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The 2023 German Football League season is the 44th edition of the top-level American football competition in Germany.
| 2023 German Football League | |
|---|---|
| League | German Football League |
| Sport | American football |
| Duration | 20 May – 14 October |
| Number of teams | 16 |
| Promoted to GFL | Hildesheim Invaders, Kirchdorf Wildcats |
| Relegated to GFL2 | Marburg Mercenaries |
| Regular season | |
| GFL North champions | Potsdam Royals (2) |
| GFL South champions | Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns (13) |
| GFL Bowl 2023 | |
| Champions | Potsdam Royals |
| Runners-up | Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns |
| Finals MVP | Jaylon Henderson |
The regular season started on 20 May and ended on 10 September 2023, followed by the play-offs.[1] In the GFL Bowl, which was held on 14 October 2023 in Essen, the Potsdam Royals won their first national title.
Location of teams in the German Football League 2023
The league is divided in two conferences, north and south, and both conferences are divided in two divisions. During the regular season each club plays all other clubs in its division twice, home and away, and the teams of the other division of its conference once. In addition, each team plays one home and one away game against a team of the other conference, resulting in each team playing 12 regular season games.[2][1]
In case of a tie in standings, the head-to-head record is taken as the first tiebreaker after winning percentage.
The best four teams in each conference qualify for the play-offs where, in the quarter finals, teams from opposite conferences play each other, whereby the better placed teams have home field advantage. The first placed team plays the fourth placed from the other conference and the second placed the third placed team. From the semi-finals onwards teams from the same conference can meet again.[1]
The eighth placed team in the southern conference enters a two-leg play-off with the winner of the respective conference of the German Football League 2, the second tier of the league system in Germany. The winner of this contest qualifies for the GFL for the following season.[1] Had there been eight teams in the northern conference, a similar promotion/relegation round would have been played in the North.
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GFL
The league tables of the two GFL divisions:
GFL North
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | PCT | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Potsdam Royals | 12 | 11 | 1 | 599 | 236 | +363 | .917 | Qualification to play-offs |
| 2 | Dresden Monarchs | 12 | 10 | 2 | 488 | 280 | +208 | .833 | |
| 3 | New Yorker Lions | 12 | 10 | 2 | 356 | 175 | +181 | .833 | |
| 4 | Berlin Rebels | 12 | 6 | 6 | 291 | 276 | +15 | .500 | |
| 5 | Berlin Adler | 12 | 5 | 7 | 286 | 341 | −55 | .417 | |
| 6 | Paderborn Dolphins | 12 | 3 | 9 | 184 | 432 | −248 | .250 | |
| 7 | Kiel Baltic Hurricanes | 12 | 1 | 11 | 259 | 446 | −187 | .083 | |
| 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | Withdrew before season |
Source: gflstats.info, football-aktuell.de
GFL South
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | PCT | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns | 12 | 9 | 3 | 397 | 244 | +153 | .750 | Qualification to play-offs |
| 2 | Allgäu Comets | 12 | 9 | 3 | 389 | 284 | +105 | .750 | |
| 3 | Saarland Hurricanes | 12 | 9 | 3 | 465 | 366 | +99 | .750 | |
| 4 | Ingolstadt Dukes | 12 | 6 | 6 | 387 | 340 | +47 | .500 | |
| 5 | Munich Cowboys | 12 | 3 | 9 | 169 | 359 | −190 | .250 | |
| 6 | Straubing Spiders | 12 | 3 | 9 | 204 | 397 | −193 | .250 | |
| 7 | Marburg Mercenaries | 12 | 3 | 9 | 251 | 383 | −132 | .250 | Withdrew after season |
| 8 | Ravensburg Razorbacks | 12 | 2 | 10 | 209 | 375 | −166 | .167 | Relegation play-offs to GFL2[a] |
Source: gflstats.info, football-aktuell.de
GFL2
The league tables of the two GFL2 divisions:
GFL2 North
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | PCT | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hildesheim Invaders | 10 | 10 | 0 | 523 | 227 | +296 | 1.000 | Promotion to GFL |
| 2 | Düsseldorf Panther | 10 | 8 | 2 | 301 | 182 | +119 | .800 | |
| 3 | Rostock Griffins | 10 | 7 | 3 | 404 | 254 | +150 | .700 | |
| 4 | Langenfeld Longhorns | 10 | 4 | 6 | 212 | 230 | −18 | .400 | |
| 5 | Lübeck Cougars | 10 | 4 | 6 | 288 | 406 | −118 | .400 | |
| 6 | Oldenburg Knights | 10 | 3 | 7 | 165 | 303 | −138 | .300 | |
| 7 | Münster Blackhawks | 10 | 2 | 8 | 137 | 352 | −215 | .200 | Relegation to Regionalliga |
| 8 | Solingen Paladins | 10 | 2 | 8 | 218 | 294 | −76 | .200 |
Source: gflstats.info, football-aktuell.de
Rules for classification: 1) Winning percentage, 2) Head-to-head results
Rules for classification: 1) Winning percentage, 2) Head-to-head results
GFL2 South
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | PCT | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kirchdorf Wildcats | 10 | 9 | 1 | 366 | 163 | +203 | .900 | Qualification to promotion play-off |
| 2 | Fursty Razorbacks | 10 | 8 | 2 | 268 | 164 | +104 | .800 | |
| 3 | Regensburg Phoenix | 10 | 7 | 3 | 336 | 198 | +138 | .700 | |
| 4 | Pforzheim Wilddogs | 10 | 5 | 5 | 191 | 169 | +22 | .500 | |
| 5 | Gießen Golden Dragons | 10 | 4 | 6 | 257 | 270 | −13 | .400 | |
| 6 | Frankfurt Universe | 10 | 4 | 6 | 227 | 313 | −86 | .400 | |
| 7 | Bad Homburg Sentinels | 10 | 2 | 8 | 103 | 235 | −132 | .200 | Relegation to Regionalliga |
| 8 | Stuttgart Scorpions | 10 | 1 | 9 | 95 | 331 | −236 | .100 |
Source: gflstats.info, football-aktuell.de
Rules for classification: 1) Winning percentage, 2) Head-to-head results
Rules for classification: 1) Winning percentage, 2) Head-to-head results
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Relegation and Promotion round
In the Northern Division there was no relegation game since there were only seven teams in the league. In the Southern Division the Ravensburg Razorbacks withdrew from playing the relegation game against Kirchdorf Wildcats. Later the Ingolstadt Dukes withdrew their team from the GFL, hence the Razorbacks remained in the GFL and the Wildcats got promoted.
Playoffs
| Quarterfinals | Semifinals | GFL Bowl | ||||||||||||
| N1 | Potsdam Royals | 54 | ||||||||||||
| S4 | Ingolstadt Dukes | 0 | ||||||||||||
| N1 | Potsdam Royals | 41 | ||||||||||||
| N3 | New Yorker Lions | 28 | ||||||||||||
| S2 | Allgäu Comets | 34 | ||||||||||||
| N3 | New Yorker Lions | 36 | ||||||||||||
| N1 | Potsdam Royals | 34 | ||||||||||||
| S1 | Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns | 7 | ||||||||||||
| S1 | Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns | 17 | ||||||||||||
| N4 | Berlin Rebels | 7 | ||||||||||||
| S1 | Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns | 36 | ||||||||||||
| N2 | Dresden Monarchs | 30 | ||||||||||||
| N2 | Dresden Monarchs | 45 | ||||||||||||
| S3 | Saarland Hurricanes | 38 | ||||||||||||
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