HB Ostrov z.s. and ASD TT Santa Tecla Nulvi secured the two Group A places in Stage 2 of the 2026/27 HYLO ETTU Champions League Men after an eventful final round in Lille. Ostrov completed the group with a perfect record after beating STK Starr Croatia 3-1, while Santa Tecla came through a dramatic five-match contest against STK Vyhne to win 3-2 and claim the other qualifying position.
See photos by Remi GROS here
Ostrov entered the final day as the only unbeaten team in the group after victories over Santa Tecla and Vyhne, and made it three wins from three despite Starr Croatia taking the opening point.
Liang QIU gave the Croatian side the lead with a 3-1 victory over Tomas POLANSKY, but Ostrov quickly responded. Tomas TREGLER beat Riyan DUTTA in straight games before Pavel SIRUCEK did the same against Ante KOLAK.
QIU returned to face TREGLER and came close to keeping Starr Croatia in the contest. The match went all the way to the fifth game, where TREGLER prevailed by the narrowest margin, 6-5, to complete Ostrov’s 3-1 victory and perfect Group A record.
The battle between STK Vyhne and ASD TT Santa Tecla Nulvi was effectively a direct fight for the remaining place in Stage 2, and it went down to the final match.
Adam KLAJBER put Vyhne ahead after a five-game battle with Jordy PICCOLIN, winning the decider 6-3. Tommaso GIOVANNETTI responded for Santa Tecla with a 3-1 victory over Dmitrij PROKOPCOV.
Jakub GOLDIR restored Vyhne’s advantage by edging Tomas KOLDAS in another five-game contest, taking the decider 6-5. Once again, however, GIOVANNETTI brought Santa Tecla back. His straight-games victory over KLAJBER made it 2-2 and left everything to PROKOPCOV and PICCOLIN.
PROKOPCOV twice moved ahead, including taking a dramatic third game 16-14, but PICCOLIN refused to let the opportunity slip away. He won the fourth 11-3 and then raced through the deciding game 6-3 to give Santa Tecla a 3-2 victory and a place in Stage 2.
HB Ostrov finishes Group A with three victories from three matches, while Santa Tecla takes second place with two wins. STK Vyhne finishes with one victory and STK Starr Croatia without a win.
In Group B, SF SKK El Nino Praha and Roskilde Bordtennis BTK 61 secured the two places in Stage 2. El Nino completed the group with a perfect record after beating CSS-SZAK Odorheiu Secuiesc 3-0, while Roskilde claimed the other qualifying position with a 3-0 victory over CTT Olot.
El Nino entered the final day with two wins from two matches and completed their perfect run without dropping a match against Odorheiu Secuiesc.
Yevhen PRYSHCHEPA opened with a straight-games victory over Sebastian LOSO, before Martin SIP had to dig much deeper against Szabolcs TAMAS. TAMAS won the opening two games 11-9 and 12-10 and was within sight of putting the Romanian side on the board, but SIP fought back. He took the next two 11-9, 11-9 and then edged the decider 6-5.
Tomas KONECNY completed the victory in convincing fashion, beating Elias-Mate SIMO 3-0 to give El Nino their third win of the weekend.
The other match was a direct battle for the second qualifying place, with Roskilde and CTT Olot both entering the final round with one victory.
Anders ERIKSSON put the Danish side ahead with a straight-games win over Rafael DE LAS HERAS, closing a tight third game 12-10.
Jens LUNDQVIST followed with a 3-1 victory against Damien Rolland PROVOST. The Olot player kept the contest alive by taking the third game 12-10, but LUNDQVIST responded 11-9 in the fourth.
Miguel PANTOJA then pushed Tobias RASMUSSEN all the way in the third encounter. They traded games throughout before RASMUSSEN pulled away in the decider, winning 6-3 to complete Roskilde’s 3-0 victory and secure their place in Stage 2.
El Nino Praha finishes Group B on top with three victories from three matches, followed by Roskilde with two wins. CTT Olot finishes with one victory, while Odorheiu Secuiesc ends Stage 1 without a win.
