Championship (Top Division)
Sixteen teams comprise Top Division, with the bottom two teams relegating to Division I for the following year. [1]
- Final standings
The 2008 Men's Ice Hockey World Championships was the 72nd such event hosted by the International Ice Hockey Federation. Teams representing 48 countries participated in four levels of competition. The competition also served as qualification for division placements in the 2009 competition. Russia won the Top Division tournament and became the world champions. In the Division I Championship held in April, Austria and Hungary were promoted to the Championship division, while South Korea and Estonia were demoted to Division II. In the Division II competition, Romania and Australia were promoted, Ireland and New Zealand were relegated to Division III. Greece won the Division III qualification in February, and competed in the Division III competition from March to April. In that competition, North Korea and South Africa were promoted to Division II for 2009.
Sixteen teams comprise Top Division, with the bottom two teams relegating to Division I for the following year. [1]
Twelve teams comprise Division I. They are broken into two groups, with the winner of each group gaining promotion to the World Championship pool for the following year. [2] [3]
Group A
Austria — promoted to Championship pool for 2009
Kazakhstan 
Poland 
Great Britain 
Netherlands 
South Korea — relegated to Division II for 2009Group B
Twelve teams comprise Division II. They are also broken into two groups competing to advance into Division I. [4] [5]
Group A
Romania — promoted to Division I for 2010
Belgium 
Serbia 
Israel 
Bulgaria 
Ireland — relegated to Division III for 2010Group B
Three teams comprised the Division III Qualification with the winning team advanced to the 2008 Division III main tournament. The main tournament of the Division III is made up of six teams. The top two teams are promoted to Division II for the following year. [6] [7]
Qualification tournament
Greece — qualified for the main tournament
Bosnia and Herzegovina 
Armenia Main tournament
North Korea — promoted to Division II for 2009
South Africa — promoted to Division II for 2009
Luxembourg 
Turkey Greece 
Mongolia The 2005 Men's Ice Hockey Championships were held March 7 – May 15, 2005, in 7 cities in 6 countries: Vienna and Innsbruck, Austria (Championship); Debrecen, Hungary ; Eindhoven, the Netherlands ; Zagreb, Croatia ; Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro ; Mexico City, Mexico. The competition also served as qualification for division placements in the 2006 competition. It was a major professional tournament, because of the 2004–05 NHL labor dispute. This international event was the 69th such event sanctioned by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). The championship was won by the Czech Republic.
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