Champions League Men | 18 Dec 2020

Borussia Düsseldorf crowned champion of the Champions League Men

Final of the Champions League Men 2020/21 in ARAG CenterCourt Düsseldorf

Borussia Düsseldorf, the most successful club in the history of Champions League Men, clinched the 12th title. In the final in ARAG CenterCourt Düsseldorf they overcame 1 FC Saarbrücken TT.

Timo BOLL had a good start and moved to 4:0 quickly before SHAN Kun settled into the rhythm and answered in same style with 6 points in the row. The Chinese international took complete control to win the opening game. In the second game the pendulum swung and after the close game in the middle, BOLL took off and made a safe gap.

In more aggressive exchanges of the rallies the third game started with BOLL's dominating. SHAN's explosive forehand was not as lethal as it was in previous days. BOLL made a 9:4 gap, but a couple of errors helped SHAN to move to 9:7; BOLL finished the game in his favor to halt any upsets.

In a fantastic start of the fourth game SHAN moved quickly to 5:0. He was all over the table keeping the pressure on and forcing BOLL into mistakes. Already in the first match, the decisive game was on the menu. BOLL recovered from being 4:1 down to win the “tie-break” 6:4 and give Borussia Düsseldorf their dream start.

In an explosive opening game, Anton KALLBERG left Patrick FRANZISKA with two points only. In the second game FRANZISKA's service slowed down the Swede after KALLBERG was 8:3 in the lead. At 9:6, coach Danny HEISTER reacted and called for time out. FRANZISKA won the first point after the time out but the momentum was lost. KALLBERG closed the game at 11:7. In the third game, FRANZISKA switched to a more aggressive mode and moved to 9:6. Anton came close, but FRANZISKA halted his progress. Anton dominated in the fourth game 11:6.

Darko JORGIC faced a confident Kristian KARLSSON who took the opening game in superb style. JORGIC changed the pace in the next game. His more aggressive approach paid off. He won the second game by taking the lead from the beginning. JORGIC continued to play like he was on fire. From 8:4 to 9:6, he was on the path to victory.

Similar to his first exit atr the table, Anton KALLBERG showed no weak points at the start. In the next game SHAN turned the table. It was not in furious style like KALLBERG a few minutes earlier, but he kept on adding the points to his score sheet and kept the gap persistently. In the next game, KALLBERG was back on his feet again and won 11:4. SHAN already forced Timo BOLL to go full distance and he did the same to KALLBERG. Like in previous occasion, he lost, but only by the narrowest possible margin.

 

1 FC Saarbrücken TT- Borussia Düsseldorf 1:3

SHANG Kun – Timo BOLL 2:3 (11:7, 6:11, 7:11, 11:4, 4:6)

Patrick FRANZISKA – Anton KALLBERG 1:3 (2:11, 7:11, 11:9, 6:11)

Darko JORGIC - Kristian KARLSSON 3:1 (4:11, 11:8, 11:7, 11:3)

SHANG Kun – Anton KALLBERG 2:3 (3:11, 11:8, 4:11, 11:6, 5:6)

 

You can see all the results here.

You can see pictures here.