Europe Cup Men | 26 Mar 2021
Europe Cup set to kick start season
The Europe Cup men 2020-2021 Group Stage starts this Friday (26 March) at 14:00 CET and will be played over the weekend in Romania, Spain and Croatia. The matches will be streamed live on the ettu.tv, bringing elite table tennis to fans across Europe.
Group A will be played in Romania's Sala Sporturilor - Sports Hall where CSS-SZAK Odorheiu Secuiesc will be the host; Group B will be played in the Spanish Centre Tecnificació les Borges Blanques, home to the Asisa Borges Vall; whilst C and D will be hosted by STK STARR in Varaždin Sports Hall.
In Group A top seeded Fortune Kyiv (Ukraine) will meet hosts CSS-SZAK Odorheiu Secuiesc (Romania) and Stk Libertas Marinkolor (Croatia).
"We waited very long time to play in the Europe Cup; finally we can compete. The complete team prepared hard for the tournament. The last year's quarter-final position motivates us to show the best of us again. Of course, the goal is to qualify in the next phase of the competition, but we are aware it will be very difficult. The other teams are very good. We know what to expect from the Ukraine's team as we know them from the last season. Then, in the Group phase, we won, but I think they will try everything to avenge their defeat. The Croatian team finished their national championships in the last few years on the podium, so I am awaiting three close and fierce matches," said CSS-SZAK Odorheiu Secuiesc Team manager István GYÖRGY.
In Group B, the top seeded club Asisa Borges Vall (Spain), GDCS Juncal (Portugal), TTSC UMMC-ELEM (Russia) and ASD Marcozzi Cagliari (Italy) will compete.
"We will play the first round with our Spanish players. We hope we can reach the next phase, which is our main goal. It will be difficult since our adversaries are very strong," said Asisa Borges Vall Marketing Manager David RIU.
In Group C, in Varazdin are SK Vydrany (Slovakia), Solex-Consult Wiener Neustadt (Austria) and Universidad De Burgos - TPF (Spain).
In Croatia, hosts and top seeds STK Starr Croatia host will be joined by Pte Peac Kalo-Meh (Hungary) and Top Spin Messina (Italy).
"We are proud that we will be host of a European tournament once again. With great pleasure we will welcome players from Hungary, Austria, Slovakia, Italy and Spain. The competition will be streamed live on ettu.tv. Table tennis returns on European scene and Varaždin is a good place to be," said STARR President Ronald REDJEP.
