Cup round of sixteen drawn: Neu-Ulm starts title mission in Bremen, Saarbrücken receives Bergneustadt
For the defending champions, the new season in the German Table Tennis Cup begins with a home match: In the round of 16, 1. FC Saarbrücken TT receives TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt. Meanwhile, TTC Neu-Ulm's title mission starts with an away match at SV Werder Bremen. The four winners of the preliminary round can each look forward to a duel with a team from the Tischtennis Bundesliga (TTBL).
Not only the season in the Table Tennis Bundesliga (TTBL) is casting its shadows ahead, but also the German Table Tennis Cup is picking up speed again: In the course of September, the round of 16 matches will be played and the 16 teams hope to take the first step towards the Final Four tournament, where the title will finally be decided next year. 1. FC Saarbrücken TT can look forward to a home match in the round of 16. The defending champions, who beat Borussia Düsseldorf 3:1 in the Liebherr Cup final last January, will welcome TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt. This was the result of the draw in Fulda.
Another internal TTBL duel awaits TTC Neu-Ulm: The Swabians start their title mission at SV Werder Bremen. In the past three years, Neu-Ulm was eliminated in the round of 16 and missed out on the hoped-for Final Four participation in the ratiopharm arena at home. In the new season, the aim is to win the title, and the TTC has significantly upgraded its squad to achieve this. In the new cup season, three players from the top 10 of the world rankings will start for Neu-Ulm: German national player Dimitrij Ovtcharov, vice world champion Truls Moregard and Lin Yun-Ju.
And two more TTBL-internal matches await the fans in the round of sixteen: While ASV Grünwettersbach receives the promoted 1. FSV Mainz 05, who will make their Bundesliga debut on August 28 in Bergneustadt, TSV Bad Königshofen will play TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen. The four winners of the preliminary groups can look forward to highlight matches, as they will face record cup winners Borussia Düsseldorf, TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau, Post SV Mühlhausen and TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell respectively.
The Cup Round of 16 in overview
SV Werder Bremen – TTC Neu-Ulm
Winner preliminary rounds-Gruppe 4 – Borussia Düsseldorf
Winner preliminary rounds-Gruppe 1 – TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau
Winner preliminary rounds-Gruppe 2 – Post SV Mühlhausen
1. FC Saarbrücken TT – TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt
ASV Grünwettersbach – 1. FSV Mainz 05
TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen – TSV Bad Königshofen
Winner preliminary rounds-Gruppe 3 – TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell
Mode and dates
The ten teams of the 2nd Bundesliga and six clubs of the 3rd Bundesliga will determine the respective winners in the Cup preliminary round on August 27 and 28 in four groups, who will qualify for the round of 16, which will be played in the course of September before the World Cup (September 30 to October 9). There, the TTBL clubs will enter the competition. The winners will qualify for the quarter-finals, which will finally decide which four teams will advance to the Cup final, which will again be played as a Final Four event with two semi-finals and a final on one day.
The preliminary round in overview
Group 1 (in Jülich): SV Union Velbert, TTC GW Bad Hamm, BV Borussia Dortmund, TTC indeland Jülich
Group 2 (in Bad Homburg): 1. FC Köln, TTC OE Bad Homburg, SV Union Velbert II, TSV Schwarzenbek
Group 3 (in Saarbrücken): TTC Fortuna Passau, TTC SR Hohenstein-Ernstthal, 1. FC Saarbrücken TT II, SU Neckarsulm
Group 4 (in Hilpoltstein): TV 1879 Hilpoltstein, TTS Borsum, TV Leiselheim, Hertha BSC