Traditionally, the four best cup teams meet at the beginning of January to play for the first national title of the season in table tennis. Borussia Düsseldorf is almost always there – but this year the ensemble is missing. Borussia’s absence means there will be a new winner on Saturday for the third year in a row.
The local TTC Neu-Ulm triumphed in 2023, and last season the Düsseldorf team won the final 3-0 against 1. FC Saarbrücken. He will be there again alongside Ochsenhausen, Bad Homburg and Bremen. It’s hard to identify a favorite among the four teams – but Ochsenhausen and Saabrücken have a slight advantage in terms of squad strength.
Bremen can annoy Saarbrücken
Saarbrücken supposedly has the best squad. After all, the number ten in the world, Patrick Franziska, and the eleven, Darko Jorgic, play for the Saarland team. They are the guarantee of success at 1. FC Saarbrücken and were already involved in the cup successes in 2021 and 2022. In the quarter-finals there was a clear 3-0 win against second division team Cologne.
In the semi-finals, Saarbrücken will now face Werder Bremen. The North Germans also have a well-rehearsed team. The Swede Mattias Falck, Kirill Gerassimenko and Marcelo Aguirre have been traveling together on the Weser since 2019. And the trio is not unknown to Saarbrücken: Back in September, Werder beat Saarbrücken 3-2 in an exciting Bundesliga game.
Bad Homburg’s trump card is Karlsson
Falck and Gerassimenko, like Franziska and Jorgic on the other side, belong to the top ranks of the world elite. Falck, for example, was already runner-up in singles and won gold in doubles at the 2021 World Cup. The semi-finals should therefore offer high-class table tennis.
Kristian Karlsson (l.) and Mattias Falck celebrate the 2021 World Cup title
The second semi-final also tells exciting stories – for example that of Kristian Karlsson, who won the gold medal at the World Cup together with Falck in 2021. Karlsson is now chasing balls for TTC OE Bad Homburg and is the undisputed leading player there.
Local hero Ochsenhausen has his sights set on winning the title
Karlsson was the match winner with two individual wins in the 3-2 win in the quarter-finals against TSV Bad Königshofen. The team is completed by Yuma Tsuboi, Csaba Andras and Benno Oehme. The opponent for Bad Homburg in the semi-finals was tough: local hero TTF Ochsenhausen had the cup triumph as a clear goal. With Hugo Calderano (4), Shunsuke Togami (21) and Simon Gauzy (37), the squad is very strong with three top 40 players.
“We are at home in the region, so participating in the Final Four every season is one of our biggest goals”said TTF President Kristijan Pejinovic. The TTF last won the final in 2019. Now there should be another triumph: “The opportunity is definitely there”explained Pejinovic. A summary of the final tournament can be found in the sports show on Saturday as part of the winter sports broadcast.