Checking out the semi-finalists | Part 2: Ochsenhausen and Saarbrücken
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 second part: TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen and 1. FC Saarbrücken TT.
The squad
These are melancholy times for the fans of TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen: Hugo Calderano and Simon Gauzy, two of the Swabians' veterans and fan favorites, have announced that they will be leaving the club at the end of the season. The desire at Ochsenhausen to bring the joint era to a crowning conclusion is all the greater. Calderano, Gauzy and the TTF already won the cup and championship double in 2019, and they could do it again in 2025. Behind the world-class duo, Ochsenhausen is fielding another top player in Shunsuke Togami as well as two promising talents in Tiago Abiodun and Leonardo Iizuka. However, the squad of 1. FC Saarbrücken TT is no less world-class: Patrick Franziska and Darko Jorgic have been a reliable pillar of the team for several years now. Behind them, coach Wang Zhi can rely on numerous variations - after all, with Yuto Muramatsu, Eduard Ionescu and Cedric Meissner, the squad is as broad as it is high-class.
Finals history
Saarbrücken is the perennial favorite among the finalists: FCS has made it to the Liebherr TTBL final six times in a row, winning the title once in the process. The coup came in 2020 against TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen. Most recently, however, there were four defeats in a row, each time against Borussia Düsseldorf; in 2019 there was a 0:3 against Ochsenhausen. Saarbrücken is also a regular in the play-offs - the club has been in the top four every year since 2011. The TTF last played Saarbrücken in the final in those two years, and six years ago won the fourth German championship in the club's history - Calderano and Gauzy were already part of the team back then and contributed important points to the success with their victories.
The road to the play-offs
After a disappointing sixth place last year, Ochsenhausen has left no doubt about its ambitions from the very beginning of the current season. From matchday 8 onwards, the TTF were in the top four without interruption, and a strong second half of the season catapulted them up to second place. In the second half of the season, the Swabians won nine out of eleven matches and ultimately only narrowly missed out on first place - the match ratio (55:36 compared to 53:33) tipped the scales against Borussia Düsseldorf, who were level on points. The main round was much tighter for Saarbrücken: FCS only managed to return to a play-off place on the final matchday thanks to a 3-0 win in the decisive match against TSV Bad Königshofen. With 28:16 points, the Saarland side fared much worse than in the previous season, when they finished first in the main round with 34:6.
Previous encounters
Ochsenhausen and Saarbrücken have already gone head-to-head once this season: the two teams faced each other in the Liebherr Cup final in January, with the TTF coming out on top 3:1. Although Franziska opened the scoring for the FCS against Gauzy, the other singles went to Ochsenhausen: Calderano defeated Jorgic and Franziska, Togami won 3:2 against Ionescu after a great fight. The two matches in the TTBL main round also went to Ochsenhausen, both 3:1.
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.