The 2025/26 season of the ETTU Champions League Men is about to begin, and the title defence by 1. FC Saarbrücken TT headlines what promises to be another spectacular campaign. The complete team rosters can be found here.
Reigning Champions with a Star-Packed Line-Up
The German club returns as the top seed after lifting the trophy for the past three seasons. Now, 1. FC Saarbrücken TT come back even more powerful—with a squad that reads like a who’s who of global table tennis. Saarbrücken has added one of the sport’s biggest names: FAN Zhendong, the reigning Olympic and World Champion, who boasts three Olympic and nine World Championship gold medals.
Completing the team are Europe’s No. 1, Sweden’s charismatic Truls MOREGÅRD, No. 4 Darko JORGIC of Slovenia, and Germany’s own Patrick FRANZISKA (No. 6 in Europe). Romanian talent Eduard IONESCU and Japanese defender Yuto MURAMATSU round out what is arguably the strongest roster in European club competition.
Borussia Düsseldorf, the six-time Champions League winners and six-time Europe Cup of Champions titleholders, return as the No. 2 seed—this time without Timo BOLL. After missing out in the last three finals, they are back with a proven trio: Dang QIU (Europe’s No. 8), Anton KÄLLBERG (Europe’s No. 7), and American Kanak JHA. Borussia remains one of the most decorated and consistent teams in the competition’s history.
Top Contenders Across the Board
KS Dartom Bogoria Mazowiecki (Poland), last year’s HYLO Champions League Final 4 semi-finalists, are led by Milosz REDZIMSKI (ER 18), Panagiotis GIONIS (ER 36), and Marek BADOWSKI.
Just one place lower in the seedings, KS Dekorglass Działdowo, 2025 quarter-finalists, boost Poland’s presence. Their line-up includes Croatia’s Tomislav PUCAR (ER 17), China’s Yingchao HOU, and Poland’s Samuel KULCZYCKI and Jakub DYJAS.
Austria’s SolexConsult TTC Wiener Neustadt, seeded No. 5, feature Romania’s Andrei ISTRATE (ER 54), alongside Slovenia’s Peter HRIBAR, Iran’s Navid SHAMS, and Japan’s Shunsuke OKANO.
Another HYLO Champions League Final 4 semi-finalist, KS Bank Spółdzielczy Orlicz 1924 Suchedniów, counts on Deni KOZUL (ER 28) and Mateusz ZALEWSKI (ER 109), with reinforcements from Korea’s Seungmin CHO (WR 69) and Japan’s Kazuhiro YOSHIMURA (WR 103).
GV Hennebont TT (France), seeded No. 7, bring a strong international lineup including Simon GAUZY (ER 16), Yuanyu CHEN (WR 19), Rubio WEN (WR 35), and Qihao ZHOU (WR 40).
HB Ostrov (Czechia), last season’s ETTU Europe Cup Men winners, are seeded No. 8 with Australia’s Fin LUU (WR 44), Vladislav URSU (ER 47), and Pavel SIRUCEK (ER 76).
AS Pontoise CERGY TT (France) leads with Liam PITCHFORD (ER 19), supported by Quadri ARUNA and Czechia’s Tomas POLANSKY.
Post SV Mühlhausen (Germany), seeded No. 10, field Marcos FREITAS (ER 12), Ovidiu IONESCU (ER 30), and Gaoyuan LIN (WR 26), bringing world-class depth.
SPG Felbemayr Wels (Austria), seeded No. 11, are led by Maciej KOLODZIEJCZYK (ER 74) and Felix WETZEL (ER 197).
SF SKK El Nino Praha, seeded No. 12, feature Yevhen PRYSHCHEPA (ER 152).
Alliance Nîmes/Montpellier TT, seeded No. 13, are guaranteed to attract attention with the explosive LEBRUN brothers, Félix (ER 2) and Alexis ER 3), spearheading their campaign.
24 Clubs, One Title – The Race Begins
A total of 24 clubs will compete in the 2025/26 ETTU Champions League Men. The action begins from 29 to 31 August 2025, with Stage 1 hosted in Novi Sad, Serbia, alongside the Women’s Champions League. You can see the Stage 1 draw [here].
Stage 1, features four groups of four clubs each, seeded from position 9 onward. The top eight seeded clubs are directly qualified for the Round of 16. The top two teams from each Stage 1 group will progress to the Round of 16, joining the eight top seeds.
From that point, the Champions League Men will follow a knock-out system with two-legged ties in the Round of 16 and quarterfinals. The four winners will advance to the Final 4.
With Olympic champion, World Top 10 players, rising stars, and Europe’s elite clubs in action, the 2025/26 season is shaping up to be one of the most competitive in recent memory. From the opening match to the final showdown, fans can expect high-level drama, intensity, and pure table tennis excellence.
