Four Round 1 matches were held tonight (Sep 29th) in the TTCLM: Saarbrücken – Eslovs 3:0 Stella Sport La Romagne – Walter Wels 3:2 Dzialdowo – Roskilde 2:3 Borussia Dusseldorf – Hennebont 2:3
Two big surprises have happened in the Group D Round 1 of the 2017/18 Table Tennis Champions League Men created by no. 9 and no. 16 seeds Hennebont and Rosklide who won their matches away both 3:2. French club upset TTCLM record holder ten times winner Borussia Dusseldorf (no. 2 seed) while Danish side overcame TTCLM newcomer from Poland Dekorglass Dzialdowo (no. 6).
The best Borussia`s players for years Timo BOLL (actual World no. 6) did his job by beating both Quentin ROBINOT (no. 85) and Liam PITCHFORD (no. 60) but guests showed good team work in spite of playing without their best ranked player CHEN Chein-An (no. 45). PITCHFORD defeated Stefan FEGERL (no. 34) Cedric NUYTINCK (no. 72) upset Kristian KARLSON (no. 24) in full five games of the third clash. BOLL overcame English player in straight games to level the score hence FEGERL and ROBINOT faced one another to decide the winner. The 2009 European Junior champion ROBINOT showed his best TTCLM game especially in the late fourth set to beat Austrian in four games.
World no. 12 Kenta MATSUDAIRA like BOLL secured two points for his side (against ZHAI Yujia and Michael MAZE) but Dekorglass Dzialdowo lost its very first TTCLM match. The lowest ranked TTCLM participant Roskilde created big upset. The 2012 European champion Michael MAZE had successful TTCLM comeback. He provided first point for his side defeating Jiri VRABLIK and managed to extend MATSUDAIRA to full distance. World no. 216 Laurens TROMER from Netherlands beat no. 68 WANG Yang in straight games and it was probably crucial moment in the game. Because ZHAI`s win against VRABLIK in the fifth clash was expected.
Saarbrucken easily beat Eslovs 3:0 in Group B game. Crucial moment was Patrick FRANZISKA`s victory against Chinese XU Hui one of the best TTCLM players in last few seasons. In other two matches Tiago APOLONIA and Bojan TOKIC defeated Robert SVENSSON and Truls MOREGARDH respectively.
Group C brought very intense clash between actual ETTU Cup winner Stella Sport La Romagne and SPG Walter Wels. French side won first two encounters and Adrian CRISAN led 2:1 against Robin DEVOS but guest player managed to win. In the fourth clash CHO Seungmin overcame WEI Shihao after full five games – 2:3 (9:11 11:7 10:12 13:11 8:11).CHEN Tianyuan became a hero of host team defeating Zsolt PETO in the decisive match. Earlier in the second game CHEN prevailed against CHO Seungmin.
2017/18 TTCLM Round 1
GROUP B
FC Saarbrücken Tischtennis – Eslovs Ai Bordtennis 3:0
Tiago APOLONIA – Robert SVENSSON 3:1 (11:9 11:6 13:15 11:4)
Patrick FRANZISKA – XU Hui 3:1 (9:11 11:5 11:7 11:4)
Bojan TOKIC – Truls MOREGARDH 3:0 (11:7 11:9 11:6)
GROUP C
Stella Sport La Romagne – SPG Walter Wels 3:2
WEI Shihao – Zsolt PETO 3:1 (8:11 11:9 14:12 11:5)
CHEN Tianyuan – CHO Seungmin 3:2 (16:18 11:7 9:11 11:7 11:8)
Adrian CRISAN – Robin DEVOS 2:3 (11:8 10:12 11:4 8:11 8:11)
WEI Shihao – CHO Seungmin 2:3 (9:11 11:7 10:12 13:11 8:11)
CHEN Tianyuan – Zsolt PETO 3:0 (11:5 11:2 11:4)
GROUP D
K.S. Dekorglass Dzialdowo – Roskilde Bordtennis BTK61 2:3
Kenta MATSUDAIRA – ZHAI Yujia 3:0 (11:6 11:9 11:9)
Jiri VRABLIK – Michael MAZE 0:3 (6:11 7:11 5:11)
WANG Yang – Laurens TROMER 0:3 (10:12 4:11 4:11)
Kenta MATSUDAIRA – Michael MAZE 3:2 (9:11 4:11 11:9 11:6 11:3)
Jiri VRABLIK – ZHAI Yujia 2:3 (11:8 5:11 12:10 7:11 7:11)
Borussia DüsseldorF – G.V. Hennebont TT 2:3
Timo BOLL – Quentin ROBINOT 3:1 (7:11 11:6 11:1 11:2)
Stefan FEGERL – Liam PITCHFORD 0:3 (6:11 14:16 7:11)
Kristian KARLSSON – Cedric NUYTINCK 2:3 (11:4 11:4 8:11 9:11 10:12)
Timo BOLL – Liam PITCHFORD 3:0 (11:5 11:3 13:11)
Stefan FEGERL – Quentin ROBINOT 1:3 (8:11 8:11 11:4 8:11)
