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European Champions Cup Betting Guide: Season Overview
Welcome to our European Champions Cup betting guide. We preview the 13th edition of the Champions Cup, known this season as the Investec Champions Cup, which runs from 16 October 2026 to 22 May 2027.
The tournament has been the Champions Cup since the 2014–15 season; it was previously the Heineken Cup, which launched in 1995. The 2027 final will be played at Parc Olympique Lyonnais in Lyon on Saturday 22 May.
Below, we look ahead to the new season, look back at past champions and the favourites' record, and use historical odds data to help inform your Champions Cup rugby union betting.
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European Champions Cup Preview 2026/27: Dates, Format & Favourites
Who won the European Champions Cup in 2025–26?
Bordeaux Bègles won the 2025–26 European Champions Cup, beating Leinster in the final to claim back-to-back titles. The Bègles reached the final by beating Bath in the semi-final, while Leinster saw off Toulon to book their place.
Leinster took an early lead through O'Brien in the ninth minute, but the Bègles hit back with tries from Lucu, Uberti, Bielle-Biarrey (two) and Moefana to lead 35–7 at half-time.
Tries from McCarthy and Ringrose gave Leinster a 12–6 second-half score, but they had no answer to that first-half display, and Bordeaux ran out 41–19 winners at the San Mamés Stadium in Bilbao.
When does the 2026–27 European Champions Cup start?
The 2026–27 Investec Champions Cup starts on 16 October 2026 and ends with the final on Saturday 22 May 2027 at Parc Olympique Lyonnais in Lyon. The round of 16, quarter-finals and semi-finals are played between the pool stage and the final.
Who are the favourites to win the 2026–27 Champions Cup?
Six-time winners Toulouse and four-time winners Leinster are likely to be towards the head of the ante-post betting, as you would expect. Defending champions Bordeaux Bègles will also be in the mix as they chase a third successive title, something only Toulon have achieved (2013–2015).
| European Rugby Champions Cup 2026/27 22 May @ 15:00 - Win Tournament | ||
|---|---|---|
| Toulouse | 3.00 | |
| Bordeaux | 3.75 | |
| Leinster | 6.00 | |
| Montpellier | 10.00 | |
| Northampton Saints | 13.00 | |
Who will win the European Champions Cup?
Head over to the OLBG Rugby Tips to see who they are tipping to win, not only the outright winner but also matches throughout the tournament.
Additionally, if you only want to view the tips from the top tipsters, those who have shown a profit on rugby over the past year, then head over to the Best Rugby Tipsters page.
What is the European Champions Cup format?
Twenty-four teams compete in the Champions Cup, split into four pools of six. Each pool has two clubs from each qualifying league, and each team plays four pool matches, one against each club from the other two leagues in its pool.
| League | Qualifying places |
|---|---|
| Premiership (England) | Top 8 |
| Top 14 (France) | Top 8 |
| United Rugby Championship (Ireland, Scotland, South Africa & Wales) | Top 8 |
Pool matches carry four points for a win, two for a draw, a bonus point for scoring three or more tries more than the opposition and a bonus point for losing by seven points or fewer.
| Pool finish | What happens |
|---|---|
| Top two in each pool | Round of 16, with a home tie |
| Third in each pool | Round of 16, with an away tie |
| Best four of the 12 teams finishing 4th to 6th | Round of 16, with an away tie |
| Next four of those 12 teams | Challenge Cup round of 16 |
| Bottom four of those 12 teams | Eliminated |
The 4th to 6th placed teams are ranked together across all four pools on match points, with wins used to separate teams level on points. The round of 16 pairs the top seed against the 16th seed, down to 8th against 9th, and the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final are single matches.
Where can I watch the European Champions Cup?
In the UK and Ireland, the Champions Cup matches can be watched live on the Premier Sports channels.
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European Champions Cup Past Winners & Previous Finals
Bordeaux Bègles won the tournament for the first time in 2025, making them the 14th different winner, and they retained the trophy in 2026. Of the 14 winning clubs, six have been English, five French and three Irish. French clubs have won each of the last six finals, from 2021 to 2026.
Toulouse are the most successful club with six titles, the latest coming in 2024. Leinster are next with four, but they have also lost five finals, including all five they have reached since their 2018 win (2019, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2026).
Last ten European Champions Cup winners
| Year | Winner | Score | Runners-up | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025–26 | Bordeaux Bègles | 41–19 | Leinster | San Mamés Stadium, Bilbao |
| 2024–25 | Bordeaux Bègles | 28–20 | Northampton Saints | Principality Stadium, Cardiff |
| 2023–24 | Toulouse | 31–22 | Leinster | Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London |
| 2022–23 | La Rochelle | 27–26 | Leinster | Aviva Stadium, Dublin |
| 2021–22 | La Rochelle | 24–21 | Leinster | Stade Vélodrome, Marseille |
| 2020–21 | Toulouse | 22–17 | La Rochelle | Twickenham, London |
| 2019–20 | Exeter Chiefs | 31–27 | Racing 92 | Ashton Gate, Bristol |
| 2018–19 | Saracens | 20–10 | Leinster | St James' Park, Newcastle |
| 2017–18 | Leinster | 15–12 | Racing 92 | San Mamés Stadium, Bilbao |
| 2016–17 | Saracens | 28–17 | Clermont | Murrayfield, Edinburgh |
European Champions Cup Favourite Statistics & Win Rates
Over the last ten Champions Cup seasons, the favourite has won 78.55% of matches (476 wins in 606 games). A drawn game counts as a favourite not winning.
Since the 2019–20 season, that rises to 81.30% (326 wins in 401 games). 2024–25 was the most reliable of the last ten seasons, with favourites winning 54 of 63 games (85.71%) and losing nine. 2019–20 was next best at 85.07%.
Favourite win rate by season: last ten Champions Cup seasons
| Season | Games | Favourite wins | Win rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016–17 | 67 | 50 | 74.63% |
| 2017–18 | 70 | 51 | 72.86% |
| 2018–19 | 68 | 49 | 72.06% |
| 2019–20 | 67 | 57 | 85.07% |
| 2020–21 | 34 | 28 | 82.35% |
| 2021–22 | 61 | 44 | 72.13% |
| 2022–23 | 63 | 52 | 82.54% |
| 2023–24 | 50 | 41 | 82.00% |
| 2024–25 | 63 | 54 | 85.71% |
| 2025–26 | 63 | 50 | 79.37% |
| Total | 606 | 476 | 78.55% |
European Champions Cup Odds Breakdown: Win Rate by Odds Range
Our European Champions Cup odds breakdown splits every match since 2016–17 by the pre-match price on each team. It shows how often teams in each odds range went on to win, using historical decimal odds.
The chart above summarises the same period. Teams priced at 1.19 or shorter won 93.39% of the time, while those priced between 2.00 and 2.49 won 38.38%. Teams priced at 5.00 or bigger won just 14 of 245 matches (5.71%).
European Champions Cup Teams 2026/27: Pools & Qualifiers
Twenty-four teams have qualified for the 2026–27 Champions Cup: eight from the Premiership, eight from the Top 14 and eight from the United Rugby Championship. The pools were drawn in Dublin on 1 July 2026, with Northampton Saints, Toulouse and Leinster (the 2025–26 league winners) and defending champions Bordeaux Bègles seeded in the top tier.
European Champions Cup 2026/27 pools
| Pool | Teams |
|---|---|
| Pool 1 | Clermont, Glasgow Warriors, Leicester Tigers, Leinster, Pau, Sale Sharks |
| Pool 2 | Connacht, Exeter Chiefs, La Rochelle, Lions, Saracens, Toulouse |
| Pool 3 | Bordeaux Bègles, Bristol Bears, Gloucester, Munster, Racing 92, Stormers |
| Pool 4 | Bath, Bulls, Cardiff, Montpellier, Northampton Saints, Stade Français |
Teams in bold were seeded in the top tier for the draw. Teams are listed alphabetically within each pool.
Premiership qualifiers
| Team | Titles | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bath | 1 | The Rec | 14,509 |
| Bristol Bears | 0 | Ashton Gate | 27,000 |
| Exeter Chiefs | 1 | Sandy Park | 15,600 |
| Gloucester | 0 | Kingsholm Stadium | 16,115 |
| Leicester Tigers | 2 | Mattioli Woods Welford Road | 25,849 |
| Northampton Saints | 1 | Franklin's Gardens | 15,200 |
| Sale Sharks | 0 | CorpAcq Stadium | 12,000 |
| Saracens | 3 | StoneX Stadium | 10,500 |
Top 14 qualifiers
| Team | Titles | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bordeaux Bègles | 2 | Stade Chaban-Delmas | 34,694 |
| Clermont | 0 | Stade Marcel-Michelin | 19,022 |
| La Rochelle | 2 | Stade Marcel-Deflandre | 18,000 |
| Montpellier | 0 | Septeo Stadium | 15,697 |
| Pau | 0 | Stade du Hameau | 14,999 |
| Racing 92 | 0 | Plenitude Arena | 30,680 |
| Stade Français | 0 | Stade Jean-Bouin | 20,000 |
| Toulouse | 6 | Stade Ernest-Wallon | 19,500 |
United Rugby Championship qualifiers
| Team | Titles | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bulls | 0 | Loftus Versfeld | 51,762 |
| Cardiff | 0 | Cardiff Arms Park | 12,125 |
| Connacht | 0 | Dexcom Stadium | 12,500 |
| Glasgow Warriors | 0 | Scotstoun Stadium | 7,351 |
| Leinster | 4 | Laya Arena, Dublin | 20,600 |
| Lions | 0 | Emirates Airline Park | 62,567 |
| Munster | 2 | Thomond Park | 25,600 |
| Stormers | 0 | DHL Stadium | 55,000 |
The Titles column shows the number of times each club has won the tournament, including the Heineken Cup years.
European Champions Cup Records: Appearances, Tries & Points
Most Champions Cup appearances
Five players have made more than 100 appearances in the Champions Cup, led by Leinster prop Cian Healy on 114. Ronan O'Gara (Munster) is next on 110.
| Rank | Player | Appearances |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cian Healy | 114 |
| 2 | Ronan O'Gara | 110 |
| 3 | Gordon D'Arcy | 104 |
| 4= | John Hayes | 101 |
| 4= | Peter Stringer | 101 |
Most tries in the Champions Cup
Chris Ashton holds the record with 41 tries, scored for five clubs: Saracens (29), Northampton (8), Toulon (2), Sale (1) and Leicester (1). He is five clear of Vincent Clerc (36).
| Rank | Player | Tries |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chris Ashton | 41 |
| 2 | Vincent Clerc | 36 |
| 3 | Simon Zebo | 35 |
| 4= | Juan Imhoff | 33 |
| 4= | Brian O'Driscoll | 33 |
Most points in the Champions Cup
This record is far more clear-cut. Ronan O'Gara scored 1,365 points for Munster, and Owen Farrell is next on 874, some 491 behind. Stephen Jones (869) is the only other player above 800.
| Rank | Player | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ronan O'Gara | 1,365 |
| 2 | Owen Farrell | 874 |
| 3 | Stephen Jones | 869 |
| 4 | Johnny Sexton | 784 |
| 5 | Dimitri Yachvili | 661 |
Contributor Information
Our team of specialists and experts at OLBG produces all of our sports content. The data in this European Champions Cup Preview & Betting Guide is managed by Andy Powell, who looks after the Rugby Tipsters and results in the Rugby Tips Section. Our Commercial Content Manager, Luke Bradshaw-Lee, is a keen Rugby fan who fact-checks the data and edits the copy for publication. Together, they produce our Rugby Union Previews and Rugby League Previews.
About the author
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