The Preliminary Round ended on Thursday, and 12 teams move on to the Qualification Round, while four teams play to avoid relegation.

The three top teams of each Preliminary Round group advanced to the Qualification Round. Group E in Cologne consists of the teams from Groups A and D. Group F in Mannheim consists of teams from Groups B and C. The head-to-head games of the top three teams in each Preliminary Round group count toward the Qualification Round standings, and each squad plays the three teams that are joining from the other Preliminary Round group in the same venue.

The current standings:

Group E:
1. Russia 6
2. Denmark 3
3. Germany 3
4. Slovakia 3
5. Finland 3
6. Belarus 0

Group F:
1. Switzerland 6
2. Canada 3
3. Sweden 3
4. Czech Republic 3
5. Norway 3
6. Latvia 0

The Qualification Round opens on Friday. In Cologne, it features Slovakia-Denmark (Friday 16:15), Finland-Belarus (Friday 20:15) and Russia-Germany (Saturday 20:15). The Mannheim games are Canada-Norway (Friday 16:15), Sweden-Latvia (Friday 20:15) and Switzerland-Czech Republic (Saturday 20:15).

France, Italy, Kazakhstan and the United States play in the round-robin Relegation Round. The two bottom-ranked teams will be relegated to Division I next year. Austria and Slovenia are the teams that have been promoted from Division I to the 2011 IIHF World Championship in Slovakia.

Get your tickets before others get them. Tickets are still available also for the Germany games in Cologne. Tickets can be bought online, by phone or at the ticket shops at the arenas.

Ticket information: English / Deutsch

Hospitality packages: English / Deutsch

Click here for the full schedule.

Click here for more information about the format.