PLYMOUTH Gladiators have been handed a tough first-round tie in the Cab Direct Championship Knockout Cup with a clash against holders Scunthorpe Scorpions.
It is the only round-one fixture, with the other seven second-tier clubs all given byes to the quarter-finals.
The winners of Scunthorpe and Plymouth will take on Berwick Bandits in the last eight.
The Scorpions took the silverware in 2023 with a sensational performance in the Final in October to end Poole’s domination of the trophy.
The rest of the quarter-finals see the Pirates take on Edinburgh in a repeat of the 2021 Final.
Newcomers Workington – who clinched the trophy at their former Derwent Park home in 2018 – face 2019 winners Redcar, and there will be a big clash between Oxford and Glasgow, whose play-off contest last season went right down to the wire.
All ties will be raced over two legs as usual, with fixture details to follow.
KO CUP Round 1: Scunthorpe v Plymouth
KO CUP Quarter-Finals: Poole v Edinburgh, Oxford v Glasgow, Redcar v Workington, Scunthorpe/Plymouth v Berwick.
The groupings for the BSN Series competition have also been confirmed, with Plymouth once again paired with Poole and Oxford.
Scottish Group: Berwick, Edinburgh, Glasgow. Northern Group: Redcar, Scunthorpe, Workington. Southern Group: Oxford, Plymouth, Poole.