SUMMARY: Pytlick and Lunde named MVPs at first EHF Excellence Awards

• first edition of the EHF Excellence Awards, at Marx Halle in Vienna
• Simon Pytlick (GOG/Denmark) and Katrine Lunde (Vipers Kristiansand/Norway) are the MVPs of the 2022/23 season
• men's team of the season: LW Timur Dibirov (RUS), LB Simon Pytlick (DEN), CB Luc Steins (NED), RB Mathias Gidsel (DEN), RW Hans Lindberg (DEN), LP Ludovic Fabregas (FRA), GK Niklas Landin (DEN); defender Thiagus Petrus (BRA); rookie Domen Makuc (SLO)
• women's team of the season: LW Emma Friis (DEN), LB Cristina Neagu (ROU), CB Henny Reistad (NOR), RB Nora Mørk (NOR) & Ana Gros (SLO), RW Angela Malestein (NED), LP Vilde Ingstad (NOR), GK Katrine Lunde (NOR); defender Kathrine Heindahl (DEN); rookie Pauletta Foppa (FRA)
• Asun Batista (ESP) and Gabriel Conceição (POR) are beach handball's MVPs 
• 60 legends of the game have been inducted to the first Hall of Fame of European handball 
• Eric Willemsen reported from Vienna; all photos © by kolektiff images

22:30

That brings our live blog coverage of the inaugural EHF Excellence Awards to an end. Stars from present and past have shone in Vienna tonight, putting handball in the spotlights at the end of the enthralling 2022/23 season.

With Simon Pytlick and Katrine Lunde named the MVPs, we can say the past season has had a strong Nordic flavour. We will have a feature story on this MVP duo on eurohandball.com on Tuesday. And while the 2022/23 season has just come to an end, tomorrow at 11:00 CEST is the draw for the group phase of the EHF Champions League 2023/24 in both the women's and the men's competition, so you don't want to miss that one.

Thanks for joining us on the live blog for the inaugural EHF Excellence Awards. From me, it is gute Nacht aus Wien and I leave you with some of the best pictures of the gala night – which I feel is not completely over yet... – here at Marx Halle in Vienna.

21:47

So, let's hear again from Simon Pytlick! After picking up his best left back award, he returns to the stage for the biggest prize of the night: he is the MVP of the 2022/23 season.

21:38

One more time: And the winners are... Katrine Lunde and Simon Pytlick are the Most Valuable Players of European handball in the 2022/23 season!

21:26

So, what a great who-is-who in handball have we seen so far! And only one category still to come: who were the two best players overall?

Let's find out our male and female MVPs soon...

Meanwhile, here are the feature stories about both 'Teams of the Season' from EHF journalist Adrian Costeiu:

21:22

Now, let's switch to beach handball for a moment.

The MVPs of the 2022/23 season are the same players who have been named MVP at the EHF Beach Handball EURO 2023 last month... Spanish legend Asun Batista and Portuguese youngster Gabriel Conceição!

How would you describe beach handball in one word, Anja Althaus asks.

"My life," Asun Batista says, and that is the truth.

21:21

That completes our teams of the season, women: 

• Left wing: Emma Friis – DEN / Ikast Handbold
• Left back: Cristina Neagu – ROU / CSM Bucuresti
• Centre back: Henny Reistad – NOR / Team Esbjerg
• Right back: Nora Mørk – NOR / Team Esbjerg 
• Right back: Ana Gros – SLO / Györi Audi ETO KC
• Right wing: Angela Malestein – NED / FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria
• Line player: Vilde Ingstad – NOR / Team Esbjerg
• MVP & Goalkeeper: Katrine Lunde – NOR / Vipers Kristiansand
• Defender: Kathrine Heindahl – DEN / Team Esbjerg 

Men:

• Left wing: Timur Dibirov – RUS / HC PPD Zagreb
• MVP & Left back: Simon Pytlick – DEN / GOG
• Centre back: Luc Steins – NED / Paris Saint-Germain Handball
• Right back: Mathias Gidsel – DEN / Füchse Berlin
• Right wing: Hans Lindberg – DEN / Füchse Berlin
• Line player: Ludovic Fabregas – FRA / Barça
• Goalkeeper: Niklas Landin – DEN / THW Kiel
• Defender: Thiagus Petrus – BRA / Barça

21:19

The stars of the future? Our rookies of the season are Brest Bretagne Handball's Pauletta Foppa and Barça's Domen Makuc. Congrats both!

21:15

Best defenders? Kathrine Heindahl and Tiagus Petrus!

"If the coach thinks I have to play just in defence, I play defence. If any moment he thinks I have to play in attack, I go there and score the goals," says Tiagus Petrus, who used to play in attack but is a key defender for Barça nowadays.

21:06

Who has done best between the posts? Katrine Lunde and Niklas Landin are the best goalkeepers of the past season!

"It was an incredible season," says Niklas Landin, who is set to move back from Germany to Denmark this summer. "It was a lot of fun and I am extremely proud."

20:59

The standout line players of 2022/23 have been Vilde Ingstad and Ludovic Fabregas!

"I feel very happy and proud for getting this award," says Ingstad per video message.

20:56

"I am just standing in the corner, relaxing. It is not so hard!"

Füchse Berlin right wing Hans Lindberg explains how he can still be the best in his position at age 41.

20:52

The best on the right wing are... Angela Malestein and Hans Lindberg!

20:49

Right backs... we have three! Two winners on the women's side as Nora Mørk and Ana Gros end on the exactly same amount of votes, and one winner on the men's side, Mathias Gidsel.

Ana Gros says "it is an amazing honour and I have to thank both my teams: Slovenia and Györ," adding she is "proud and happy" with the award and sees it as an additional "push" for the near future.

Watch out for Gros next season again!

20:42

On to the centre backs: Luc Steins and Henny Reistad receiving the honours for this position.

"I am really honoured to receive this award. It was a tough season with a lot of ups and downs," says Luc Steins, who is not present tonight but has sent a video message.

20:38

Cristina Neagu and Simon Pytlick are our best left backs of the 2022/23 season.

"It was a big honour to be part of the Danish team at such young age. That was a great feeling," Pytlick tells Victor Tomás in the on-stage interview.

20:30

And the winners are...

The awarding of the best players of the 2022/23 is starting right now!

We start with the left wings... Emma Friis and Timur Diborov are the first. Congrats!

19:48

Here you go, the full list of 60 legends, who have now been officially added to the Hall of Fame. Congrats and deserved!

19:34

So many legends of the game earning their place in the Hall of Fame! 60 of them in total, and many actually attending this gala in Vienna tonight. We will publish the full list here as soon as they have all been mentioned.

To give you a feeling of this gala night, here are some first impressions:

19:14

The night starts with a blast from the past: the first Hall of Fame of European handball is introduced and 60 legends of our game earn their place in this select group of all-time greats.

The first name to be called... Stefan Kretzschmar. Not a bad choice!

19:09

The newly introduced EHF Excellence Awards are all about the European handball community, EHF President Michael Wiederer points out in his opening words. How true!

19:05

"Moments that last" says one of the big screens on stage. That is exactly what tonight is about: honour and remember the many stars that shaped the face of our sport in the 2022/23 season, or in the past, in the case of our legends.

The ceremony starts any moment now. Enjoy!

18:55

The clock is ticking... the gala is starting in a few minutes as many guests – wearing robes, dresses, and suits instead of jerseys and shorts tonight – are looking to find their table in this stunning setting of Marx Halle in Vienna.

So many well-known faces of the sport gathered in one room, have we ever had that before?!

18:34

Hungarian great Laszlo Nagy has just called the EHF Excellence Awards "the Oscars of handball". We won't argue with that.

18:19

The build-up to this inaugural gala is in full flow (catch the livestream on YouTube), with one of our moderators (and former star player, herself!) Anja Althaus conducting backstage interviews, like here with FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria's Dutch right wing Angela Malestein.

18:11

We are starting with the gala here in Vienna at 19:00 CEST. So, what exactly are we going to witness tonight?

The EHF Excellence Awards – for both men and women – honour the best players in each position: goalkeeper, left wing, left back, centre back, right back, right wing, and line player, plus best defender and rookie of the season.

From the seven playing positions and the best defender a season MVP, the Player of the Year, will be selected.

The best beach handball athletes receive a dedicated award, ensuring an additional aspect of European handball is covered as well.

But... before we award the best players from 2022/23, we will take you back into the rich history of handball, announcing 60 legends of the game who will be inducted to the all-new Hall of Fame.

18:00

Good evening from Marx Halle in summer-like Vienna. All day the sun has been shining here in Austria's capital, but in the evening the stars will be shining – the stars of handball!

It is the gala night of the inaugural EHF Excellence Awards as the European Handball Federation crowns for the first time the season's best players.

So, get dressed up and join us here on the live blog as we guide you through this exciting off-court handball night. We are live on YouTube (embedded on top of this blog) and Twitch.