European Team Championships Badminton 2015: Live Stream and Schedule
The BEC's mixed team championships start on February 11 with the competition promising to be one of the badminton events of the season.
There will be only 12 teams competing this year under new rules, as the tournament grows in popularity and importance.
Germany are the reigning champions but will be hotly chased by the European powerhouses of Denmark, England and Russia.
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All three nations are the highest-ranked countries in the continental game, as reported by BadmintonEurope.com, and will feel they have a great opportunity of winning this year's edition.
Here is how you can watch all of the action as it unfolds over five days of pulsating badminton:
What: European Team Championships 2015
When: February 11-15
Live Stream: Badminton Europe on YouTube
Where: Leuven, Belgium
| Rank | Team |
| Host | Belgium |
| Holder | Germany |
| Ranked 1 | Denmark |
| Ranked 2 | England |
| Ranked 3 | Russia |
| Qualifiers | |
| 1 | Netherlands |
| 2 | Scotland |
| 3 | France |
| 4 | Sweden |
| 5 | Spain |
| 6 | Ireland |
| 7 | Poland |
New Format for 2015
The format of the European Mixed Team Championships has undergone a radical revamp in recent times with a new way for teams to qualify for the event.
At the start of qualifying, 33 teams were involved in a group stage, whittling down the number of countries to just 12 at the end.
The cream of the crop now remain, with hosts Belgium and champions Germany joined by seeded nations Denmark, England and Russia.
Seven other group winners make up the numbers—making the tournament the most fiercely competitive line-up in history.
| 1 | Denmark |
| Netherlands | |
| Poland | |
| 2 | England |
| Ireland | |
| Belgium | |
| 3 | Germany |
| Scotland | |
| Spain | |
| 4 | Russia |
| France | |
| Sweden |
Group 1 is the outstanding pool of the opening gambit of the championship, with Denmark squeezed in with the Netherlands and Poland.
However, the imperious Danes should make short work of their opposition, despite the obvious quality of the Dutch and Polish teams.
Group 2 sees England take on Ireland and hosts Belgium, with the home side using their court advantage against the seeded nation.
England will need to be at their best to progress, with the Irish team in solid form, and the Belgians in jubilant mood.
Holders Germany are likely to be pushed all of the way in Group 3 as they battle a Scotland team who are more than their match. The third-group nation, Spain, features current world champion Carolina Marin in their ranks but they are unlikely to progress.
The final group will be a straight shootout between Russia and France, with an average Swedish team making up the numbers.
France are a youthful collective and they will feel they have the quality to beat the Russians.
Denmark Thirsty for Revenge
Denmark have long been the best team in European badminton and they will feel they can reclaim the crown, won by a jubilant Germany collective.
The German team mauled the Danes in the last final of two years ago, hugely upset the odds to stun the favourites.
Juliane Schenk lead the charge for her country in the shock result but she will not be present this time, having retired last year.
Denmark will have been despondent falling to their European rivals with it being the first time they have truly been eclipsed by any other team from the continent.
The Danes only won the Men's team title in the run to their defeat to Germany, and they will want to change that in Leuven.
And on paper, the Danish team should win this title as they look to regain the trophy stack of years gone by.
Added to the collection of wins in 2013 and 2014 were the European Junior Team title, as well as the Men's trophy once again. They then reclaimed their Women's title, and now hope for a clean sweep in the sport's four major competitions in Europe.
There is only one side who will have the power and aggression to blow away the rest, and that is Denmark.
Germany have little chance of wrestling away the title once again and may not even qualify for the semi-finals—they simply do not have the depth of the major nations.
England will also potentially struggle with the competition, leaving the Danes to fly through the five-day event and once again reclaim the title.
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