Auxerre Judo reach the Final Four! On home soil, the Burgundians won a hard-fought quarter-final against Flam 91 (5-3), qualifying for the first Final Four in their young history.

After a convincing qualifying campaign, which saw them secure a quarter-final place on home soil by finishing 4th, Franck Party's judokas proved that they are among the serious contenders for final victory this year, with their victory over Flam 91. The Estonians and Burgundians went head to head in the first part of the match. With a sublime uchi-mata, Chloé Devictor (Flam 91, -57kg) answered Simon Lesauvage, who had scored the first point for Auxerre, before the scenario was repeated with successive victories by Alexandre Rubiano (Auxerre Judo, -73kg) and Manon Agati-Alouache (Flam 91, -63kg). At half-time, the two teams were level on points and score.

Auxerre finally managed to extend their lead in the second half. Back in action for this quarter-final, veteran and Olympic mixed-team champion Guillaume Chaine won his bout and gave his team a crucial point, before Laura Haberstock gave Auxerre Judo a two-victory lead by immobilizing her opponent. Despite a spectacular ippon, undoubtedly the action of the evening, Ibrahim Keita (Flam 91) only managed to reduce the gap, and Valentine Marchand sealed her Auxerre team's qualification with a victory by kinza. The final match was a mere trivial affair, with Auxerre winning 5-3 to clinch the final ticket to the Final Four.

Auxerre Judo face an immense challenge in the semi-finals, as the ogre Niçois now stands in their way. But with a full squad in place, Auxerre Judo looks set to put up fierce resistance to the reigning champions, and then some. The answer on January 18 at the Final Four 2025!