Site Products
Bundesliga Finals: Saarbrucken Wins Season After Restart

Bundesliga Finals: Saarbrucken Wins Season After Restart

(by Steve Hopkins)

Like all sporting events, the German professional league, the Liebherr TTBL, was cut short by the Coronavirus Pandemic.  Now that play in Germany has resumed, and after the Dusseldorf Masters warm-up events, the final four teams met this week to complete the 2019/20 season with the Semifinal matches occurring earlier in the week and with the Finals held on Sunday.

One Semifinal matched perennial favorite Borussia Dusseldorf against TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen, the 2018/19 season champion.  The other Semifinal matched FC Saarbrucken, the third seed, against SV Werder Bremen, the second seed.

A lot of big names were present with Timo Boll and Kristian Karlsson anchoring Borussia Dusseldorf, and Hugo Calderano and Simon Gauzy leading the way for Ochsenhausen.  Saarbrucken featured Patrick Franziska and Bremen’s well-known player is Mattias Falck.

Borussia Dusseldorf started strong with Boll winning over Ochsenhausen’s Gauzy 3-0 and then extended their lead when Karlsson upset Hugo Calderano 3-1.  But it was all TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen from that point forward logging three consecutive wins for the victory.  Jakum Dyjas defeated Anton Kallberg 3-2, Calderano defeated Boll 3-2, and Simon Gauzy defeated Kristian Karlsson 3-0 to seal the ticket to the Final.

In the other bracket, FC Saarbrucken TT cruised winning three straight.  Shang Kun over Kirill Gerassimenko (3-1), Patrick Franziska over Mattias Falck (3-0), and Darko Jorgic over Marcelo Aguirre (3-1) to seal the win.

This set up a Final between three pretty well known Ochsenhausen players, Calderano/Gauzy/Dyjas, and the lesser known FC Saarbrucken TT players, Franziska/Kun/Jorgic.  The only high point in the Final for Ochsenhausen was a Jakum Dyjas win.  When Dyjas and Jorgic began, Saarbrucken was already leading 2-0 in matches.  Each of the first three games between the players was decided by 2 points with Dyjas leading 2-1. Jorgic then started the fourth game with three straight points, only to see Dyjas run off eleven straight to score a win for Ochsenhausen.  All of the other highlights belong to the new Champions, FC Saarbrucken.  Saarbrucken’s Patrick Franziska started things off with a very tight 3-2 upset win over Hugo Calderano.  Saarbrucken’s Shang Kun then scored an upset win over Simon Gauzy 3-1.  Dyjas then logged the lone win for Ochsenhausen.  And to seal the victory, Saarbrucken’s Shang Kun dominated Hugo Calderano for a 3-0 win.

This signals a close to the 2019/20 year – just as the new year is set to begin.  From this point forward, there are new rosters for many of these teams.  Many American fans will be following Ochsenhausen this year as USA’s Kanak Jha will be joining TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen.  Jha is replacing Jakub Dyjas. The team should be among the favorites in the upcoming season.

 

Latest News

Playing Kids

July 8, 2025
(By Larry Hodges) Let’s face it; they’re probably faster than you. They might have a coach working with… Read More

#2 A Skill That Is Likely To Score – Backhand Down The Line

July 7, 2025
[[Feature] [Special Feature] American Stars! Jha’s Strengths #2 A Skill That Is Likely To Score – Backhand Down… Read More

United States Smash: Tight Scores and a Big Upset in Early Action

July 7, 2025
(by Steve Hopkins, photo WTT) Action is underway in the main round of the United States Smash, the… Read More

MLTT Featured Team: Bay Area Blasters

July 6, 2025
(by Steve Hopkins, photo MLTT) The Bay Area Blasters plan to blast through the upcoming Major League Table… Read More

WAB CLUB FEATURE: Calgary United Sports Table Tennis Association

July 6, 2025
(by Steve Hopkins) Established in 2002, Calgary United Sports Table Tennis Association (CUSTTA) is Alberta’s largest Table Tennis… Read More

Butterfly Players Shine at the 2025 US National Table Tennis Championships

July 6, 2025
(by Steve Hopkins, photo USATT) The 2025 U.S. National Table Tennis Championships is one of the premiere annual… Read More

US Nationals Recap

July 6, 2025
(by Steve Hopkins) The US National Table Tennis Championships is in the books.  One of America’s premiere events… Read More

United States Smash: Qualifiers are Finished and the Main Draw Begins Today

July 6, 2025
(by Steve Hopkins, photo USATT) Americans made waves in the qualifying rounds of the United States Smash, the… Read More
View All News

Get the latest from Butterfly

Stay “In The Loop” with Butterfly professional table tennis equipment, table tennis news, table tennis technology, tournament results, and We Are Butterfly players, coaches, clubs and more.