We have made it five weeks through the regular season of the 2024 European League of Football, mid-season is quickly approaching as the ELF's 12-game regular season is now in full swing. With that, being said let's take a look at where teams are in the early renderings of the playoff picture.

Currently, there are three undefeated teams left in the league as the Stuttgart Surge, Vienna Vikings, and Madrid Bravos all lead the way in their respective conferences. After that, it gets more interesting, but let's start at the top. 

Semi-Finalists:

1) Vienna Vikings (5-0)
Currently, the Vikings are the only team in the ELF with a 5-0 record, as they haven't had the luxury of a bye week yet. The five wins moves them above the Surge, who currently have played only four games. As it stands now, the Vikings would hold the top spot in the post-season as the road to the ELF Championship Game in Gelsenkirchen would go through Vienna. They would also enjoy a first-round bye week and play the next lowest-seeded team. 

2) Stuttgart Surge (4-0)

The Surge's impressive run continues as they are the top team in the Central Conference once again. The 2023 runner-ups won all four of their games this season, and have just one less win than the Vikings making them the second seed in this exercise. At this moment they would enjoy a playoff bye-week, at least one home playoff game, and play the second-lowest seed to advance. 

 

Wildcard Round:

3) Madrid Bravos (3-0)
The expansion franchise currently leads the talented Western Conference with an undefeated 3-0 record. However, with only three competitions so far, the Bravos would be the third-ranked team in the playoff picture, and have a home game in the Wildcard round against the sixth seed. If they can hold onto their grip on the Western Conference's top spot, it would be a very impressive feat, especially for their first year as an ELF team. 

4) Raiders Tirol (4-1)
Despite trotting out three quarterbacks in three weeks, the Raiders are in a good spot to make the playoffs. While they did lose to the Vikings in week two, they've responded by beating the Munich Ravens in a critical game for playoff position. They seem to have found their quarterback in N'Kosi Perry as they hope to hold on to a spot that would give them a home playoff game against the fifth seed. At this time they rank above the Rhein Fire due to point differential. 

5) Rhein Fire (4-1)

The defending champion Rhein Fire currently sit at the fifth spot in the playoff picture following their loss to the Madrid Bravos in Week 3. This week they play Madrid again in what is a huge Western Conference matchup. Since the loss two weeks ago, Jim Tomsula's squad has responded with two big road wins in Paris and Berlin, as they look to climb the playoff standings, and win the Western Conference once again. 

6) Paris Musketeers (2-1)

The Paris Musketeers sneak into the playoff picture's final spot with a 2-1 record. The talented French squad has big wins over the Hamburg Sea Devils and Frankfurt Galaxy, but they did drop a game at home to the Rhein Fire. This week they will look to bounce back against the Cologne Centurions in another Western Conference matchup.

In the hunt:

The Hamburg Sea Devils at 2-1 have the next-best record in the ELF, but lost head-to-head against Paris. They are followed by several 2-3 teams with playoff aspirations such as the Wroclaw Panthers, Berlin Thunder, Munich Ravens, Milano Seamen, Barcelona Dragons, as well as the 1-2 Frankfurt Galaxy. It is important to remember we are still two weeks from the league's halfway point, so there is a lot of football yet to be played.