Pandanet European Team Championship 2025/26
South Africa finished fourth of ten in League B of the Pandanet Go European Team Championship for 2025/26, with two wins, four draws and three losses — 18 board points and 8 match points from nine rounds.
More significant than the placing: SAGA has retained its place in the B League. This is the first season we have held the position outright, having previously only reached it through the playoffs. The league was won by the Netherlands, ahead of the United Kingdom and Sweden — the three teams South Africa lost to.
The team was captained by Ben Bredenkamp.
Results by round
| Round | Date | Match | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 21 Oct 2025 | South Africa 4–0 Finland | Win |
| 2 | 18 Nov 2025 | South Africa 1–3 Sweden | Loss |
| 3 | 9 Dec 2025 | South Africa 1–3 United Kingdom | Loss |
| 4 | 13 Jan 2026 | South Africa 1–3 Netherlands | Loss |
| 5 | 3 Feb 2026 | South Africa 2–2 Austria | Draw |
| 6 | 24 Feb 2026 | South Africa 2–2 Belgium | Draw |
| 7 | 17 Mar 2026 | South Africa 2–2 Croatia | Draw |
| 8 | 14 Apr 2026 | South Africa 3–1 Switzerland | Win |
| 9 | 12 May 2026 | South Africa 2–2 Ireland | Draw |
The season opened with a clean 4–0 sweep of Finland and closed with four draws in the last five rounds — a run that says a good deal about how competitive the middle of League B is.
The squad
Matches are played over four boards, with the strongest players on board 1.
| Player | Rank | Boards played | Wins |
|---|---|---|---|
| Victor Chow | 7d | 9 | 7 |
| Chris Welsh | 4d | 7 | 5 |
| Andrew Davies | 2d | 8 | 4 |
| Dominique de Rouvroy | 1d | 4 | 1 |
| Aki Zhou | 5d | 2 | 1 |
| Ben Gale | 4d | 3 | 0 |
| Ben Bredenkamp | 1k | 2 | 0 |
| Andre Connell | 1d | 1 | 0 |
Victor Chow anchored board 1 all season, playing every round and finishing 7–2 against the strongest opposition in the league. Board 1 returned 7 of South Africa’s 18 points, board 2 returned 5, board 4 returned 4, and board 3 returned 2.
Rocco Vivier and David Gale were named in the squad but did not play this season.
What it means
Playing a full season against European opposition is the most demanding schedule South African players get, and it is the main route by which our strongest players are tested against consistently ranked opponents. Holding League B keeps that going.
SAGA expects to enter again for 2026/27, with the team submitted around November.