2018 FINA Men's Water Polo World League
# 2018 FINA Men's Water Polo World League

The 2018 FINA Men's Water Polo World League is the 17th edition of the annual men's international water polo tournament. It will be played between November 2017 and June 2018 and opened to all men's water polo national teams. After participating in a preliminary round, eight teams qualify to play in a final tournament, called the Super Final from 18–23 June 2018. The top two teams also automatically qualify for the 2019 FINA World Aquatics Championships in 2019.

In the world league, there are specific rules that do not allow matches to end in a draw. If teams are level at the end of the 4th quarter of any world league match, the match will be decided by a penalty shootout. Teams earn points in the standings in group matches as follows:

* Match won in normal time – 3 points
* Match won in shootout – 2 points
* Match lost in shootout – 1 point
* Match lost in normal time – 0 points

## Preliminary rounds

### European Preliminaries

* November 14, 2017 – April 10, 2018

**Group A**

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | | | |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Montenegro | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 40 | 21 | +19 | 9 | Super Final | — | 11–8 | 13–2 |
| 2 | Serbia | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 41 | 25 | +16 | 9 | | 7–4 | — | 12–3 |
| 3 | Romania | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 16 | 51 | −35 | 0 | | 4–12 | 7–14 | — |

**Group B**

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | | | |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Croatia | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 58 | 25 | +33 | 12 | Super Final | — | 14–4 | 14–8 |
| 2 | Russia | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 37 | 51 | −14 | 5 | | 9–17 | — | 16–12 |
| 3 | Germany | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 32 | 51 | −19 | 1 | | 4–13 | 8–8 (3–4) | — |

**Group C**

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | | | |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Hungary | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 45 | 25 | +20 | 10 | Host Super Final | — | 9–8 | 13–1 |
| 2 | Spain | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 39 | 28 | +11 | 8 | Super Final | 10–10 (5–3) | — | 9–5 |
| 3 | Netherlands | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 16 | 47 | −31 | 0 | | 6–13 | 4–12 | — |

### Inter-Continental Cup

* April 3–8, 2018, Auckland, New Zealand
* All times are New Zealand Standard Time (UTC+12:00)

**Group A**

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | | | | | |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Australia | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 52 | 21 | +31 | 9 | Super Final | — | | 15–8 | | |
| 2 | Kazakhstan | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 24 | 38 | −14 | 5 | Super Final | 6–21 | — | 10–9 | 8–8 (4–1) | |
| 3 | Canada | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 27 | 28 | −1 | 3 | | | | — | | |
| 4 | Argentina | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 18 | 34 | −16 | 1 | | 7–16 | | 3–10 | — | |
| 5 | New Zealand 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0–20 | 7–15 | 9–20 | 3–18 | — |

* ↑ New Zealand was represented by 2nd team
* ↑ Matches of New Zealand 2 are not counted in the competition

**Group B**

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | | | | | |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | United States | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 62 | 18 | +44 | 12 | Super Final | — | | | | 18–3 |
| 2 | Japan | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 62 | 31 | +31 | 9 | Super Final | 10–12 | — | | | 18–5 |
| 3 | New Zealand (H) | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 38 | 52 | −14 | 6 | | 3–18 | 10–18 | — | | 15–9 |
| 4 | China | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 26 | 45 | −19 | 3 | | 2–14 | 4–16 | 7–10 | — | 13–5 |
| 5 | Saudi Arabia | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 22 | 64 | −42 | 0 | | | | | | — |

**Final round**

**9th Place**

| 8 April 2018 11:20 | New Zealand 2 | 10–11 | Saudi Arabia | Auckland, New Zealand |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Auckland, New Zealand |||

* ↑ New Zealand was represented by 2nd team
* ↑ Match is not counted in the competition

**Final round**

**7th Place**

| 8 April 2018 12:40 | Argentina | 6–5 | China | Auckland, New Zealand |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Auckland, New Zealand |||

**Final round**

**5th Place**

| 8 April 2018 14:00 | Canada | 12–6 | New Zealand | Auckland, New Zealand |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Auckland, New Zealand |||

**Final round**

**3rd Place**

| 8 April 2018 15:20 | Kazakhstan | 7–12 | Japan | Auckland, New Zealand |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Auckland, New Zealand |||

**Final round**

**1st Place**

| 8 April 2018 19:40 | Australia | 6–9 | United States | Auckland, New Zealand |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Auckland, New Zealand |||

**Final ranking**

* Qualified to Super Final

| Rank | Team |
| - | - |
| | United States |
| | Australia |
| | Japan |
| 4 | Kazakhstan |
| 5 | Canada |
| 6 | New Zealand |
| 7 | Argentina |
| 8 | China |
| 9 | Saudi Arabia |

## Super Final

* June 18–23, 2018, Danube Arena, Budapest, Hungary
* All times are Central European Summer Time (UTC+02:00)

### Qualified teams

| Africa | Americas | Asia | Europe | Oceania |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| — | United States | Japan Kazakhstan | Croatia Hungary (re-Host) Montenegro Russia (Host) Spain | Australia |

### Seeding

| Group A | Group B |
| - | - |
| Australia (2nd ICC) Montenegro (1st Europe Group A) Japan (3rd ICC) Hungary (1st Europe Group C) (re-Host) | United States (1st ICC) Croatia (1st Europe Group B) Kazakhstan (4th ICC) Russia (Host) Spain (Replaced Russia) |

### Group A

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Montenegro | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 25 | +11 | 9 | Quarterfinals |
| 2 | Hungary (H) | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 35 | 24 | +11 | 6 | Quarterfinals |
| 3 | Australia | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 24 | 29 | −5 | 3 | Quarterfinals |
| 4 | Japan | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 22 | 39 | −17 | 0 | Quarterfinals |
| 18 June 2018 16:45 | Montenegro | 14–8 | Japan | Budapest, Hungary |
| Budapest, Hungary |||
| 18 June 2018 20:00 | Australia | 5–12 | Hungary | Budapest, Hungary |
| Budapest, Hungary |||
| 19 June 2018 15:15 | Australia | 11–7 | Japan | Budapest, Hungary |
| Budapest, Hungary |||
| 19 June 2018 18:15 | Montenegro | 12–9 | Hungary | Budapest, Hungary |
| Budapest, Hungary |||
| 20 June 2018 16:45 | Montenegro | 10–8 | Australia | Budapest, Hungary |
| Budapest, Hungary |||
| 20 June 2018 20:00 | Japan | 7–14 | Hungary | Budapest, Hungary |
| Budapest, Hungary |||

### Group B

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | United States | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 20 | +10 | 9 | Quarterfinals |
| 2 | Spain | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 26 | 20 | +6 | 5 | Quarterfinals |
| 3 | Croatia | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 34 | 25 | +9 | 4 | Quarterfinals |
| 4 | Kazakhstan | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 12 | 37 | −25 | 0 | Quarterfinals |
| 18 June 2018 15:15 | Croatia | 15–5 | Kazakhstan | Budapest, Hungary |
| Budapest, Hungary |||
| 18 June 2018 18:15 | United States | 8–6 | Spain | Budapest, Hungary |
| Budapest, Hungary |||
| 19 June 2018 16:45 | Croatia | 10–13 | Spain | Budapest, Hungary |
| Budapest, Hungary |||
| 19 June 2018 19:45 | United States | 11–4 | Kazakhstan | Budapest, Hungary |
| Budapest, Hungary |||
| 20 June 2018 15:15 | Croatia | 10–11 | United States | Budapest, Hungary |
| Budapest, Hungary |||
| 20 June 2018 18:15 | Kazakhstan | 3–11 | Spain | Budapest, Hungary |
| Budapest, Hungary |||

### Knockout stage

| Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | | Final | Final |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 21 June 2018 | 21 June 2018 | | | |
| Hungary (pen.) | 6 (4) | | | |
| Hungary (pen.) | 6 (4) | 22 June 2018 | 22 June 2018 | | |
| Croatia | 6 (2) | 22 June 2018 | 22 June 2018 | |
| Croatia | 6 (2) | Hungary | 11 | |
| 21 June 2018 | 21 June 2018 | | Hungary | 11 | |
| 21 June 2018 | 21 June 2018 | Japan | 9 | |
| Japan | 11 | Japan | 9 | |
| Japan | 11 | | | | 23 June 2018 | 23 June 2018 |
| United States | 10 | | | | 23 June 2018 | 23 June 2018 |
| United States | 10 | | | | Hungary | 9 (2) |
| 21 June 2018 | 21 June 2018 | | | | | Hungary | 9 (2) |
| 21 June 2018 | 21 June 2018 | | | | Montenegro (pen.) | 9 (4) |
| Australia | 4 | | | | Montenegro (pen.) | 9 (4) |
| Australia | 4 | 22 June 2018 | 22 June 2018 | | | |
| Spain | 9 | 22 June 2018 | 22 June 2018 | | | |
| Spain | 9 | Spain | 8 | | | |
| 21 June 2018 | 21 June 2018 | | Spain | 8 | | | |
| 21 June 2018 | 21 June 2018 | Montenegro | 10 | | Third place | Third place |
| Montenegro | 14 | Montenegro | 10 | | Third place | Third place |
| Montenegro | 14 | | | | 23 June 2018 | 23 June 2018 |
| Kazakhstan | 6 | | | | 23 June 2018 | 23 June 2018 |
| Kazakhstan | 6 | | | | Japan | 7 |
| | | | | | Spain | 12 |

**5th–8th Places**

| Semifinals | Semifinals | Fifth place | Fifth place |
| - | - | - | - |
| 22 June 2018 | 22 June 2018 |
| Croatia | 10 |
| Croatia | 10 | 23 June 2018 | 23 June 2018 |
| United States | 7 | 23 June 2018 | 23 June 2018 |
| United States | 7 | Croatia | 10 |
| 22 June 2018 | 22 June 2018 | | Croatia | 10 |
| 22 June 2018 | 22 June 2018 | Australia | 8 |
| Australia | 15 | Australia | 8 |
| Kazakhstan | 11 | | |
| Kazakhstan | 11 | Seventh place | Seventh place |
| | | 23 June 2018 | 23 June 2018 |
| | | United States | 9 |
| | | Kazakhstan | 3 |

**Quarterfinals**

| 21 June 2018 15:15 | Montenegro | 14–6 | Kazakhstan | Budapest, Hungary |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Budapest, Hungary |||
| 21 June 2018 16:45 | Australia | 4–9 | Spain | Budapest, Hungary |
| Budapest, Hungary |||
| 21 June 2018 18:15 | Hungary | 10–8 | Croatia | Budapest, Hungary |
| Budapest, Hungary |||
| 21 June 2018 19:45 | Japan | 11–10 | United States | Budapest, Hungary |
| Budapest, Hungary |||

**5th–8th Semifinals**

| 22 June 2018 15:15 | Croatia | 10–7 | United States | Budapest, Hungary |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Budapest, Hungary |||
| 22 June 2018 16:45 | Australia | 15–11 | Kazakhstan | Budapest, Hungary |
| Budapest, Hungary |||

**Semifinals**

| 22 June 2018 18:15 | Hungary | 11–9 | Japan | Budapest, Hungary |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Budapest, Hungary |||
| 22 June 2018 19:45 | Spain | 8–10 | Montenegro | Budapest, Hungary |
| Budapest, Hungary |||

**Seventh place**

| 23 June 2018 15:15 | United States | 9–3 | Kazakhstan | Budapest, Hungary |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Budapest, Hungary |||

**Fifth place**

| 23 June 2018 16:45 | Croatia | 10–8 | Australia | Budapest, Hungary |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Budapest, Hungary |||

**Third place**

| 23 June 2018 18:15 | Japan | 7–12 | Spain | Budapest, Hungary |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Budapest, Hungary |||

**Final**

| 23 June 2018 19:45 | Hungary | 11–13 | Montenegro | Budapest, Hungary |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Budapest, Hungary |||

### Final ranking

| Rank | Team |
| - | - |
| | Montenegro |
| | Hungary |
| | Spain |
| 4 | Japan |
| 5 | Croatia |
| 6 | Australia |
| 7 | United States |
| 8 | Kazakhstan |

* 2018 FINA Men's Water Polo World League champions
* Montenegro Second title

**Awards**

| MVP | Highest Scorer | Best Goalkeeper | Best Young Player |
| - | - | - | - |
| Márton Vámos | Aleksandar Ivović Mlađan Janović Inada Yosuke (14 goals) | Viktor Nagy | Đuro Radović |
