Bílí Tygři Liberec trace their history back to Lokomotiva Liberec, a team created in a merger in 1956, and slowly made their way to the second-highest league in the Czech Republic. In 2000 the team was re-named Bílí Tygři or “White Tigers” in English, after the rare animal that is a famous attraction in the Liberec Zoo. Two years later, the club finally made the Czech Extraliga, where it has remained ever since. In the Extraliga, the team had two regular-season 1st place finishes in 2006 and 2007 but didn't taste playoff success until 2015-16, when they reached the finals for the first time and won the national title. The team's most famous player is native son Petr Nedvěd. Due to its geographical position, the club has a loyal fanbase not only in the northern Czech Republic, but into neighbouring Germany and Poland as well.