Slovak Extraliga

The Slovak Extraliga, called the Tipsport liga since the 2025–26 season because of sponsorship, is the top ice hockey league in Slovakia. It is where the best hockey teams in the country compete against each other.

From 2018–19 to 2020–21, the league also had teams from Hungary, making it a place where players from different countries could meet on the ice.

Teams that do well in the Slovak Extraliga can get to play in a very exciting international tournament called the Champions Hockey League. In the 2022–23 CHL season, the league was ranked the No. 10 best in Europe, meaning the champion team from the previous year got to join this big event.

The Slovak Extraliga began in the 1993–94 season after the peaceful dissolution of Czechoslovakia. Before that, Slovak and Czech teams played together in the 1992–93 Czechoslovak Extraliga season. After the countries split, the Slovak Extraliga started its own journey.

Game

Main article: Ice hockey

Each regular season game in the Slovak Extraliga has three 20-minute periods with a short break between them. If the score is tied after 60 minutes, there is a short five-minute period where each team has three players, and the first to score wins. If it's still tied, a shootout decides the winner. In a shootout, players take turns trying to score, and the team with the most goals after five tries wins. If it's still tied, the shootout keeps going until one team scores and the other doesn't.

Teams

The Slovak Extraliga is the top ice hockey league in Slovakia. In the 2025–26 season, teams from several cities will compete, including Prešov, Trenčín, Nitra, Žilina, Banská Bystrica, Zvolen, Michalovce, Poprad, Košice, Liptovský Mikuláš, Bratislava, and Spišská Nová Ves.

Season structure

The Tipsport Liga season has two main parts: the regular season and the playoffs. The regular season runs from late September to early March. During this time, teams play each other in a set schedule. Each team plays 54 games. Teams earn points for winning—three points for a regular win, two for a win in extra time, one for a loss in extra time, and zero for a regular loss. At the end of the regular season, the team with the most points is the league leader. The top six teams go straight to the playoffs. Teams ranked 7 to 10 play a short series to decide the last two playoff spots. The team with the fewest points at the end of the regular season moves down to a lower league.

The playoffs start in March and go on until April. This is a tournament where teams face off in a series of games. To move on to the next round, a team must win a best-of-seven series against another team. The winner of the playoffs becomes the Slovak champion and receives the Vladimir Dzurilla Trophy.

Names and sponsorship

The name of the ice hockey league in Slovakia changes often because sponsors pay to use their names. It started as Extraliga and then had many different names like West Extraliga, Boss Extraliga, ST Extraliga, T-Com Extraliga, and Slovnaft Extraliga. From 2011 to 2015, it was called Tipsport Extraliga and Slovnaft Play-off. Later, it became Tipsport Liga and Slovnaft Play-off. In 2020-21, it changed to Tipos Extraliga. Since 2025, the league is known as Tipsport Liga.

Previous winners

See also: List of Slovak ice hockey champions

The Slovak Extraliga is the top ice hockey league in Slovakia. Here are the winners of the league's playoff and regular season from 1994 to 2026.

Previous Slovak Extraliga playoffs winners (Slovak Champions)

• 1994 – Dukla Trenčín
• 1995 – HC Košice
• 1996 – HC Košice
• 1997 – Dukla Trenčín
• 1998 – Slovan Bratislava
• 1999 – HC Košice
• 2000 – Slovan Bratislava
• 2001 – HKm Zvolen
• 2002 – Slovan Bratislava
• 2003 – Slovan Bratislava
• 2004 – Dukla Trenčín
• 2005 – Slovan Bratislava
• 2006 – MsHK Žilina
• 2007 – Slovan Bratislava
• 2008 – Slovan Bratislava
• 2009 – HC Košice
• 2010 – HC Košice
• 2011 – HC Košice
• 2012 – Slovan Bratislava
• 2013 – HKM Zvolen
• 2014 – HC Košice
• 2015 – HC Košice
• 2016 – HK Nitra
• 2017 – HC '05 Banská Bystrica
• 2018 – HC '05 Banská Bystrica
• 2019 – HC '05 Banská Bystrica
• 2020 – Not held due to COVID-19 pandemic
• 2021 – HKM Zvolen
• 2022 – Slovan Bratislava
• 2023 – HC Košice
• 2024 – HK Nitra
• 2025 – HC Košice
• 2026 – HK Nitra

Previous Slovak Extraliga regular season winners

• 1994 – Dukla Trenčín
• 1995 – Dukla Trenčín
• 1996 – HC Košice
• 1997 – Dukla Trenčín
• 1998 – Slovan Bratislava
• 1999 – Slovan Bratislava
• 2000 – Slovan Bratislava
• 2001 – HKm Zvolen
• 2002 – HKm Zvolen
• 2003 – Slovan Bratislava
• 2004 – Dukla Trenčín
• 2005 – HKm Zvolen
• 2006 – HK Nitra
• 2007 – HC Košice
• 2008 – Slovan Bratislava
• 2009 – HC Košice
• 2010 – Slovan Bratislava
• 2011 – HC Košice
• 2012 – HC Košice
• 2013 – HKM Zvolen
• 2014 – HC Košice
• 2015 – HC Košice
• 2016 – HC Košice
• 2017 – HC '05 Banská Bystrica
• 2018 – HK Nitra
• 2019 – HC '05 Banská Bystrica
• 2020 – HC '05 Banská Bystrica
• 2021 – HKM Zvolen
• 2022 – Slovan Bratislava
• 2023 – HC Košice
• 2024 – HK Poprad
• 2025 – HK Spišská Nová Ves
• 2026 – HK Nitra

Video games

Teams from the Slovak Extraliga can be played in the video games from EA Sports, specifically in the NHL series, but only in the version called NHL 09.