PGE Projekt Warszawa: From heartbreak to historic #CLVolleyM Final Four
News
From the brink of elimination to Europe's top four - PGE Projekt WARSZAWA’s journey to the CEV Champions League Volley 2026 – Men Final Four in Torino (May 16-17) is a story of resilience, belief and a breakthrough. Written through setbacks, comebacks and defining moments, their road to Torino has been anything but straightforward - from third place in the pool to a dramatic Golden Set triumph in the play-offs and victory in an all-Polish quarterfinal - and perhaps that is exactly what makes it so special.
To fully understand this journey, you have to go back one year. PGE Projekt Warszawa were on the verge of reaching the Final Four on home soil in Łódź, only to see their dream slip away in the cruellest way - a Golden Set defeat to Halkbank Ankara. After a strong pool phase, they entered the #CLVolleyM quarterfinals as favourites; however, a 1-3 defeat away put them under pressure. Although they responded with a commanding 3-0 win at home, they lost the decisive Golden Set. It was a moment that stayed with the team - unfinished business waiting to be resolved.
With a roster combining experience and ambition - including two-time Olympic champion Kevin Tille and former #CLVolleyM winners - Jakub Kochanowski, Bartosz Bednorz and Michał Kozłowski - expectations were high. Each of them had already lifted the trophy with ZAKSA Kędzierzyn-Koźle, but in different years: Kochanowski in 2021 in Verona, Kozłowski in 2022 in Ljubljana, and Bednorz in 2023 in Torino - the very city where Projekt now aim to write their own history. Alongside them stood core national team members - Jan Firlej, Yurii Semeniuk, Linus Weber, Damian Wojtaszek and Karol Kłos and rising talent Bartosz Gomułka.
This season, in their fifth Champions League campaign, they found themselves on the edge of elimination in Pool E. Under then-head coach Tommi Tiilikainen, Warszawa opened their campaign with a convincing 3-0 win over Volley Haasrode Leuven. Then came turbulence. A disrupted journey to Montpellier HSC - marked by cancelled flights and split travel groups - ended in a painful 2-3 loss. Shortly after, Cucine Lube Civitanova exposed their weaknesses in a 3-0 defeat. With struggles also appearing in domestic competitions, the season reached a turning point. A bold decision followed: 30-year-old assistant coach Kamil Nalepka was handed the reins.
Nalepka brought fresh energy. Warszawa responded with a crucial 3-0 victory over Montpellier and followed it with a hard-fought 3-2 win against Leuven. Although they lost 2-3 to Lube in the final pool match, they secured third place and advanced to the play-offs, alive, but far from Final Four top contenders.
The play-offs delivered one of the most dramatic chapters of their season. Facing Trentino Itas, Warszawa pushed the first match to five sets but fell short in the tie-break at home. In Trento, the situation looked even more difficult - despite winning the opening set, they fell behind 1-2, leaving Trentino just one set away from qualification. But Warszawa refused to surrender. They won the fourth set, the tie-break, and ultimately the Golden Set, turning the tie around in spectacular fashion.
The quarterfinals brought a different kind of challenge - a domestic derby against Bogdanka LUK Lublin, Poland’s reigning champions. In front of their home crowd, Warszawa delivered a statement performance, winning 3-1. In the return leg, they showed maturity and composure, claiming the two sets they needed to secure a historic place in the Final Four. The tie-break loss that followed did not matter - the mission was already complete. They showed that they are a team that has learned through adversity. A team that has fallen, regrouped and risen stronger. A team that refused to let history repeat itself.
Numbers underline their journey. Bartosz Bednorz has been the team’s top scorer with 159 points - his personal best in the #CLVolleyM and seventh overall in the 2026 competition. He is followed by Linus Weber (106) and Kévin Tillie (104), while Yurii Semeniuk (91 points) has stood out at the net with 27 kill blocks, being ranked second best blocker of the season.
Weber, Semeniuk and Tillie led Projekt Warszawa to the 2024 Challenge Cup title - their only international trophy to date. PGE Projekt Warszawa’s rise is also rooted in tradition. Founded in 1954 and previously known as Politechnika Warszawa, the club has been a constant presence in the Polish top division since the 2003/2004 season. Over the years, they have built their status with a runner-up finish in 2018/2019 and bronze medals in 2020/2021, 2023/2024 and 2024/2025. This season, after finishing second in the PlusLiga regular phase, they are once again competing for bronze following a semifinal loss to Bogdanka LUK Lublin, while their Polish Cup journey ended at the semifinal stage.
Jakub Kochanowski"I don’t think any team achieves success by going straight through and winning everything easily. You have to suffer a bit and go through difficult moments to succeed. I believe we’ve already experienced that, and maybe there are still some challenges ahead of us, but I hope it will give us more confidence and help us play better with every game. [...] We’ve finally made it to the Final Four, and I hope we can cause a surprise there."
Player of PGE Projekt Warszawa
From chaos to control, from heartbreak to hope - PGE Projekt Warszawa will travel to Torino not just as finalists, but as one of the most compelling stories of this #CLVolleyM season.