Oradea won its 10th Romanian championship title, the first in ten years. The final featured the two clubs that played in the Champions League this season, Steaua Bucharest and Oradea, in a best-of-five series that concluded after five dramatic matches.
Steaua won all national championships between 2016 and 2024, but Oradea ended the Bucharest-based team’s dominance.
Steaua, which finished first in the regular season, hosted the first two games. Oradea kicked off the series with a narrow 13:12 victory in an away match decided by a penalty shootout. Steaua bounced back in the second game with an 11:9 win.
The series then moved to Oradea, where Steaua managed to edge out Oradea again, winning 13:12 and coming just one win away from the title. However, Oradea rallied in the fourth game, defeating Steaua 15:13 and setting up a decisive final match in Bucharest.
Each game was filled with high tension. In response, the Romanian Water Polo Federation appointed foreign referees for the 5th duel -Serbian internationals Rakovic and Andjelic.
A day before the fifth match, Steaua’s head coach, Bogdan Rath, surprisingly resigned. The club cited personal reasons for his departure, but the Romanian website h2opolo.ro reported that the fact that the club didn’t offer him a contract extension was one of the factors. Rath is also Romania’s head coach, and he will guide the national team at the World Championships.
The fifth match, played on Friday evening, mirrored the intensity of the previous games. After 32 minutes, the score was tied at 9:9, leading to a penalty shootout to determine the winner. Steaua failed to score any goals during the penalty shootout, while Oradea made no mistake, winning 12:9 and dethroning Steaua.
Oradea, which reached the Quarter Final Stage of the Champions League this season, will compete in the CHL Group Stage in the next season, while Steaua will play in the qualifications.
Dinamo Bucharest won 3rd place and qualified for the Euro Cup Group Stage. Dinamo beat Rapid Bucharest in three games.
2025 Romanian League, playoffs
Final (best of five)
Match 1: Steaua – Oradea 12:13 (1:1, 3:2, 3:3, 2:3, PSO 3:4)
Match 2: Steaua – Oradea 11:9 (4:2, 3:3, 2:3, 2:1)
Match 3: Oradea – Steaua 12:13 (1:4, 6:4, 3:3, 2:2)
Match 4: Oradea – Steaua 15:13 (3:4, 5:5, 6:2, 1:2)
Match 5: Steaua – Oradea 9:12 (1:3, 4:1, 4:4, 0:1, PSO 0:3)
3rd-place playoffs (best of five)
Match 1: Dinamo – Rapid 17:6
Match 2: Dinamo – Rapid 21:12
Match 3: Rapid – Dinamo 16:20
