The Eisbären Berlin will bring many fans with them again. © Max Pattis

The Berlin Polar Bears are coming to the Dolomite Cup

The Dolomitencup in Neumarkt is one of the most prestigious ice hockey pre-season tournaments in Europe. This year, the 20th anniversary edition will take place from August 21st to 23rd. The Eisbären Berlin are the first team to be announced.

20 January 2026

From: pm

The Christmas cookies have long since been digested, the New Year's fireworks have faded, the first resolutions have been put into action – in short: the new year is in full swing. And 2026 will also be a very special year for the Dolomitencup. The ice hockey pre-season tournament in Neumarkt, one of the most renowned of its kind in Europe, is about to celebrate a major anniversary. From August 21st to 23rd, the coveted trophy will be contested for the 20th time in South Tyrol.

This is a very special milestone: When the tournament was launched in the summer of 2006 (with the Frankfurt Lions as the inaugural winners), hardly anyone could have imagined that it would develop into such a success story. Champions League winners, highly decorated champions, major traditional clubs, famous ice hockey stars – over the years, the Dolomitencup has welcomed the crème de la crème of European ice hockey.

The DEL record champions are coming

When the elegant Würth Arena transforms into a cauldron of noise next August, one song will be heard again and again at full volume: "Hey, we want to see the Polar Bears" is the cult anthem of the Berlin Polar Bears. And these Berliners will once again be hunting for the Dolomiten Cup this summer. The organizers have landed a big fish, because the Polar Bears have been the team to beat in the German Ice Hockey League (DEL) for years. Four championship titles in the last five years speak for themselves. With a total of eleven championship trophies since the DEL's inception in 1994, the capital city club is the undisputed number one in German ice hockey.

Polar bears always put on a show. © FUJI X-T3 / Max Pattis

The Eisbären have participated in the Dolomitencup three times, most recently in 2022, when they were only defeated in the final by the Czech serial winners Dynamo Pardubice. A title in Neumarkt has so far eluded the Berliners – will their moment finally arrive at the anniversary tournament?

Behind the scenes, the organizers are working diligently on the rest of the field of participants; the three additional clubs will be announced in the coming weeks.