The semi-finalists in the check | Part 2: Bremen and Saarbrücken

Everything is set for the first title of the year: on January 4, the German Table Tennis Cup will be decided in the Liebherr Cup Final Four at the ratiopharm arena Ulm/Neu-Ulm. We take a closer look at the semi-finalists, this time: SV Werder Bremen and 1. FC Saarbrücken TT.

The squad

Continuity is the magic formula at SV Werder Bremen: Mattias Falck, Kirill Gerassimenko and Marcelo Aguirre have been playing for the Hanseatic side since 2019 and have been among the team's key players ever since. Andrei Putuntica has also been wearing the Bremen jersey since the summer - but is no stranger to the Free City. The Moldovan has been part of the Werder training group for several years and currently has a positive individual record in the German Table Tennis League (TTBL).

1. FC Saarbrücken TT is well-staffed both at the top and at the bottom. Patrick Franziska and Darko Jorgic have formed the core of the team for several years now and are known to be able to score points against any opponent. Coach Wang Zhi can rely on numerous variations around this team: Yuto Muramatsu, Eduard Ionescu, Cedric Meissner, Abdullah Talha Yigenler and Mathias Hübgen give the Saarlanders numerous options and ensure that the deployment of Franziska and Jorgic can be timed to conserve energy over the course of the season.

The cup history

Bremen have already reached the cup final three times: in 2007/08, Seiya Kishikawa, Trinko Keen and Lars Hielscher lost 3-1 to Borussia Düsseldorf; in the following season, they suffered the same result against SV Plüderhausen in Hanover. Werder's most recent appearance in the final was almost six years ago, when they again lost 3-1, this time to TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen. The Hanseatic team missed out on the semi-finals five times in a row, but are now celebrating their comeback this season and will once again be fighting for the title in the ratiopharm arena Ulm/Neu-Ulm.

One of the regulars in the Liebherr Cup Final Four is 1. FC Saarbrücken TT: FCS has taken part in the Liebherr Cup Final Four four times in the past five years and reached the final twice. Last January, they lost 3-0 to perennial rivals Borussia Düsseldorf. Saarbrücken have won the cup twice so far (2012, 2022) - Franziska and Co. now have their sights set on a third triumph on January 4.

The path to the Liebherr Cup Final Four

Werder cleared one of the biggest hurdles in the competition so far in the quarter-finals: The Bremen team surprised TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell and Dimitrij Ovtcharov with a 3:2 win, after the TTBL match had ended 0:3 a few days earlier. Individual victories by Mattias Falck and Kirill Gerassimenko as well as the doubles team of Gerassimenko/Andrei Putuntica secured their return to the Liebherr Cup Final Four. They had previously beaten 1. FSV Mainz 05 3:1 in the round of 16.

Saarbrücken, on the other hand, did not need much and the Champions League winners would surprisingly have had to bow out in the round of 16. FCS struggled to a 3:2 win against Borussia Dortmund in the fifth set of the doubles match in September. The quarter-finals were much more straightforward, with the expected 3:0 win over second-division side 1. FC Köln.

Overview of the Liebherr Cup Final Four on January 4, 2025

Semi-finals, from 11 a.m.
Semi-finals 1: TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen – TTC OE Bad Homburg
Semi-finals 2: SV Werder Bremen – 1. FC Saarbrücken TT 

Final, following
Winner Semi-finals 1 – Winner Semi-finals 2

Tickets for specific seats can be ordered in the TTBL ticket store, by telephone on 0761 888499 99 and at all known advance booking offices.