The city of Saarbrücken will once again be the focal point of top-level European club table tennis this weekend, as it hosts the 2025 HYLO Champions League Final 4. One of the standout semifinal clashes will see the host club and reigning champion, 1. FC Saarbrücken TT, take on Polish side KS Global Pharma Orlicz 1924 Suchedniów.
The German squad boasts a powerful lineup that includes Truls MOREGARD, fresh from winning bronze at the World Championships, Patrick FRANZISKA, Darko JORGIĆ, Cedric MEISSNER, Eduard IONESCU, and Yuto MURAMATSU. Their opponents from Suchedniów, however, have shown no fear throughout their historic run, with Robert FLORAS, Deni KOZUL, Mateusz ZALEWSKI, and Jeongwoo PARK proving they can compete with Europe’s elite.
Patrick FRANZISKA, who recently returned from the World Championships in Qatar where he reached the Round of 16, shared his thoughts ahead of the crucial semifinal:
“We are used to playing a lot of competitions after big events. So, I had two, three days of rest with the family and then after that, I was in full swing again.
The motivation is very high since we play on home soil and want to defend our title. We practice together in Saarbrücken — the whole team — Truls came little later. I think the spirit has been very good throughout the Champions League season. We have a clear goal, and that’s to win the semi-final, first of all, tomorrow on Saturday.”
Asked to analyze the adversaries, FRANZISKA added:
“They have a strong Korean player, who beat Jonathan GROTH, for example, in the quarter-finals. So I guess he won’t be easy to beat. And then with Danny KOZUL — a guy who played in Saarbrücken and knows Darko especially well — it promises to be a pretty interesting semi-final.
But of course, our goal is to make it to the final.”
KS Global Pharma Orlicz 1924 Suchedniów have already caused a major upset this season, but the German side will be a tough team to overcome.
“Our strength is that we’re a very strong team across all positions, and we can all play in different positions. I think it’s hard for the adversary to predict how we will line up. Our confidence comes from knowing each other very well and genuinely enjoying being together — that’s what makes us strong. Our confidence is pretty high at the moment.”
