Europe Cup Men | 21 Dec 2023
1. FC Saarbrücken TT e.V. Secures Final 4 Spot
Photo: Ulrich Höfer
The list of competitors for the Champions League Men Final Four is now complete, with the host 1. FC Saarbrücken TT e.V. securing the last spot for the 2023/2024 season showdown from March 31 to April 1, 2024, at the Saarlandhalle.
Joining reigning champions 1. FC Saarbrücken TT e.V. in the Final Four are Borussia Düsseldorf, TTC Neu-Ulm, and the surprise winners of Group C, SolexConsult TTC Wiener Neustadt. The Austrians are the only non-German representatives in the final.
In the ultimate match of Group A, 1. FC Saarbrücken TT e.V. overcame French A.S Pontoise-Cergy TT after a closely contested five matches. In the opening match, Darko JORGIC went the full distance against Korean player LIM Jonghoon but emerged victorious.
“I am very happy that we managed to reach the Final 4 in Saarbrücken. Everybody expected that from us, to play F4 on home soil. Personally, it was also a very important individual win for me. My victory over LIM is very valuable since he is very highly ranked. It was very close, and if I had lost, we could easily have been defeated 0-3,” explained JORGIC. “It was clear that FRANZISKA was missing his training. He was ill for ten days and did not have the chance to train at all. So it was very important that Yuto stood and prevailed after 1-1, and he beat BOULOUSSA. At that point, we were in the clear, we secured our place in F4, and everything became easier.”
Yuto MURAMATSU added one point in the match against Mehdi BOULOUSSA. “My body was not feeling very well tonight. I had a stomachache. Also, my adversary was very strong. However, when I lost the opening game, I did not give up. I kept on fighting.”
Eduard IONESCU, who only played against Tesla Batteries Havirov in Stage 2, overcame Flavio MOURIER in the decisive match. Patrick FRANZISKA returned to the team but failed to secure a victory tonight, losing to Marcos FREITAS and LIM Jonghoon.
A.S PONTOISE-CERGY TT - 1. FC Saarbrücken TT e.V. 2-3
LIM Jonghoon - Darko JORGIC 2-3 (11-6, 1-11, 13-11, 7-11, 2-6)
Marcos FREITAS - Patrick FRANZISKA 3-1 (11-8, 12-10, 8-11, 11-6)
Mehdi BOULOUSSA - Yuto MURAMATSU 1-3 (12-10, 6-11, 10-12, 9-11)
LIM Jonghoon - Patrick FRANZISKA 3-1 (11-4, 8-11, 11-8, 11-6)
Flavio MOURIER - Eduard IONESCU 0-3 (10-12, 2-11, 12-14)
