The 2026/27 HYLO ETTU Champions League Men continued in Lille on Saturday, with the second day of Stage 1 beginning to shape the race for the eight places available in Stage 2.
After Friday’s opening round, two clubs in each of the four groups had one victory. In Group A, HB Ostrov z.s. defeated ASD TT Santa Tecla Nulvi 3-1, while STK Vyhne started with a 3-0 win over STK Starr Croatia. Saturday therefore opened with Ostrov and Vyhne meeting with perfect records, while Starr Croatia and Santa Tecla were both looking for their first victory.
HB Ostrov emerged from the meeting of Friday’s winners with an impressive 3-0 victory over STK Vyhne, making it two wins from two for the Czech side.
Pavel SIRUCEK opened with a straight-games victory over Adam KLAJBER, winning 11-5, 11-8, 11-9. Vladislav URSU followed against Jakub GOLDIR and also needed only three games. GOLDIR pushed him hardest in the third, but URSU closed it 12-10.
Tomas POLANSKY completed Ostrov’s victory against Dmitrij PROKOPCOV. After POLANSKY won the opening two games, PROKOPCOV responded by taking the third 11-9. The Czech player regained control in the fourth, winning 11-7 to complete the 3-0 team success.
The other Group A match could hardly have been closer, with ASD TT Santa Tecla Nulvi edging STK Starr Croatia 3-2 to claim its first victory.
Liang QIU gave Starr Croatia the opening point after a remarkable comeback against Gabrielius CAMARA. Two games down, QIU fought back to force a decider and eventually won it 6-5.
Jia ZENG then extended the Croatian side’s lead with a 3-1 victory over Jordy PICCOLIN, leaving Santa Tecla facing a difficult task.
Tomas KOLDAS started the comeback. He overcame Ronald REDJEP in straight games, although all three were closely fought, before PICCOLIN returned to the table against QIU.
That contest developed into another five-game battle. QIU twice moved ahead, but PICCOLIN twice responded before taking the deciding game 6-5 to level the team score at 2-2.
The decision was left to Tommaso GIOVANNETTI and ZENG. GIOVANNETTI won the opening two games before ZENG kept Starr’s hopes alive by taking the third. The Italian responded in the fourth, winning 11-8 to complete Santa Tecla’s comeback and secure the 3-2 victory.
After two rounds, HB Ostrov leads Group A with two victories, while STK Vyhne and ASD TT Santa Tecla Nulvi have one win each. STK Starr Croatia remains without a victory ahead of Sunday’s final round.
