The Channel One Cup (Russian: Кубок Первого канала, formerly Izvestia Trophy) is an annual ice hockey event held in Russia under the auspices of Channel One. It is an open tournament typically composed of various national teams.
The tournament started in 1967 in Moscow in the Soviet Union. The first edition of the tournament was held in 1967, in honour of the 50th anniversary of the October Revolution. It was the only time when the tournament was held in different cities at one time, namely in Moscow, Leningrad, and Voskresensk. Six teams participated in that tournament; two Soviet teams, two Czechoslovakian teams, a Canadian team, and a Polish team. Sweden and West Germany declined the invitation.[1]
The tournament is played in December every year, with the exception of 1974 and 1975 when its matches were spread out during the season. In 1992, the tournament was played in Saint Petersburg, and as of 2000[update] some of its matches have been played in other European countries of the participating teams. During the 1970s and 1980s, the cup was often commonly referred to as "The Little World Championships". From 1996 to 2022 it was part of the Euro Hockey Tour.
In 2022, due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the tournament was removed from the Euro Hockey Tour.[2] To replace the countries that had pulled out, Kazakhstan and Belarus made their tournament debuts, alongside a second Russian team of players under 25.[3]
The name of the tournament has changed several times during its history:
Final standings in each event are determined in a round-robin tournament. If teams are tied in points, the standing is determined by the result of the game between the tied teams.