Article by Liviu Manolache, Maria Olteanu – Published Wednesday, December 24, 2025, 08:19 / Updated Wednesday, December 24, 2025 08:22
The year 2025 has come to an end in the Superliga, after the round number #21 was contested at the beginning of the week. At the moment, the difference between the first place and the 7th place, the first position that does not qualify for the play-offs, is only 7 points. A fierce battle, which is also felt in the difference between the 6th and 7th places, which are tied at the time of the competitive break.
Only once in history, the very previous season, in the 2024-2025 season, the difference between 1st and 7th place was so small, just 7 points. Otherwise, analyzing the other editions of the championship, from the last 10 years, since the play-off / play-out system was introduced, the differences were much greater when the championship stopped for the winter break.
Now, the University of Craiova, the leader of the Superliga, has 40 points, while the 7th place holder, the first one below the line, the University of Cluj, has 33 points. Seven points difference, as many as there are between 1st and 6th place, just in the leading platoon: which after half time means only 3 points, practically one match!
Balance in the Superliga at the end of the year
The very compact standings at the top indicate that it will be an extremely balanced fight for the play-offs, at the moment there are at least 9 teams with a very good chance of reaching one of the top 6 positions.
Beyond that, the battle for the title will also prove to be an extremely heated one, given the very small difference in points between the top-ranked teams, especially since after the halfway point the standings will be even more balanced.
Since the play-off / play-out system was introduced, the biggest difference in points between the 1st place and the 7th place, at the end of the calendar year, was registered in the 2021-2022 season, of 25 points!
Except for last season, when there was a 7-point difference, in the rest, in the other editions of the championship, the minimum difference was at least 11 points.
Regarding the difference between 6th and 7th place, in addition to the current season, there have been three other seasons when the teams were tied when the championship was stopped, while the biggest difference between the last play-off place and the last play-out place was 3 points, in two seasons: 2015-2016 and 2018-2019.
Below, the situation broken down by seasons, since the play-off / play-out system has existed:
|
Season |
1st place points – 7th place points (Difference) |
6th place points – 7th place points (Difference) |
|
2015-2016 |
46 – 32 (14) |
35 -32 (3) |
|
2016-2017 |
42 – 29 (13) |
30 – 29 (1) |
|
2017-2018 |
49 – 34 (15) |
34 – 34 (0) |
|
2018-2019 |
46-28 (18) |
31 – 28 (3) |
|
2019-2020 |
44 – 33 (11) |
35 -33 (2) |
|
2020-2021 |
34 – 20 (14) |
20 – 20 (0) |
|
2021-2022 |
57 – 32 (25) |
32 – 32 (0) |
|
2022-2023 |
45 – 32 (13) |
33 – 32 (1) |
|
2023-2024 |
44 – 29 (15) |
30 – 29 (1) |
|
2024-2025 |
37 – 30 (7) |
31 – 30 (1) |
|
2025-2026 |
40 – 33 (7) |
33 – 33 (0) |
Superliga standings at the end of 2025
