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. See the pictures by Remy GROS here.
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.
In Group B, SF SKK El Nino Praha remained unbeaten after overcoming Roskilde Bordtennis BTK 61 3-1, while CTT Olot collected its first victory with a 3-0 success against CSS-SZAK Odorheiu Secuiesc.
Olot’s victory began with the closest contest of the match. Miguel PANTOJA won the opening two games against Szilard GYORGY, but the Romanian club’s player fought back to force a decider. PANTOJA eventually prevailed 6-4 to put the Spanish side ahead.
Rafael DE LAS HERAS followed with a 3-1 victory over Sebastian LOSO, before Dylan Bienvendido Jacques CHAPERON completed the job in straight games against Szabolcs TAMAS for a 3-0 Olot win.
The meeting between Friday’s two winners, Roskilde and El Nino Praha, brought considerably more drama.
Anders ERIKSSON gave Roskilde a perfect start, beating Tomas KONECNY in straight games. David REITSPIES responded for El Nino with a 3-0 victory over Tobias RASMUSSEN, with the opening two games decided by narrow margins.
The third match between Dominykas SAMUOLIS and Yevhen PRYSHCHEPA proved crucial. SAMUOLIS twice moved ahead, but PRYSHCHEPA twice fought back before edging the deciding game 6-5 to put El Nino in front.
REITSPIES then returned against ERIKSSON. After they shared the opening two games, the Czech club’s player took a tight third 12-10 and followed it with an 11-4 fourth game to secure the 3-1 victory for El Nino Praha.
After two rounds, El Nino Praha leads Group B with two victories, while Roskilde and CTT Olot have one win each. CSS-SZAK Odorheiu Secuiesc remains without a victory ahead of the final round.
In Group C, hosts Lille Metropole TT and TTC Sokah Hoboken continued their perfect starts on Saturday, both recording 3-0 victories to move to two wins from two matches.
Playing in front of the home crowd, Lille Metropole TT overcame SKST Havirov 3-0, although all three encounters required four games.
Amir Hossein HODAEI recovered from losing the opening game against Stepan BRHEL 7-11. He responded with three consecutive games, 11-6, 11-6 and 11-7, to put Lille ahead.
Romain BRARD followed a similar path against Mykhailo LOVHA. After dropping the first game, BRARD took the next three, including a tight third at 12-10.
Fabio RAKOTOARIMANANA then completed the victory against Matyas KOLECKAR. Once again Havirov won the opening game, but RAKOTOARIMANANA responded strongly to take the next three and secure Lille’s second victory of the weekend.
TTC Sokah Hoboken matched the hosts with a 3-0 win over CTT Les Borges Vall.
Benjamin BROSSIER opened with a 3-1 victory over Francesc CARRERA, before Quentin ROBINOT and Marc DURAN produced the closest encounter of the tie. ROBINOT moved two games ahead, only for DURAN to fight back and force a deciding game. There, ROBINOT left no room for another comeback, winning 6-0.
Olav KOSOLOSKY completed Hoboken’s victory with a commanding straight-games win over Jair JIMENEZ, 11-5, 11-3, 11-5.
In Group D, KS Dojlidy Białystok remained unbeaten after another five-match battle, while AS Pontoise Cergy TT bounced back from Friday’s narrow defeat with a 3-1 victory over SPG Felbermayr Wels.
Pontoise had to come from behind against Wels. Maciej KOLODZIEJCZYK gave the Austrian side the opening point after overcoming Jules CAVAILLE in five games. The contest went back and forth before KOLODZIEJCZYK dominated the decider 6-1.
Kai ZHOU brought Pontoise level with a straight-games victory over Felix WETZEL, before Mihai BOBOCICA put the French club ahead. He beat Patryk ZATOWKA 3-1, with the Wels player taking only the third game.
ZHOU then returned against KOLODZIEJCZYK and secured his second victory of the match. After taking the opening two games, he saw KOLODZIEJCZYK respond in the third, but ZHOU closed the fourth 11-9 to complete a 3-1 victory for Pontoise.
The other Group D encounter provided considerably more drama, as KS Dojlidy Białystok edged TTC Ostrava 2016 3-2.
Ondrej KVETON gave Ostrava the lead with a five-game victory over Aleksandr KHANIN, but Dojlidy quickly turned the situation around. Amirezza ABBASI MONJEZI beat Simon BELIK in straight games before Piotr CHODORSKI did the same against Adam STALZER.
KVETON kept Ostrava alive in another five-game contest. He recovered from 1-2 down against ABBASI MONJEZI and took the decider 6-4, sending the team match into a fifth encounter.
KHANIN then returned to face BELIK with everything on the line. The two shared the opening games, but KHANIN took control from there, winning the next two 11-7, 11-7 to secure the 3-2 victory for Dojlidy.
After two rounds, KS Dojlidy Białystok leads Group D with two victories. SPG Felbermayr Wels and AS Pontoise Cergy TT have one win each, while TTC Ostrava 2016 remains without a victory ahead of Sunday’s final round.
