With Saarlandhalle expected to be almost sold out across both competition days and international interest around the HYLO® Champions League Men Final 4 continuing to grow, attention is once again firmly focused on 1. FC Saarbrücken TT and their pursuit of another European crown on home soil.
The German powerhouse enters the decisive weekend as the No. 1 seed, four-time Champions League winner, and reigning champion of both previous Final 4 editions. Backed by one of the strongest squads in European club table tennis, Saarbrücken will once again be among the favourites to lift the trophy in front of their home supporters.
Leading the line-up is FAN Zhendong, reigning Olympic champion in men’s singles, the youngest men’s singles World Champion in history, and owner of nine World Championship gold medals.
Alongside him stands Truls MOREGARD, Europe’s current No. 1, Olympic Games and World Championship silver medallist, while Darko JORGIC arrives as Europ’s No.5. Another key figure is Patrick FRANZISKA, currently Europe’s No. 8 and part of Germany’s Olympic silver medal-winning team at Tokyo 2020.
Saarbrücken arrive at the Final 4 after another composed European campaign. They opened the knockout stage with a difficult away victory over Dojlidy Białystok before sealing qualification comfortably at home. In the quarter-finals, they produced a dominant first-leg performance against GV Hennebont TT and then handled the pressure well in a demanding return leg to secure another Final 4 appearance.
Now the focus turns toward another attempt to defend the title and continue the club’s remarkable Final 4 run.
“Of course we want to win the fourth title in a row,” FRANZISKA said. “We have a really, really strong team with so many good players.”
Still, the German international made it clear that Saarbrücken are approaching the weekend carefully, beginning with the semi-final against KS Orlen Bogoria Grodzisk Mazowiecki.
“We take one step at a time. Bogoria are always dangerous and we know them very well,” he explained. “Especially GIONIS, who I played together with for two years in Borussia Düsseldorf. First we focus on the semi-final and hopefully we can make it to the final.”
JORGIC also knows exactly what is waiting in Saarbrücken this weekend: pressure, expectations and another opportunity to fight for the biggest club trophy in Europe.
“Honestly, this is one of the biggest tournaments we can have with the club,” said JORGIC. “Of course we know that we are among the favourites to win the title, but there are also many very strong teams in the Final 4.”
Although Saarbrücken enters the event as defending champion and host club, the Slovenian star expects a difficult challenge already in the semi-final.
“Even the first match against Bogoria can become very dangerous if we don’t play our best table tennis,” he explained.
JORGIC is also fully aware of the quality waiting on the other side of the draw, where Borussia Düsseldorf and Alliance Nîmes/Montpellier TT will battle for a place in the final.
“Both Düsseldorf and Montpellier are extremely strong teams with quality on every position,” he said. “We need to focus on our own game, play the way we know we can and try to win the trophy once again in front of our home fans. That is definitely our goal and our desire.”
Fresh from another demanding international campaign with Romania at the ITTF World Team Championships Finals in London, Eduard Ionescu now turns his full attention toward the HYLO® Champions League Men Final 4.
“The World Team Championships just finished and I’m happy with our team performance,” said IONESCU. “I’m also happy with my own performances. It was a long and difficult tournament, but in the end I think we did well as Team Romania.”
Now the focus quickly shifts back to club competition and another opportunity for Saarbrücken to defend the Champions League title on home soil.
“I’m very excited for the Champions League Final 4,” IONESCU continued. “We are all excited to play and to show our best level at the table.”
Like the rest of the Saarbrücken squad, IONESCU’s objective for the weekend is clear.
“I hope that we will come back home with one more title,” he said with a smile.
Before returning to club duties, FRANZISKA was also part of Germany’s campaign at the ITTF World Team Championships Finals in London, where the team finished in the quarter-finals.
“We reached our seeding position in the World Championships. We were seeded 5-8, so reaching the quarterfinal was more or less where we were expected to be,” FRANZISKA reflected.
Germany had already beaten Japan during the group stage, but the rematch in the knockout rounds proved far more difficult.
“For me, Japan was one of the two or three strongest teams in the tournament. They played extremely well against us, especially Harimoto, who was very strong. It was a tough draw, but we keep working and fighting.”
JORGIC also reflected honestly on Slovenia’s recent campaign in London, admitting neither he nor the team managed to reach their highest level.
“We didn’t play our best tournament with Slovenia, and honestly I also wasn’t in my best form,” he admitted. “Still, we reached the knockout stage and eventually lost against Germany, who were favourites from the beginning.”
Now the focus is entirely on the Final 4 and raising the level again for the decisive club weekend.
“I really hope my form will be better this weekend and that I will play better than at the World Championships,” JORGIC said. “It’s a very demanding tournament with excellent teams and great players, but we just need to focus on ourselves, play our game and try once again to win the title at home.”
With the arena expected to welcome record crowds and Europe’s elite players ready to take centre stage once again, Saarbrücken now prepares for another weekend aiming to further strengthen its position at the top of European club table tennis.
