The five teams in the Challenge de France each played two matches on this opening matchday. The first surprise? Each team won one and lost the other. Perfect equality on this opening day, defying expectations based on the regular season results.
Under the watchful eye of French Federation President Thierry Raphet, the live streams on swislive—better for tracking scores than actually watching the games (not to mention Facebook’s frequent outages)—still gave some insight into the forces clashing in this tournament.
The first surprise—and it’s a big one—came from Pessac, who narrowly edged out St. Raphael’s Comanches 6-5 in the morning. Then, in another upset, Grenoble’s Grizzlys held the Rabbits to a 4-2 scoreline.
Later, Pessac crumbled in their second match against the Rabbits, losing heavily 16-5. The Pharaonnes then took the field, defeating Grenoble before falling to the Comanches in a lopsided contest.
If there’s one lesson from this matchday, it’s that nothing is certain. Only those with deep knowledge of the rosters—especially which pitchers are in top form—could dare predict tomorrow’s results.
Today’s match
Photo: Glenn Gervot
