CVSE-Swietelsky JUFA HOTELS I. – The Chances In The Final are 50-50%   Since the Extraliga playoffs were organized as the Final Four three of the five tournaments were won by Celldömölk in men’s category. Now they are again the club with the greatest odds to win the gold medal. In the regular season they only suffered once against Pécs (5:2) while they won all the other 13 matches.   “The boys are preparing since the start of June in full power. Before that they tried to stay in shape at home ” described the status of the players Tibor LÓRÁNTFY the leader of CVSE who thinks that despite the long time without playing table tennis they will be ready. “As I see it three weeks are still not enough but after four weeks of preparation they should be on the same level as they were before the break.”   In Celldömölk they calculate as follows: in the semi-final against Szécsény they should stop János JAKAB somehow if they can do that there will be no other difficulties. In the final they expect to meet PEAC against whom they will have a 50-50% chance for the final victory.   PTE-PEAC KALO-MÉH I. – We will leave 2nd place to someone else   In 2017 at Szigetszentmiklós Pécs clinched the championship title but in the other four Final Four events they could only achieve the silver medal. We could reach Pongrác Ács and his perspectives are clear.   “I would say that the pairings in men’s category are fair the teams that had to come together came together. I beleive that we can play in the final but this time we would leave the second place for another team. We were mostly worried about how Zsolt PETŐ will enter the country without having to stay in quarantine for two weeks but this seems to be solved now” – told the executive chairman of PTE-PEAC.   Due to epidemiological restrictions only 12 people from each team will be able to be present in the Ormai Hall which according to Ács PONGRÁC is not enough for them. On the other hand as a relatively older team it may be to their advantage that the match lasts only until one of the parties wins their fourth game so they do not necessarily have to play every match.   HED-LAND SPORTCSARNOK SE – Without The Pressure   The members of the team of Mezőberény have started their preparation three weeks ago. Péter SEBESTYÉN could play against his father at home while Viktor VAJDA and Krisztián SZABÓ practiced together.   “All results are good for us it is a great thing that we could again get into the Final Four ” said Zoltán JÁMBOR team manager and pointed out that they will be able to play at the season closing event without the pressure of winning. “In the regular part of the season we played against Szécsény twice they won in our hall and we won on their court. Practically anything is possible as most probably we will meet them in the match for the third place.”   SZERVA ASE I. – Believe in win   In Szécsény table tennis does not have a great history but the results of recent years and the great players who joined the team aroused the interest of the local people; moreover even people from other counties attend the matches of SZERVA ASE. A whole bus of our spectators would like travel to the Final Four but as only 12 people per team are permitted in the hall they had to give up on that.   The most important however is that the players are well according to István SALAMON the leader of the team.” We are talking about professional players who can also get in shape after a longer break until the end of June. The three players based in the capital city are training there while Péter INGEMAR is practicing at Nyitra.”   “We would be happier if we could meet Pécs in the semi-final as we beat them once at home when Zoli BÁTORFI won twice ” said István SALAMON. “Obviously I know that Celldömölk is more likely to get in the final but in the new system anything can happen we are trusting in courage.”     SCHEDULE OF THE EXTRALIGA FINAL FOUR 28th June Sunday 11.00 Women semi-finals: SH-ITB Budaörs 2i SC–Kecskeméti Spartacus Sportkör és Közösségi Tér Budapesti Erdért SE–Statisztika PSC I. 15.00 Men semi-finals: PTE PEAC Kalo-Méh I.–HED-LAND Sportcsarnok SE Mezőberény CVSE Swietelsky Jufa Hotels I.–Szerva ASE Szécsény I. 29th June Monday 11.00 Women final and match for the third place 15.00 Men final and match for the third place Each match of the Final Four ends with the fourth won set of one team so the end result can be either 4:0 4:1 4:2 and 4:3. The last round of the single matches will not be held so after the doubles each player will play a maximum of two matches. In addition to the glory and medals the participating teams can also compete for a prestigious prize money.    

Women’s Masters on 4-5 July   Bastian STEGER is the winner of the fourth Duesseldorf Masters. The number 125 in the World defeated Dang QIU in the final in a German duel 11:9 in the seventh and decisive set. The fifth edition will be held from 10 to 12 July after a one-week interruption. But on the first weekend of July there will also be world class table tennis. Then a top-class ladies’ field will reach out for its first Masters winner. The tournament will be broadcast live on Sportdeutschland.TV Borussia-TV and on tischtennis.de   The exciting final in seven high class games set a worthy conclusion behind the fourth Masters at the Arag CenterCourt. Although the 23-year-old penholder player Dang QIU took the lead 2-0 and 3-2 by games his 16-year-older national team colleague Bastian STEGER fought back. And as he did already in the semi-final against Benedikt Duda in the morning the experienced player showed very strong nerves in the final phase of the match. Steger was unimpressed by creating an unforced service error at his 9-8 lead in the deciding game and broke the service of the Portugal Open winner twice for winning the next 2 points and the match.   In his first Masters appearance STEGER scored three consecutive victories over higher-ranked adversaries despite a long break from competition with victories over QIU (world ranking 52) DUDA (WR 39) and the Kanak JHA (WR 27). The tournament winner was satisfied with himself but also praised the opponents.    “It was a close game. In the end it was only two balls that tipped the scales just like against Bene. Everyone played extremely well today. We train together every day. There are hardly any secrets left. At this Masters the happier ending was on my side.”   Not happy with his outcome was Dang Qiu who after his 4-1 defeat by Dimitrij OVTCHAROV two weeks ago also had to accept a defeat in the final this time.    “We may both be tired and perhaps not as fresh as one might wish in such a situation. But it was a good match it was very exciting. I’m very disappointed that I couldn’t take the chance because I was obviously hoping to win the tournament today. But of course congratulations to Basti.”   In the semi finals Germany’s aces offered world class performances. First Bastian STEGER lost against the world number 39 Benedikt DUDA a 3-1 lead and two direct opportunities for a clear 4-1 win but a little later the Bad Koenigshofener who is ranked 125th in the world had a match point against himself in the deciding game at 9-10. However three points in a row secured the two-time European Championship bronze medallist a place in the final in an exchange of breathtaking rallys. Steger took a deep breath after the narrow victory.    “It was really close. But I could have done it a bit earlier when I had two match points at 3-1.”   Duda was not entirely unhappy despite his defeat: “It was a bit unfortunate that I lost the fourth game after leading 7-2. But it was a good match. Basti played really well. He deserved to win.”   The second preliminary-round match also took a changeable course but in the end it was still a clear winner. After leading rapidly 3-0 Gruenwettersbach’s Dang QIU was unable to prevent the Muehlhausener coming up to 2-3 but Qiu clearly dominated the subsequent sixth game as he had done in the beginning of the match.   Dang QIU said afterwards: “Steffen has played really well all the weeks but had a bad start today. I was lucky that I could win the first three games so quickly”. Steffen Mengel was disappointed: “I can’t explain it to myself. I am actually in a good shape but I had a complete bad start. Nevertheless I tried to fight my way back into the match. But today I had too many fluctuations and left many good balls behind. So I deserved to lose.”   On Tuesday STEGER and MENGEL had already ensured in the quarter finals that the final race for the tournament victory would be a purely German affair. Bastian STEGER eliminated the top-seeded World Rankings-27 Kanak JHA (USA) Steffen MENGEL did the same against the world number 38 the Egyptian Omar ASSAR who had reached the final last week. But also the 19-year-old talent Fanbo MENG (Fulda) who in the round of sixteen triumphed over Alberto MINO (Ecuador) who is ranked 76th in the ITTF ranking made a step into the limelight.   After four tournaments Dimitrij OVTCHAROV leads the overall ranking with 110 points as in the previous week. He is followed by Dang QIU who improved to 100 points when he reached the final. Third in the standings is Steffen MENGEL who now has 60 points. Equally ranked fourth are premiere winner Timo BOLL the new tournament winner Bastian STEGER Kanak JHA and Omar ASSAR with 50 points each.   The Duesseldorf Masters organized by Borussia Düsseldorf with the support of the German Table Tennis Federation is held almost weekly from June to August at the ARAG CenterCourt in a knockout system with up to 16 world-class players and is intended to shorten the break in competition caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. The series will conclude with a final tournament with eight professionals for which five athletes will qualify by scoring points and three will receive a wildcard.   After four tournaments in a row the men will take a break next week but the ladies will enter the Duesseldorf Masters at the ARAG CenterCourt. On Saturday and Sunday (4-5 July) as in the men’s event a field of sixteen players will be mixing world-class-players with hopeful talents on its way to the top. With the world number 25 Han Ying the German champion Nina Mittelham (WR 39) Shan Xiaona (WR 43) the Slovakian Barbora Balazova (WR 54) and the Luxembourgian Sarah

Belgium kicks start with have the first competition after long break from mid march. Since yesterday 12 players are on duty at the Table Tennis Masters in Blegny.   There were 4 groups of 3 players. The winners and runners-up were qualified for the quarterfinal.   The results of the quarterfinal :   Florent LAMBIET vs David CMELIAU 4/1 Florian CNUDDE vs Olav KOSOLOSKY 4/0 Adrien RASSENFOSSE vs Louis LAFFINEUR 4/1 Martin ALLEGRO vas Alessi MASSART 4/0   You can follow the SF live streaming here   The Final will be at 17 :00.

The second day of the fourth edition of the Duesseldorf Masters was all about the German stars. The experienced players Bastian STEGER and Steffen MENGEL made it to the all German semi-final. They succeeded against the top seeded aces Kanak JHA (USA) and Omar ASSAR (Egypt).   On Thursday (starting at 10am) Steger will play Benedikt DUDA and Mengel Dang QIU to qualify for the final (2pm). All three matches will be broadcast live on Sportdeutschland.TV Borussia-TV and on tischtennis.de.   Yesterday he had problems to find his rhythm at his first appearance after a long competition break today Bastian STEGER already caused a fall of the number 27 of the world ranking list Kanak JHA. The two-times European Championship bronze medalist STEGER had Ochsenhausen’s newcomer well under control:   “It was actually a bit surprising for me to win 4-1 especially in the high altitude. I had thought it would be a very close match because Kanak plays on a very high level. I am quite satisfied with my performance today.”   Next adversary of the World Rankings no. 125 from Bad Koenigshofen is his national team colleague Benedikt DUDA in the first semi-final (10 am) on Thursday. DUDA who is ranked number 39 in the world however had a hard and long fight against 21-year-old Tobias HIPPLER (Cologne) before he secured his victory. In the duel of the left-handers the man from Bergneustadt who had been 3-1 ahead in spite of two match points in game five only narrowly won 11-8 in the seventh and decisive game.   Duda was relieved about his victory in the final spurt: “Tobi played very well especially very aggressively. I was surprised. He hit many good balls. But I also gave myself a hard time when I missed two match points unnecessarily in the fifth game. Tobi then fought back well and from then on it was a close game. I’m glad that I won.”   Steffen MENGEL (Muehlhausen) who was defeated by Timo BOLL at the Masters premiere at the beginning of June only in the final presented himself in best shape with his 4:0 victory over last week’s finalist Omar ASSAR.   After his success over the World No. 38 Mengel who is currently ranked 140th was pleased with his good performance: “From the outside it looks a little bit clearer than it was in the match itself. Omar and I had never played against each other at an official tournament before; we only knew each other from training. I knew he was a player with a very high level of ball control and that I had to move well. I’m glad that I did well today.”   Dang QIU continued the series of his consistent performances at the Duesseldorf Masters. For the fourth time in a row the penholder player who is ranked 52nd in the ITTF ranking reached the semi-finals. The Swabian playing for Gruenwettersbach stopped the advance of the only 19-year-old Fanbo MENG (Fulda) who had reached the quarter-finals yesterday with a surprising victory over the world number 76th Mino with a safe 4-1 win.   Dang Qiu was satisfied: “This is now my fourth tournament. I have slowly found my rhythm and got used to the conditions. Fanbo and I already played against each other last week. We don’t have much to hide; we are in the same training group. I’m happy that I won the game.”   Duesseldorf Masters 4th tournament (22./23.6. and 25.6.) The matches on Thursday Semifinals June 25 Winner 1st quarter final – Winner 2nd quarter final 10am Winner 3rd quarter final – Winner 4th quarter final immediately following but not before 11 a.m. Final June 25 2 p.m. Quarterfinals 23 June Kanak Jha – Bastian Steger 1:4 (5 -5 -11 -8 -4) Benedikt Duda – Tobias Hippler 4:3 (-4 9 9 -10 -8 8) Dang Qiu – Fanbo Meng 4:1 (8 6 -7 8 9) Omar Assar – Steffen Mengel 0:4 (-7 -6 -10 -9)   Last match Round of 16 June 23 Steffen Mengel – Kirill Fadeev 4:0 (8 10 9 9)            

The first day of the fourth tournament ended with the stumbling of a seeded player at the Duesseldorf Masters in the ARAG CenterCourt. The 19-year-old Fanbo MENG beat Alberto MINO (Ecuador) who is ranked 76th in the world and qualified for the quarter-finals. On Tuesday the the Masters starts at 9.30 am on the final Thursday half an hour later at 10 am. All matches will be streamed live on Sportdeutschland.TV Borussia-TV and on tischtennis.de   Fanbo MENG 19 years old from Fulda created the upset of the day. The former European Youth Team Champion who has been able to work his way up to position 241 in the world rankings so far defeated seeded no. five Alberto MINO from Ecuador in five contested games in the round of best sixteen. The left-hander was pleased with his performance:   “Alberto Mino is a top 100 player. It is always very nice to win against such a good player. He plays very unpleasantly but I’ve adjusted well to that.”   After his success over number 76 Meng will meet Germany’s world number 52 in the round of the best eight on Tuesday Dang QIU (Grünwettersbach) who overcame Gerrit ENGEMANN (Hamm) without losing a game.   Qiu was surprised: “It was a bit easier than I thought. Gerrit was not in such a good mood today. I think he can play much better.” As expected the two top seeded players the American Kanak JHA and the Egyptian Omar ASSAR also qualified for the quarter-finals as did Germany’s veteran Bastian STEGER (Bad Königshofen) who alongside MENG is a second player in the German U23 support squad Tobias HIPPLER.   After his 4-2 victory over his Mainz-based national team colleague Cedric MEISSNER the new addition to the 1 FC Cologne squad said: “I got in super at the beginning. Then I had a false start in the third game and got a little nervous. We know each other very well and therefore a lot happens in our heads.”   After his victory over Cedric MEISSNER from Mainz Hippler will challenge number three on the seedings list tomorrow Benedikt DUDA. The man from Bergneustadt who is listed on 39 in the ITTF ranking had a walk-through in the round of sixteen.   On Tuesday all four duels for a place in the semi-finals are on the daily schedule including the interesting clash between the number 27 in the world ranking list Kanak JHA and the two-time European Championship bronze medallist Bastian STEGER who was satisfied with his first appearance on Monday: “It is very unusual to have a match for the first time after such a long break in competition. Then there is tension again and that feels good. I’m going into the tournament without too much pressure and I’m looking forward to every game I can play.”   Probably the quarter finals will also see some topspin duels between Steffen MENGEL and last week’s finalist Omar ASSAR which are well worth seeing. Precondition: MENGEL wins the last round of the last sixteen against Talent Kirill FADEEV at the start of the day.    ASSAR defeated the former European Youth Champion in doubles Nils HOHMEIER in five games today: “Nils played very well especially his serves were very unpleasant. So I am very happy to have won anyway. For the tournament I think from game to game.”   Duesseldorf Masters 4th tournament (June 22nd/23rd and June 25th) Round of sixteen June 22 Kanak Jha USA (game position 1) – Felix Köhler 4:0 (8 7 6 6) Bastian Steger (6) – Tobias Slanina 4:0 (6 4 4 8) Tobias Hippler (8) – Cedric Meissner 4:2 (5.8 -10.6 -9.9) No Match: Benedikt Duda (3) Dang Qiu (4) – Gerrit Engemann 4:0 (9 4 7 5) Alberto Mino ECU (5) – Fanbo Meng 1:4 (-8 -9 8 -10 -9) Steffen Mengel – Kirill Fadeev (Tuesday 9:30 am) Omar Assar EGY (2) – Nils Hohmeier 4:1 (7 -9 5 7 7)  

For the fourth time in June Borussia Duesseldorf and the German Table Tennis Federation (DTTB) inviteс the stars for a rendez vous. At the fourth Duesseldorf Masters tournament at the ARAG CenterCourt a total of 15 players will determine the winner after battles on Monday Tuesday and Thursday. All matches can be watched again on Sportdeutschland.TV Borussia-TV and tischtennis.de in live streaming.   One thing is already certain before the first rally: In the ARAG CenterCourt there will be a new winner at the fourth edition of the Masters. Premiere winner Timo BOLL and the twice successful Dimitrij OVTCHAROV will not be at the start this time but the competition is still more than top-class. With the foreign top players Kanak JHA (USA world ranking 27) Omar ASSAR (Egypt/WR 38) and Alberto MINO (Ecuador/WR 72) as well as the also internationally highly decorated DTTB quartet with Benedikt DUDA (WR 39) Qiu DANG (WR 52) Bastian STEGER (125) and Steffen MENGEL (140) a total of seven World class players are among the best eight. The field is completed by six ambitious U23 and two youth national team players.   Favorites to win the fourth tournament are JHA and last week’s finalist ASSAR as well as the DTTB duo DUDA and QIU who has reached the semi-finals twice and the final once so far. Three of the top four aces will have to go to the table on Monday with only Duda from Bergneustadt enjoying a free day. The seven matches of the round of 16 are scheduled in two days. Six games will be played on Monday from 9.30 am the duel between Steffen MENGEL and Kirill FADEEV will then open playing day on Tuesday (9.30 am). This will be followed by the four matches of the round of the eight. All matches on all three days can be watched live on Sportdeutschland.TV Borussia-TV and tischtennis.de.   The ARAG CenterCourt from June to August will give the German national players the players of Borussia Duesseldorf and the players of the training group at the German Table Tennis Centre in the state capital of North Rhine-Westphalia practical experience. Timo BOLL Dimitrij OVTCHAROV and Patrick FRANZISKA three of the world’s top players are among the general group of participants. A total of six of the world’s top 60 cracks other world-class players and up-and-coming stars on their way to the top make the Duesseldorf Masters the only tournament series of its kind in the world at this level.   The top five players in the points classification qualify for the final tournament in August and three other players will also receive a wild card. So far Dimitrij OVTCHAROV is the leader in the overall ranking ahead of Dang QIU and Timo BOLL.   Duesseldorf Masters 4th tournament (22./23.6. and 25.6.)   Round of 16 (6 of 7 matches) June 22 (in chronological order) Kanak Jha USA (seeded 1) – Felix Köhler 9:30 Alberto Mino ECU (5) – Fanbo Meng immediately afterwards but not before 10.15 a.m. Bastian Steger (6) – Tobias Slanina directly after but not before 11 am Omar Assar EGY (2) – Nils Hohmeier directly following but not before 11:45 Dang Qiu (4) – Gerrit Engemann directly after but not before 12:30 Tobias Hippler (8) – Cedric Meissner directly after but not before 13:15 No match: Benedikt Duda (3) Round of 16 (1 match) 23 June Steffen Mengel – Kirill Fadeev 9:30 am Quarter-finals 23 June (in chronological order) Benedikt Duda – Tobias Hippler or Cedric Meissner directly after but not before 10:15 Kanak Jha or Felix Köhler – Bastian Steger or Tobias Slanina directly after but not before 11.10 am Omar Assar or Nils Hohmeier – Steffen Mengel or Kirill Fadeev directly after but not before 12.05 Dang Qiu or Gerrit Engemann – Alberto Mino or Fanbo Meng directly after but not before 1 pm Semifinals June 25 Winner 1st quarter final – Winner 2nd quarter final 10am Winner 3rd quarter final – Winner 4th quarter final immediately following but not before 11 a.m. Final June 25 2 p.m.

Extra Liga Final Four starts on Sunday   Earlier the Hungarian Table Tennis Association (MOATSZ) concluded suspended team’s championship season. The only exception њас the Extraliga Final Four which will be organized by the association as the restrictions are easing. The venue will be the Ormai Hall situated on the Marczibányi square.   In previous years the winners of the regular season played with the clubs finished on position no. four while the second team played against the team placed third in the semi-finals. Because of the peculiar situation the pairings this time were decided by a draw executed by MOATSZ.   The prize money is one and a half million forints for both the men and women teams participating in the Final Four of the Extraliga with the winner being awarded 750 thousand forints each.   In the men’s semi-finals Pécs will compete against Mezőberény and Celldömölk against Szécsény to get into the final while in women event Budaörs will meet with Kecskemét and Erdért with Statisztika ont he first day of the event.   SCHEDULE OF THE EXTRALIGA FINAL FOUR 28th June Sunday 11.00 Women semi-finals: SH-ITB Budaörs 2i SC–Kecskeméti Spartacus Sportkör és Közösségi Tér Budapesti Erdért SE–Statisztika PSC I. 15.00 Men semi-finals: PTE PEAC Kalo-Méh I.–HED-LAND Sportcsarnok SE Mezőberény CVSE Swietelsky Jufa Hotels I.–Szerva ASE Szécsény I. 29th June Monday 11.00 Women final and match for the third place 15.00 Men final and match for the third place Each match of the Final Four ends with the fourth won set of one team so the end result can be either 4:0 4:1 4:2 and 4:3. The last round of the single matches will not be held so after the doubles each player will play a maximum of two matches. In addition to the glory and medals the participating teams can also compete for a prestigious prize money.   PRIZE MONEY Winner: 750 000 Ft Second place: 375 000 Ft Third place: 250 000 Ft Fourth place: 125 000 Ft Altogether 12 people per team (including the players coaches masseurs etc.) can be in the venue. However those interested will not miss the event either as it is planned that M4 Sport broadcast live from both days.   FINAL FOUR HISTORY   MOATSZ is organizing the finals of the league in a Final Four structure since 2015 with the four best teams of the regular season of the Extraliga competing for the championship title and for the podium. Here are the results of the previous Finals Fours: 2014–2015 BUDAPEST Men CVSE Swietelsky Wewalka PTE PEAC Komló Sport Kft Békési TE Women Budaörsi 2I SC Postás SE Szekszárdi AC Budapesti Erdért SE 2015–2016 PÉCS Men CVSE-Swietelsky-Wewalka PTE PEAC-Kalo Méh SZERVA ASE Floratom Szeged AC Probart Women Szekszárd AC Postás SE Budaörsi 2i SC Budapesti Erdért SE 2016–2017 SZIGETSZENTMIKLÓS Men PTE PEAC-Kalo Méh Szerva ASE Szécsény Celldömölki VSE-Swietelsky Floratom Szeged AC Probart Women Szekszárd AC Postás SE Budaörsi 2i SC Budapesti Erdért SE 2017–2018 SZEKSZÁRD Men Celldömölki VSE-Swietelsky PTE PEAC-Kalo Méh BVSC-Zugló Floratom Szeged AC Probart Women Szekszárd AC Budaörsi 2i SC Budapesti Erdért SE PET-BAU ASE Orosháza 2018–2019 CELLDÖMÖLK Men BVSC-Zugló PTE PEAC-Kalo Méh Celldömölki VSE-Swietelsky JUFA HOTELS HED LAND SE Mezőberény Women Szekszárd AC SH-ITB Budaörs 2i SC Budapesti Erdért SE Statisztika PSC