The 2012–13 Nemzeti Bajnokság I was the sixty-second edition of the top level championship in the Hungarianteam handball for women. The regular season began on 31 August 2012 and concluded on 31 March 2013, followed by the classification rounds and the playoff finals.
Defending champions Győri ETO KC won the regular season with an almost perfect performance: 21 victories on 22 games and only one draw against their rival Ferencvárosi TC,[1] last season's runners-up. This year's final also confronted Győr to Ferencváros, after both teams had easily won their semi-finals against Váci NKSE and Érd NK. Unlike last season's final, Ferencváros did not challenge the eventual champion as Győr won both legs by six and seventeen goals and so became Hungarian champion for the tenth time.
Locations of the 2011–12 Nemzeti Bajnokság I teams
Teams
This year, twelve teams competed in the championship: eleven clubs from the past season and only one promoted team from the second division, Budapest SE, the winner of the Eastern group. It was the first time that this club had played in the elite. As per the previous edition, the winner of the Western group, Mohácsi TE announced that they didn't want to be promoted. As a result, last season's eleventh placed Kiskunhalas NKSE escaped relegation and stayed in the first division.
As Hungarian champion, Győri Audi ETO KC entered the group phase of the EHF Champions League while EHF Cup Winners' Cup's winner FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria also reached the Top 16 after beating IUVENTA Michalovce in the qualification round. Third and fourth placed Siófok KC and Érdi VSE played in the EHF Cup. It was the first participation in a European Cup for either team. Finally, the runner-up and the bronze medallist of the Hungarian Cup, Váci NSKE and Békéscsabai ENKSE, competed in the EHF Cup Winners' Cup.
Teams finishing in bottom four places at the close of the regular season entered a classification round, for which a double round-robin system was used. According to their final position in the regular season, these four teams were awarded bonus points. Ninth placed Siófok got four points, tenth placed Békéscsaba received three points, eleventh placed Debrecen got two points and finally last placed BSE were awarded only one point.
Updated to match(es) played on unknown. Source: [citation needed]
Additional points that were awarded after the final positions in the regular season are indicated in the bonus points column.
Classification round 5–8
Teams finished between fifth and eight place also played a play off round. Similarly to the bottom four Classification Round, these four teams were given points depending on their final placement in the regular season.
1 Since Győri Audi ETO KC won the 2012–2013 EHF Champions League, Hungary received a supplementary spot. ÉTV-Érdi VSE were given that place and could play the qualification round for the group phase.
2 Although finishing in sixth place, Kiskunhalas NKSE withdrew from the elite.
4 Despite finishing in the relegation zone, DVSC-Fórum remained in the elite, because Mohácsi TE, winner of the Eastern Group of the second division, declined promotion to the Nemzeti Bajnokság I.
5 Because of Kiskunhals NKSE's withdrawal, Budapest SE could stay in the first division.