Checking out the semi-finalists | Part 1: Düsseldorf and Bad Königshofen
The season in the German Table Tennis League (TTBL) is heading towards a brilliant end: In the play-offs, four teams are fighting for a place in the Liebherr TTBL final, where the German championship will be decided on June 15. We take a closer look at the semi-finalists. In the first part: Borussia Düsseldorf and TSV Bad Königshofen.
The squad
Last year, Borussia Düsseldorf crowned themselves champions of the German Table Tennis League (TTBL) with the line-up of Timo Boll, Dang Qiu, Anton Källberg, Kay Stumper and Borgar Haug, and the record champions are sending this quintet into the title race again this season. There is a special focus on Boll: the table tennis superstar is playing the last season of his unique career and naturally wants to say goodbye with a title - for Boll it would be the 15th German team championship. TSV Bad Königshofen also enjoyed consistency. After qualifying for the play-offs for the first time last year, Bastian Steger, Jin Ueda, Filip Zeljko and Martin Allegro once again made it into the top four. This is the last season in Lower Franconia for Ueda and Allegro, who will be replaced by Daniel Habesohn and André Bertelsmeier.
The history of the final
No team has reached the final of the German Team Championships more often than Borussia, and no team has won the crown more often. With 34 titles, Düsseldorf is the undisputed German record champion, and Timo Boll and Co. have won the final against 1. FC Saarbrücken TT in each of the past four years. With 78 titles across all competitions, Borussia is one of the most successful sports clubs in Germany. This is Bad Königshofen's second appearance in the play-offs since 2024, having achieved the greatest success in the club's history last year with third place in the main round. Since promotion to the TTBL in 2017, TSV has been on a steady upward trajectory, and by making it to the Liebherr TTBL final for the first time, the team could now set another highlight.
The path to the play-offs
During the course of the season, Düsseldorf was not in the top four on only two match days, and the team's confident entry into the play-offs was already apparent in the winter. In the end, they finished first in the main round, with the match ratio - 53:33 compared to 55:36 - narrowly tipping the scales in favor of Borussia over TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen (both 32:12), who were level on points. Bad Königshofen, on the other hand, had to tremble until the very end: Due to the 0:3 against 1. FC Saarbrücken TT on the last matchday, the team from Lower Franconia was dependent on the performance of TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell and only made it into the play-offs due to the defeat of the East Hessians at Post SV Mühlhausen. Bad Königshofen finished fourth with 28:16 points, just ahead of Fulda (26:18). TSV's trump card was the doubles: The team from Lower Franconia had to play the doubles eleven times, nine of which they won - no other team managed this more often.
Previous encounters
Düsseldorf and Bad Königshofen have met twice so far this season, with Borussia coming out on top 3:1 on each occasion. In December, Qiu (3:1 against Ueda, 3:0 against Zeljko) and Källberg (3:0 against Zeljko) were unbeatable in the guest match in Würzburg; only Allegro (3:2 against Boll) scored for TSV. In the second round, Ueda (3:0 against Haug) took the lead for Bad Königshofen, but the following three matches went to Källberg (3:1 against Zeljko, 3:2 against Ueda) and Boll (3:2 against Steger) and thus to Borussia. The two teams had already met in the play-off semi-finals last year. Back then, Bad Königshofen took a 3:1 lead at home, but lost the following two matches in Düsseldorf 3:0.
Overview of the play-offs
Match 1
Thursday, April 10, 6 p.m.: TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen - 1. FC Saarbrücken TT
Friday, April 11, 7 p.m.: TSV Bad Königshofen – Borussia Düsseldorf
Match 2
Sunday, April 27, 1 p.m.: Borussia Düsseldorf – TSV Bad Königshofen
Sunday, April 27, 4 p.m.: 1. FC Saarbrücken TT – TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen
Match 3
Wednesday, April 30, 7 p.m.: TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen – 1. FC Saarbrücken TT
Thursday, May 1, 3 p.m.: Borussia Düsseldorf – TSV Bad Königshofen
Tickets for the Liebherr TTBL final are still available in all categories in our ticket store.