(by Steve Hopkins, photo TTBL)

Five weeks in to the new season of the German Professional League (TTBL), and there are no undefeated teams.  That parity is not as surprising as the fact that the SV Werder Bremen squad is currently along in first place.  Bremen has a deep squad with Kirill Gerasimenko, Mattias Falck, Irvin Bertrand, and Marcelo Aguirre.  At least on paper, this group pales in comparison to second place Schwalbe Bergneustadt anchored by Benedict Duda, or fourth place Saarbrucken with Franziska and Zhendong, or sixth place Dusseldorf with Dang Qiu and Kallberg.

The match that made the difference was this weekend when Bremen faced Saarbrucken.  The Saarbrucken squad won the first game when Darko Jorgic came back from an 0-2 deficit to top Mattias Falck 3-2.  Then Bremen’s Marcelo Aguirre upset former World No. 1 Fan Zhendong 3-1 to tie the match 1-1.  Bremen’s Kirill Gerasimenko continued to upset run for his team with a 3-1 win over Patrick Franziska.  Fan Zhendong then took out Mattias Falck in a battle of No. 1’s.  And with the score tied 2-2, the match was decided in doubles – with Bremen’s Gerasimenko and Bertrand easily defeateing Saarbrucken’s Franziska and Meissner.

At this point in the season, it is Bremen, Bergneustadt, Muhlhausen, and Saarbrucken in the top four positions.  The two squads in fifth and sixth are Grunwettersbach and Dusseldorf.  Only the top four will make the playoffs.  With half of the league within reach of a top four slot, it should be an exciting season.

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