2018–19 Top League Cup
# 2018–19 Top League Cup

The 2018–19 Top League Cup was the inaugural edition of the Top League Cup, a cup competition for Japan's Top League teams.

## Competition rules

The sixteen Top League teams were divided into four pools for the first stage of the competition; each team played the three other teams in their pools once.

All sixteen teams then progressed to a play-off stage; the top teams in each pool advanced to the cup play-offs, the second-placed teams in each pool to the 5th-place play-offs, the third-placed teams in each pool to the 9th-place play-offs and the bottom teams in each pool to the 13th-place play-offs, which determined the final positions for the season.

## Teams

The following teams took part in the 2018–19 Top League Cup competition:

2018–19 Top League Cup Pool A :

| Team name | Region |
| - | - |
| Honda Heat | Suzuka, Mie Prefecture |
| NTT Communications Shining Arcs | Chiba, Chiba, Kanto |
| Ricoh Black Rams | Tokyo, Kanto |
| Suntory Sungoliath | Fuchu, Tokyo, Kanto |

2018–19 Top League Cup Pool B :

| Team name | Region |
| - | - |
| Canon Eagles | Machida, Tokyo, Kanto |
| Hino Red Dolphins | Hino, Tokyo Metropolis |
| NEC Green Rockets | Abiko, Chiba, Kanto |
| Panasonic Wild Knights | Ota, Gunma, Kanto |

2018–19 Top League Cup Pool C :

| Team name | Region |
| - | - |
| Kobelco Steelers | Kobe, Kansai |
| Kubota Spears | Abiko, Chiba, Kanto |
| Munakata Sanix Blues | Munakata, Fukuoka, Kyushu |
| Yamaha Júbilo | Iwata, Shizuoka, Tokai |

2018–19 Top League Cup Pool D :

| Team name | Region |
| - | - |
| Coca-Cola Red Sparks | Fukuoka, Kyushu |
| Toshiba Brave Lupus | Fuchu, Tokyo, Kanto |
| Toyota Industries Shuttles | Aichi, Mizuho |
| Toyota Verblitz | Toyota, Aichi, Tokai |

## First Stage : Pool A

### Standings

The current standings for the 2018–19 Top League Cup First Stage Pool A are:

| 2018–19 Top League Cup First Stage Pool A standings |
| - |
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TB | LB | Pts |
| 1 | Suntory Sungoliath | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 102 | 36 | +66 | 1 | 0 | 13 |
| 2 | NTT Communications Shining Arcs | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 118 | 88 | +30 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 3 | Ricoh Black Rams | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 86 | 97 | −11 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| 4 | Honda Heat | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 62 | 147 | −85 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Legend: P = Games played, W = Games won, D = Games drawn, L = Games lost, PF = Points for, PA = Points against, PD = Points difference, TB = Try bonus points, LB = Losing bonus points, Pts = Log points. The top team qualified for the cup play-offs. The second-placed team qualified to the 5th-place play-offs. The third-placed team qualified to the 9th-place play-offs. The bottom-placed teams qualified to the 13th-place play-offs. |

### Matches

The 2018–19 Top League Cup First Stage Pool A fixtures are:

## First Stage : Pool B

### Standings

The current standings for the 2018–19 Top League Cup First Stage Pool B are:

| 2018–19 Top League Cup First Stage Pool B standings |
| - |
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TB | LB | Pts |
| 1 | Panasonic Wild Knights | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 109 | 88 | +21 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| 2 | Canon Eagles | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 73 | 55 | +18 | 0 | 1 | 9 |
| 3 | NEC Green Rockets | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 111 | 55 | +56 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| 4 | Hino Red Dolphins | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 28 | 123 | −95 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Legend: P = Games played, W = Games won, D = Games drawn, L = Games lost, PF = Points for, PA = Points against, PD = Points difference, TB = Try bonus points, LB = Losing bonus points, Pts = Log points. The top team qualified for the cup play-offs. The second-placed team qualified to the 5th-place play-offs. The third-placed team qualified to the 9th-place play-offs. The bottom-placed teams qualified to the 13th-place play-offs. |

### Matches

The 2018–19 Top League Cup First Stage Pool B fixtures are:

## First Stage : Pool C

### Standings

The current standings for the 2018–19 Top League Cup First Stage Pool C are:

| 2018–19 Top League Cup First Stage Pool C standings |
| - |
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TB | LB | Pts |
| 1 | Kubota Spears | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 90 | 50 | +40 | 1 | 0 | 13 |
| 2 | Kobelco Steelers | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 173 | 41 | +132 | 2 | 1 | 11 |
| 3 | Yamaha Júbilo | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 80 | 137 | −57 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| 4 | Munakata Sanix Blues | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 28 | 143 | −115 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Legend: P = Games played, W = Games won, D = Games drawn, L = Games lost, PF = Points for, PA = Points against, PD = Points difference, TB = Try bonus points, LB = Losing bonus points, Pts = Log points. The top team qualified for the cup play-offs. The second-placed team qualified to the 5th-place play-offs. The third-placed team qualified to the 9th-place play-offs. The bottom-placed teams qualified to the 13th-place play-offs. |

### Matches

The 2018–19 Top League Cup First Stage Pool C fixtures are:

## First Stage : Pool D

### Standings

The current standings for the 2018–19 Top League Cup First Stage Pool D are:

| 2018–19 Top League Cup First Stage Pool D standings |
| - |
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TB | LB | Pts |
| 1 | Toyota Verblitz | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 107 | 65 | +42 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| 2 | Toshiba Brave Lupus | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 122 | 87 | +35 | 2 | 0 | 10 |
| 3 | Toyota Industries Shuttles | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 74 | 101 | −27 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 4 | Coca-Cola Red Sparks | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 62 | 112 | −50 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Legend: P = Games played, W = Games won, D = Games drawn, L = Games lost, PF = Points for, PA = Points against, PD = Points difference, TB = Try bonus points, LB = Losing bonus points, Pts = Log points. The top team qualified for the cup play-offs. The second-placed team qualified to the 5th-place play-offs. The third-placed team qualified to the 9th-place play-offs. The bottom-placed teams qualified to the 13th-place play-offs. |

### Matches

The 2018–19 Top League Cup First Stage Pool D fixtures are:

## Second stage

### Standings

The final standings for the 2018–19 Top League Cup were:

| 2018–19 Top League Cup standings |
| - |
| Pos | Team |
| 1 | Toyota Verblitz |
| 2 | Suntory Sungoliath |
| 3 | Panasonic Wild Knights |
| 4 | Kubota Spears |
| 5 | Toshiba Brave Lupus |
| 6 | Kobelco Steelers |
| 7 | NTT Communications Shining Arcs |
| 8 | Canon Eagles |
| 9 | Ricoh Black Rams |
| 10 | NEC Green Rockets |
| 11 | Yamaha Júbilo |
| 12 | Toyota Industries Shuttles |
| 13 | Coca-Cola Red Sparks |
| 14 | Honda Heat |
| 15 | Munakata Sanix Blues |
| 16 | Hino Red Dolphins |
| Top League Cup winners. |

**Cup play-offs**

The two semi-final winners qualified for the final, while the losers qualified for the 3rd-place match.

The final matches determined the final standings.

**5th-place play-offs**

The two 5th-place semi-final winners qualified for the 5th-place match, while the losers qualified for the 7th-place match.

The final matches determined the final standings.

**9th-place play-offs**

The two 9th-place semi-final winners qualified for the 9th-place match, while the losers qualified for the 11th-place match.

The final matches determined the final standings.

**13th-place play-offs**

The two 13th-place semi-final winners qualified for the 13th-place match, while the losers qualified for the 15th-place match.

The final matches determined the final standings.

