EBEL WAGERS

The Austrian Hockey League (German: Österreichische Eishockey-Liga), known as the Erste Bank Eishockey Liga (English: First Bank Hockey League) for sponsorship reasons, is the highest-level ice hockey league in Austria.

The roots of EBEL can be traced as far back as 1923 in various Championships where the winner is officially recognized as the Austrian Champion. There was no Austrian competition between 1939 and 1945. During World War II, a number of Austrian teams competed in the German Ice Hockey Championship, which is why the EK Engelmann Wien and Vienna EV list German Championships in their history.

The current EBEL format was established in the 1965-66 season.

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Prior to the 2005-06, EBEL only had Austrian teams. Since then, the league has added teams from Slovenia (starting 2006–07 and 2007–08), Hungary (starting 2007–08), Croatia (starting 2009–10 season), the Czech Republic (starting in 2011–12) and Italy (starting 2013–14 season).

The non-Austrian teams are competing for the title of "EBEL Champion". The title of "Austrian Champion" is given to Austrian teams only.

Over the years, EBEL has had different sponsors, and the current naming rights have been held by Sparkasse Bank and its Erste Bank brand since the 2003–04 season.

In 2013–14, Italy's Bolzano Foxes became the first non-Austrian team to win the EBEL title when they beat the Salzburg Red Bulls 3 games to 2 in their best-of-five final.

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