Member Associations | 25 Jun 2020
Celldömölk great favorites title in the Extraliga Final four
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.
