Kiel blitz Loewen

Kiel blitzed their fellow German opponents in the first half at the Sparkassen Arena, going into the break 20-8 ahead, and the visitors never recovered from that onslaught.

The result means that Kiel - winners in 2007 and finalists in each of the past three seasons – are odds on for a rematch with last year's final opponents, Ciudad Real, who hold a one-goal aggregate advantage over Hamburg in their semi-final.

The second leg of the all-German semi-final will be on April 30, with Hamburg travelling to Spain to days later.