At the CCB Europe Top 16 Cup, on the final day of play in Montreux, three German players have secured spots in the women’s semifinals. Xiaona SHAN will face Elizabeta SAMARA of Romania, while Ying HAN is set to take on fellow German Sabine WINTER. In the men’s category, the competition is just as fierce. Patrick FRANZISKA of Germany will face Alexis LEBRUN of France, while Darko JORGIC of Slovenia will clash with Truls MOREGAARD of Sweden for a place in the final. In addition to securing a place in the semifinals, all players have also booked their tickets to Macao today. The semifinalists in both events have qualified for the World Cup, which will be held from 14th to 22nd May. You can follow the live stream and results at ETTU TV and the ETTU website. Pictures are available here on Flickr. Elizabeta SAMARA of Romania – Linda BERGSTRÖM of Sweden 3-1 (11-13, 12-10, 11-2, 11-8) Elizabeta SAMARA reached the semifinals of the 2025 CCB Europe Top 16 Cup by overcoming Linda BERGSTRÖM. In her 15th appearance, the Romanian, seeded 5th, who had her best result in 2018 (third place), delivered a superb performance to defeat the 12th-seeded Swede. “I knew I had chances against Linda. The last time we met was in December last year, and I had a 2-0 lead in games, then 6-1 in the third. At 2-1, I had a 7-2 lead and everything was under control, but somehow I lost my focus and lost that Champions League match. Here, I felt a bit of a scare when I led 10-6 in the opening game, and then she won it. I didn’t want to lose my focus again and repeat that mistake. Linda was undoubtedly playing well, especially tactically, and it’s a different thing when it’s a team match versus a tournament where you’re on your own at the table,” said SAMARA. Elizabeta explained what also worked in her favor: “For me, this best-of-five system works just fine. You have to show your best from the beginning. There’s no time for being 0-2 or 0-3 down if you still want to stay in the match. It’s also more exciting for the audience. I didn’t want to put pressure on myself before the start, I just wanted to enjoy the game. Of course, when I saw the draw, I knew I had good chances, even better after Linda beat Nina MITTELHAM, but from now on, I’ll enjoy it even more in the semifinals.” Ying HAN of Germany – Jieni SHAO of Portugal 3-0 (11-7, 11-4, 11-6) Ying HAN dominated in her duel against Jieni SHAO. The German player had been long injured and is playing in Montreux with a protected ranking, but it seems that HAN is fully recovered and in great shape now. “I’m absolutely thrilled to be in the semifinals. The draw was quite favorable for me. My opponent generally plays well against defensive players, but she struggles to bring her qualities to the table consistently over an entire match. Now, I’m looking forward to the semifinals. I’ll calmly watch Sabine WINTER’s match against POLCANOVA and keep my fingers crossed for my national teammate,” said HAN. Alexis LEBRUN of France – Dang QIU of Germany 3-0 (13-11, 12-10, 11-7) The crowd favorite in Montreux, Alexis LEBRUN, beat Dang QIU in a tight match. The game was much closer than the 3-0 result suggests, and for sure, Alexis gave spectators great joy and excitement. “I have had many matches recently with Dang, and each one was difficult. The result today does not reflect the game. It wasn’t an easy 3-0. It could have been 3-2, or 3-0 for him. So I am very happy with my performance. This game shows an evolution in my game because I was able to reverse the score against a top player. I’m not used to that,” explained LEBRUN. The opening two games were on a knife’s edge; it could have gone either way. “Sometimes it turns well, sometimes not. I made good decisions at the right times. I won important points, tactical points. I’m very happy because I managed my game well, and it paid off in the end.” Alexis stressed that the support from the crowd made a big impact. “We are not in France, but I’m still playing at home. That’s great. I hope it will be the same tomorrow.” Asked about potentially meeting Félix in the semifinals, he joked, “I will go and watch his game to analyze him… because I don’t know him very well. Obviously, I’m his number 1 fan. If we both stand on the podium, it would be amazing. The winner of this game will qualify for the final. I hope I will be the winner. Reaching the semifinals is great, but I’m here to win the title. There are still four games to win, two big games.” QIU regretted his actions in the second game, where QIU was 6-0 up before losing 10-12. “Even though I didn’t make any really easy mistakes, I should have won that set. There’s absolutely no excuse. That cost me the match,” said QIU. Jonathan GROTH of Denmark – Darko JORGIC of Slovenia 1-3 (8-11, 4-11, 11-9, 5-11) Reigning champion Darko JORGIC seemed less worried than yesterday. A back injury kept him out of the training hall for almost three weeks, and after a shaky start yesterday against Eduardo IONESCU, his performance was much better today as he overcame Jonathan GROTH. “I’m happy that I reached the semifinals; it was the first goal. At least it takes some pressure off me. However, I am still true to my tradition. I always start the tournament with great difficulties, but later everything falls into place,” explained JORGIC. Darko continued to talk about the match: “From the first ball today, I was the old Darko, the one who attacks and plays aggressively. In the third game, I lost a little bit of focus. I played more passively, and