams will play a “League Phase” schedule, which is the equivalent of a traditional group stage, to determine the Round of 16.
Teams will play a total of eight matches (four home and four away) in the League Phase, with the top 1-8 teams advancing directly to the Round of 16, while the 9-24 teams will play a playoff with the winners joining the Round of 16. Teams ranked 25-36 will be eliminated.
As the number of teams has increased, so has the total prize pool.
Last season, the prize pool was €2.03 billion ($2.912 billion), which is a significant increase from €2.437 billion ($3.591 billion).
In particular, every win in the league phase is worth €2.1 million ($3.1 billion) in win payouts.
Drawing a tie also earns them €700,000 ($1.031 billion), making every match a bloodbath.
The winner of the round of 16 will receive €11 million ($16.2 billion), the quarterfinalists will receive €12.5 million ($18.4 billion), and the semifinalists will receive €15 million ($22.1 billion).
The runner-up will receive €18.5 million ($27.3 billion) and the winner will take home €25 million ($3.68 billion).
It's literally a war of the zen.
Beyond the War of the Stars, 메이저사이트 the 2024-2025 UCL will also feature stars from the European corridor.
This season, the UCL will feature Bayern Munich (Germany) defender Kim Min-jae, Paris Saint-Germain (PSG-France) forward Lee Kang-in, midfielder Hwang In-beom, who recently moved to Feyenoord (Netherlands), and Celtic (Scotland) striker Yang Hyun-joon. Fullback Seol Young-woo of Zvezda Zvezda (Serbia) will play.
The three teams, Munich, PSG, and Feyenoord, will face each other in the league phase, making the 'Taegeuk Warriors' matchup between Kim Min-jae, Lee Kang-in, and Hwang In-beom the center of attention for fans.
However, there will not be a Taegeuk Warriors matchup in the first round of the League Phase, which will take place from Nov. 18-20.
Kim Min-jae will be the first Korean player to compete.
Kim will prepare for the first match of the League Phase between Munich and Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia) at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany, at 4:00 a.m. local time on June 18.
On the 19th, Lee Kang-in's PSG will host Girona (Spain) at the Parc des Princes in Paris, France, at 4:00 a.m. On the 20th, Hwang In-beom's club Feyenoord will host German giants Leverkusen at 1:45 a.m. for the first leg.
Hwang In-beom, who has completed the player registration process after joining Feyenoord, is likely to make his Feyenoord debut against Leverkusen.
Elsewhere, Celtic's Yang Hyun-joon will face Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia) at home at 4:00 a.m. on the 19th, while Zvezda's Seol Young-woo will prepare for the first leg at home against Benfica (Portugal) at 1:45 a.m. on the 20th.
Seol is especially excited to make his UCL debut, having played in the UCL playoffs since joining Zvezda and making it to the league phase.