The top two teams in each group then met in an elimination play-off, with the two winners proceeding to the first knockout phase.

The culmination of the season, the VELUX EHF FINAL4, continued in its existing format, with the four top teams from the competition competing for the title over one weekend in LANXESS arena, Cologne.

[3] The draw for the group stage was held on 29 June 2018 at 12:30 at the Erste Campus in Vienna, Austria.

During the group stage, only criteria 4–5 apply to determine the provisional ranking of teams.

The top two teams from Groups C and D contested a playoff to determine the two sides advancing to the knockout phase.