Nebula Crowned 2025 European Champions in Perpignan
Gas, Mass, Romain and Julien take the title in a dramatic final series.
The 2025 European Bike Polo Championships took place in Perpignan, a city already known for hosting the World Championships just two years ago. With 36 teams competing over three courts in three intense days, it was a festival of top-tier polo. Perpignan is also the first city to host the Euros for a second time.
The format included ten Swiss rounds over the first two days, with teams split into two groups. After those rounds, two teams stood out: Pantheon (Morgan, Bouchard, Alejandro Martin), who remained undefeated, and Nebula (Gas, Mass, Romain Julien) with just wins and a few draws. Out of 36 teams, 24 made it to Sunday.
Sunday morning featured one last Swiss round before the top 16 teams moved into a double elimination bracket. From the start on there where high-level games. In one notable match, Albatar (Rems, Cathal, Lisa) knocked out Lessive (Leon, Remy, Vincent Pix) in a golden goal thriller, sending Leon — 2018 Euro champion — on a tough run through the loosers bracket.
In the winners bracket semifinal, Vanguard (David, Madej, Pajac, Levin) pulled off a narrow 2:1 win against Pantheon, who had led until the final minutes. Meanwhile, Nebula took a more decisive 4:2 win over ARTE (Jason, August, Vincent, Alphonse), setting the stage for a winners final clash.
The loosers bracket brought more thrillers, including a rematch between Pantheon and ARTE — a showdown between two teams who had recently faced off in Lyon Invit‘s WB Final. Once again, the match was tight and thrilling. 3:2 for Pantheon after an golden goal from Morgan.
In the winners final, Nebula faced Vanguard once again after drawing 1:1 earlier that day. Vanguard showed grit and control, with David delivering key saves and two goals from the team securing them a spot in the grand final — undefeated.
Nebula dropped into the losers final for a rematch with Pantheon. In a tough and physical match, Pantheon could only manage to score a single goal as Nebula won 2:1, sending the French powerhouse home with a third-place finish. Morgan and Bouchard, despite their Euro history, couldn’t defend their title this time.
The grand final was set: Nebula — with Romain and Julien making their third consecutive Euro finals appearance — versus the Vanguard, featuring Madej and Pajac, who were Vize in 2018 and just arrived for playing on Saturday. Despite early attacks, both teams played defensively. A quick goal by Mass shortly after the opening joust gave Nebula a 1:0 lead, and after a long, defensive battle, they secured the win with a second goal: 2:0
But that wasn’t the end. Because Vanguard hadn’t lost a match yet, a second game was needed to decide it all — their fourth meeting of the day. The final was an exhausting, tactical stalemate: no goals in 18 minutes. The title would be decided by a golden goal.
Moments into overtime, Mass had a precise shot from the left side — Nebula were champions.
The elimination rounds were streamed by both DownOver and Perpignan Bikepolo, giving fans across the world the chance to follow some matches.
Here’s what some of the players had to say:
Morgan, former three-time European Champion (2017–2023), reflected on the tournament:
“European Polo is far from dead, the level keep rising every year, it just give more motivation than ever to still compete at this level. It’s gettin’ harder and harder to score against great teams (just seeing the score of the few last game of the elimination), defense at its highest, now time to work on new offensive strategies!”
Madej, who is currently working to grow a new club in Bielsko-Biała, Poland, described the chaos and determination of the weekend:
“When our flights got canceled, I thought maybe our chances were over. But we decided to take our car, pick up Pajac and start driving Thursday evening — 24h straight from Poland to Perpignan. This unlucky situation with the cancelled flights made me want the podium even more and made me feel even more grateful to be there playing with my team.
In semi final we faced Pantheon, the team that did so much to raise the level of polo in Europe, so beating them felt like winning the whole tournament.
I’m so happy to be part of this team with Pajac who for many years has always pushed himself and me, Levin who has improved so much as a team player, and David who is a fucking wall in the goal.
Recipe for a successful Euros: 48 hours playing, 48 hours driving ;)”
Winners History:
2025 Perpignan: Gas Mass, Romain, Julien
2023 Berlin: Morgan, Bouchard, Emmet, Dodi
2019 Zürich: Morgan, Emmet, Dodi
2018 Pescara: Tim, Leon, Robert
2017 Perpignan: Morgan, Quentin, Dodi
2015 Saragossa: Will, Paul, Luca
2014 Padua: Will, Paul, Luca
2013 Krakau: Will, Paul, Greg
2012 Paris: Will, Paul, Greg
2011 Barcelona: Manu Lucas Mario
2010 Genf: Manu Lucas Mario
2009 London: Manu Lucas Clement