The battle for the national title in the Tulp Hoofdklasse Women and Men has been decided. We put some things in perspective after the triumphs of Den Bosch’s women and Amsterdam’s men.
TULP HOOFDKLASSE WOMEN’S FINAL
- Den Bosch captured its second national title in a row and its 23rd in total. The team thus strengthened its leading position as record holder in terms of national championships won. Amsterdam follows with 21 titles.
- Den Bosch is the first team to win the national title, the cup and the Euro Hockey League in one season. In April, coach Marieke Dijkstra’s team won the Gold Cup at the expense of Tilburg (2-1) and captured the EHL by beating Belgium’s Braxgata (5-1).
- SCHC reached the final for the sixth time, including four times in the last four seasons. The top team from Bilthoven is still waiting for its first national title. For now, its trophy cabinet remains filled with one European Cup and two Gold Cups.
- Due to Den Bosch’s national title, the last 27 (!) championships in the Tulp Hoofdklasse have been divided between Amsterdam (four) and Den Bosch (23). HGC was the last national champion in 1996-1997 before the hegemony of these two superpowers.
- For the first time since the 2018-2019 season, Den Bosch attacker Frédérique Matla failed to score in one of the final games for the national title. The goalscorer scored a total of nine final goals in the past five seasons.
- SCHC midfielder Yibbi Jansen scored twice in the shoot-out series from a penalty stroke, but saw her own attempt fail. In club terms, the World Player of the Year’s shoot-out statistics could be improved: she only utilised two of her six attempts on behalf of Den Bosch, Oranje-Rood and SCHC.
TULP HOOFDKLASSE MEN’S FINAL
- Amsterdam captured its first national title since 2012. It is the 22nd national title in the club’s history. That is now as many as Bloemendaal, which was the only record holder since 2022. Together, Amsterdam and Bloemendaal won 44 of the 120 national championships in the history of top hockey.
- Kampong reached the final of the playoffs for the seventh time in history. The Utrechters have now lost more finals than they have won: three times Kampong took the top prize (2017, 2018 and 2024), four times the team lost (2015, 2019, 2021 and 2025).
- Amsterdam put an end to a nasty series with the shoot-outs won against Kampong. Indeed, the team had lost its previous five shoot-out series in the playoffs: against Kampong (2018), Bloemendaal (2019), HGC (twice in 2019) and Pinoké (2022).
- Kampong defender Jip Janssen (eight goals) and Amsterdam striker Boris Burkhardt (seven) were the two most prolific players in this edition of the playoffs. They belong to a select company with at least seven goals in one edition of the play-offs.
Most goals in one play-off series
9 – Remco van Wijk (1998-99, Bloemendaal)
8 – Jip Janssen (2024-25, Kampong)
8 – Taeke Taekema (2005-06, Amsterdam)
8 – David Matthews (2002-03, Amsterdam)
8 – Wouter van Pelt (1994-95, HDM)
7 – Boris Burkhardt (2024-25, Amsterdam)
7 – Taeke Taekma (2001-02, Klein Zwitserland - Janssen (34) and Burkhardt (34) combined for 68 club goals in all leagues this season. Janssen scored 24 in the Hoofdklasse, eight in the play-offs and two in the EHL. Burkhardt scored 27 times in the regular league and seven in the play-offs.
