The tournament begins with Joventut challenging the host Valencia Basket, the second betting favorite. Joventut aims to break the host curse, which has seen only 2 wins in 33 recent editions, with the last victory occurring 24 years ago.
Following this matchup, the top favorite Real Madrid will face defending champion Unicaja, who has been the dominant force in recent Copa del Rey tournaments with titles in 2025 and 2023.