Round of 16 Draw: Cup Grand Opening Brings All the Stars to Nuremberg
A new format, all teams—right at the start of the season: With the Cup Grand Opening on August 29 and 30, 2026, the Table Tennis Bundesliga (TTBL) is launching a new highlight on the table tennis calendar. The event at the Kia Metropol Arena in Nuremberg is perfectly suited for this thanks to the group tickets available for clubs and larger groups. The round of 16 matchups have now been determined.
With the Cup Grand Opening, the Table Tennis Bundesliga (TTBL) is ushering in a new era for the German Table Tennis Cup. In the 2026–27 season, the round of 16 and quarterfinals will be held for the first time over a single weekend at a central location. On August 29 and 30, 2026, all 16 participating teams will face off at the Kia Metropol Arena. In the knockout format, everything is on the line right from the start: The four winning teams will secure their spots in the Liebherr Cup Final4. All twelve TTBL teams, as well as the four clubs that qualified from the cup preliminary round, will compete in Nuremberg.
The round of 16 will take place on Saturday, August 29. Matches will be played in two parallel sessions on four tables—a format that has never before existed in this form in German table tennis. The eight winning teams will return on Sunday, August 30, to compete in the quarterfinals on two tables across two sessions. This gives all fans the chance to experience all the stars up close and in a concentrated format over a single weekend.
Fan Zhendong and Düsseldorf to face Ochsenhausen
Among those expected in Nuremberg is Fan Zhendong: The Olympic champion will be playing for Borussia Düsseldorf in the new season and, in the round of 16, will face another heavyweight—TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen, the record-holding cup champion—as determined by the draw in Fulda. Two winners from the preliminary round can look forward to highlight matches: The winner of Preliminary Round Group 4 will face defending champion 1. FC Saarbrücken TT, featuring Hugo Calderano and Patrick Franziska; the winner of Preliminary Round Group 1 will play against TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell, featuring Dimitrij Ovtcharov.
TTBL-internal matchups will take place between SV Werder Bremen and TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt, Borussia Dortmund and TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau, ASC Grünwettersbach and Post SV Mühlhausen, as well as TTC OE Clarity-Telefonie Systeme Bad Homburg and TSV Bad Königshofen. In addition, the winners of preliminary round Groups 2 and 3 will face off.
Group Ticket: Reduced price for groups of ten or more
The TTBL wants to ensure that world-class table tennis remains accessible to everyone, which is why it is once again offering the group ticket. This is perfect for clubs and training groups: For bookings of ten or more people, a 20% discount is automatically applied in the ticket shop—that’s a total discount of at least 100 euros. In the lowest price category, groups can attend for as little as 9€ per day ticket or 24€ per weekend ticket.
Individual tickets for the Cup Grand Opening are available for both Saturday (round of 16) and Sunday (quarterfinals) starting at 19 euros, as well as, of course, the combo ticket for the entire weekend starting at 35 euros. Reservations for specific seats can be made at the official TTBL ticket shop, by phone at 0761 888499 99, and at all known advance ticket sales locations.
The Cup Grand Opening at a Glance
Saturday, August 29
Starting at 11 a.m.: Round of 16, two parallel sessions on four tables
Borussia Düsseldorf – TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen
Winner of Preliminary Round Group 1 – TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell
Winner of Preliminary Round Group 2 – Winner of Preliminary Round Group 3
SV Werder Bremen – TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt
Borussia Dortmund – TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau
TTC OE Clarity-Telefonie Systeme Bad Homburg – TSV Bad Königshofen
ASC Grünwettersbach – Post SV Mühlhausen
Winner of Preliminary Round Group 4 – 1. FC Saarbrücken TT
Sunday, August 30
Starting at 11 a.m.: Quarterfinals, two sessions running simultaneously on two tables