Novi Sad is the place to be as the ETTU Champions League Men 2025/26 season kicks off, bringing another thrilling season of elite club competition. The top eight seeds are exempt in this opening stage, but with Olympic bronze medalists such as the LEBRUN brothers and world-class names including Liam PITCHFORD and Tiago APOLONIA’s teams present, Stage One promises a fantastic weekend of action.
The spotlight will be on Group B, where French champions Alliance Nîmes/Montpellier, led by Europe’s no. 2 and no. 3, Felix and Alexis LEBRUN, will fight for a place at the top. Their squad also features India’s Manav THAKAR, currently no. 43 in the World Rankings. Despite being seeded second in their group, they are widely considered favorites not only to progress to the next stage but also to challenge for the title. Last year they narrowly missed the ETTU Champions League Final 4, falling to Borussia Düsseldorf in the quarterfinals.
Felix, an Olympic singles bronze medalist, teamed up with Alexis to also claim bronze in the Team event in Paris. Both were key players when France won gold at the European Team Championships and silver in doubles at the World Championships. Alexis also boasts European singles and doubles titles with Felix. Earlier this year Alexis clinched the title at the CCB Europe Top 16 Cup and reached the semifinals at the Singapore Smash.
Group D is topped by SF SKK El Nino Praha of Czechia, last season’s Europe Cup runners-up, featuring Yevhen PRYSHCHEPA (ER 152), Tomas KONECNY and David REITSPIES. Also competing are Denmark’s Roskilde Bordtennis BTK 61, with Dominykas SAMUOLIS (ER 103), and Italy’s ASD TT Santa Tecla Nulvi, led by Chile’s Nicolas BURGOS (WR 124).
Coach of SF SKK El Niňo Praha Petr KAUCKÝ: “Last season, we achieved a historic success for our club by reaching the final of the Europe Cup and this year we will play with the same line-up. It will not be easy to build on this success. We have a difficult group. Roskilde has strengthened its team, Montpellier has the brothers Felix and Alexis Lebrun on the roster. It is difficult to estimate what the opponents’ rosters will be, but I think it will be harder than last year.”
The top-seeded club in Stage One is French AS Pontoise Cergy TT, boasting Europe’s no. 19 Liam PITCHFORD and Alexandre CASSIN. The French side, already twice Champions League winners (2014 and 2016), return aiming for another trophy. PITCHFORD claimed the WTT Feeder Manchester in April.
They will face ASC Grünwettersbach, Europe Cup semifinalists, led by world no. 23 Hiroto SHINOZUKA, Europe’s no. 33 Tiago APOLONIA, and no. 44 Ricardo WALTHER. Also in the group are Europe Cup quarterfinalists Real Club Cajasur Priego TM, featuring Hampus SODERLUND, Carlos MACHADO and Alejandro CALVO, and TTC Ostrava 2016 with Ondrej KVENTON and Jakub KLEPRLIK.
Group A will be led by Germany’s Post SV Mühlhausen 1951 e.V. Europe Cup semifinalists last season, represented by Europe’s no. 30 Ovidiu IONESCU, China’s Cheng-Ting LIAO (WR 68), Kay STUMPER, and Steffen MENGEL. Their opponents include Slovakia’s STK Vyhne, Europe Cup quarterfinalists, with Adam KLAJBER, Filip SZYMANSKI, and Boguslaw KOSZYK. Patryk CHOJNOWSKI and Konstantinos ANGELAKIS in Polish club Dojlidy Białystok, which debuted in the competition last season, return alongside Lille Metropole TT, led by Tom CLOSSET, Amir Hossein HODAEI, and Roman BRARD.
Austria’s SPG Felbemayr Wels, the third seeds in Stage One and seeded no. 11 overall, feature Maciej KOLODZIEJCZYK (ER 74) and Felix WETZEL (ER 197). They will face SKST Havirov of Czechia, led by Manush Utpalbhai SHAH (WR 70). Also in Group C are Belgium’s TTC Sokah Hoboken, with Gabrielius CAMARA (ER 73), and Croatia’s STK Starr. Stage One features four groups made up of four clubs each, seeded from position nine onwards. The top eight seeds are directly qualified for the Round of 16. The top two teams from each Stage One group will progress and join them. From that point, the Champions League Men will follow a knockout system, with two-legged ties in the Round of 16 and quarterfinals, before the four winners advance to the Final 4.
