UEFA isn’t the only sports organization beginning a Champions League tournament this week; the Champions League Twenty20 – a cricket tournament for the top domestic teams from major cricket-playing nations – formally kicks off Wednesday in India. The qualifying stage finished Tuesday, and defending champions Mumbai Indians will not be repeating in 2014, finishing third in the preliminary round. Will Northern Districts and Lahore Lions (the two qualifiers) continue their momentum with group-stage success?

Group A features the aforementioned Lions (from Pakistan), Perth Scorchers (Australia), Dolphins (South Africa), and Indian clubs Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings. Chennai is the only one of the 10 group participants to have won the CLT20 before, so that experience will prove vital in an attempt to win a second crown. Perth reached this phase last year, but finished bottom of the group without a win. Dolphins boast a fairly young team and will want to be the team that wins South Africa’s first Champions League title. Kolkata have a wealth of internationally-known players available for this tournament, including Jacques Kallis, Sunil Narine, and captain Gautam Gambhir.

Group B features five teams from different nations: Northern Districts (New Zealand), Kings XI Punjab (India), Hobart Hurricanes (Australia), Cape Cobras (South Africa), and Barbados Tridents (West Indies). Northern and Cobras both have only home-grown players on their CLT20 rosters, although the latter has many players who’ve faced Indian T20 clubs before. Kings XI have Mitchell Johnson and Glenn Maxwell on their squad; both won with Mumbai in 2013. Hobart and Barbados are both making their first appearance in this competition (as are five other squads), but given results in previous Champions Leagues from both Australian and West Indian teams, it will be fun to see if they can progress from group play.

The top two teams from each group advance to the semifinals, with the final being played October 4th in Bangalore, India. The tournament will be streamed live in the United States on ESPN3, so if you have a slight interest in the sport, this is a great opportunity to see it in action!