(by Steve Hopkins, photo courtesy of ITTF)
Dusseldorf led the German League all season – jumping out to a great start, and then extending their lead. There was never any doubt that they’d make the Final Four, but they did split big matches with Saarbrucken earlier in the year, so there was some intrigue in the match-up. In fact, in the half-season tournament, Saarbrucken topped Dusseldorf 3-1. But when these two teams met in what turned out to be the final match of the European Champions League, it was Dusseldorf that dominated.
The result of today’s match was to be expected – but it was not without drama. Borussia Dusseldorf scored the first point with Anton Kallberg topping Saarbrucken’s Tomas Polanski (3-1). Patrick Franziska then defeated Dang Qiu 3-2 to even the match score. When Saarbrucken’s Darko Jorgic upset Timo Boll 3-1, Saarbrucken was in control of the match. But Anton Kallberg upset Patrick Franziska to even the score, and then Kristian Karlsson and Dang Qiu shut the door with a doubles win over Jorgic and Polansky. Anton Kallberg was the hero of the day, logging two of Dusseldorf’s three points.
The season ends with Dusseldorf having won both the German League and the European Champions League. And for Saarbrucken, they have finished has runner up in both of those events.
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