The Champions League Men is proving to be stronger than ever, with some of the world’s top players competing. Alliance Nîmes/Montpellier boasts World No. 4 Felix LEBRUN and No. 5 Alexis LEBRUN, 1 FC Saarbrücken Tischtennis e.V. features World No. 9 Truls MÖREGÅRDH, and Postsportverein Mühlhausen 1951 e.V. has strengthened its lineup with Gaoyuan LIN, a three-time World Champion as part of Team China. In a dramatic Round of 16 second-leg clash, KS Dekorglass Działdowo edged out Postsportverein Mühlhausen 1951 e.V. to secure their place in the quarterfinals. The German side brought in their Chinese star Gaoyuan LIN for the return leg in Poland, following a 1-3 defeat at home. Overcoming such a deficit was a monumental task, even with a player of LIN’s caliber. Jonathan GROTH gave a strong start against Mühlhausen, defeating Ovidiu IONESCU but narrowly losing to Gaoyuan LIN in a nail-biting fifth game. KS Dekorglass Działdowo nearly leveled the match after LIN and Irvin BERTRAND defeated Samuel KULCZYCKI and Jakub DYJAS, putting the visitors ahead 2-1. LIN sealed the regular match, bringing the overall score to a tie. For the first time in this year’s Champions League, the Golden Match rule was applied. LIN triumphed over KULCZYCKI to give Mühlhausen the initial lead, but GROTH leveled it again with a victory over BERTRAND. In the decisive game, Jakub DYJAS overcame Ovidiu IONESCU, launching the Polish club into the quarterfinals. KS Dekorglass Działdowo – Postsportverein Mühlhausen 1951 e.V. 1-3 Golden match KS Dekorglass Działdowo – Postsportverein Mühlhausen 1951 e.V. 2-1 Opening leg Postsportverein Mühlhausen 1951 e.V. – KS Dekorglass Działdowo 1-3

Alliance Nîmes/Montpellier, featuring two of the most prominent names in European table tennis, Felix and Alexis LEBRUN, successfully concluded the Round of 16 in the Champions League Men. The French team triumphed over Austria’s SPG Felbermayr Wels in both legs, showing their dominance and securing their place in the quarterfinals. In today’s match in Austria, Alliance Nîmes/Montpellier sealed victory in four matches. Felix LEBRUN, the Olympic bronze medalist in singles from Paris 2024, demonstrated his exceptional skill by defeating both Andreas LEVENKO and Maciej KOLODZIEJCZYK. Esteban DORR also contributed significantly by defeating LEVENKO in the opening duel of the match. The Austrian side managed one victory, with Felix WETZEL overcoming Alexis LEBRUN, Felix’s older brother, in a closely contested five-game battle. The LEBRUN brothers continue to impress on the international stage. Felix and Alexis are not only Olympic medalists, winning bronze in the team event in Paris 2024 as a members of the team France, but also runners-up in the team event at the World Championships. Felix added to his accolades by claiming the singles title at the European Games, while Alexis struck gold at the European Championships in Linz in the singles category. The duo further solidified their dominance in doubles, capturing gold together at the same European Championships. Their success has been instrumental in Alliance Nîmes/Montpellier’s progress in the Champions League. As they head into the quarterfinals, all eyes will be on the LEBRUN brothers on their journey to their first Final 4. “I am very happy to be playing in the Champions League this year with my team, and it brings me great joy that we have reached the quarterfinals. Additionally, we will face Borussia Düsseldorf, the biggest team in Europe, on our way to the Final 4 in January, and I am really looking forward to that duel,” said Felix LEBRUN. Alliance Nîmes/Montpellier coach Vincent AVRIL expressed his satisfaction with the team’s overall performance, from their success in Stage 1 matches to the impressive conclusion of the Round of 16 challenge. “I am very happy with my entire team. Last time in Poland, without Alexis and Félix, we succeeded in winning the group. Now, after two very strong matches, we won 5-0 with only two games lost. I am very proud of my team. We are going to take some rest and prepare to be ready for Düsseldorf,” said coach AVRIL. SPG Felbermayr Wels – Alliance Nîmes/Montpellier 1-3 Opening leg Alliance Nîmes/Montpellier – SPG Felbermayr Wels 3-0

A.S Pontoise-Cergy TT secured a 3-2 victory over KS Global Pharma Orlicz 1924 Suchedniów at home, but the result was insufficient for the French team to secure a spot in the Champions League Men quarterfinals. In the first leg, the Polish club had recorded a 3-1 victory, giving them the edge on aggregate. Marcos FREITAS, absent from the French lineup last week, delivered an impressive performance, winning both his matches against Robert FLORAS and Deni KOZUL. Izaac QUEK YONG also claimed a victory over FLORAS. However, it was the nail-biting wins by KOZUL over QUEK YONG and Mateusz ZALEWSKI over Liam PITCHFORD that sealed Suchedniów’s advancement to the round of 8. “It was a great match. We managed to win two points even without Kazuhiro YOSHIMURA, who led us to victory last time with two wins. We came mentally prepared, knowing everything depended on us. I’m thrilled to have avenged my 2-3 loss last week with a 3-2 win over Izaac QUEK YONG. In the decisive game, I had a 4-0 lead, which gave me the advantage I needed. Robert also played very well against Marcos in the opening match—it was close until the fifth game. But the most important win was Mateusz’s victory over Liam PITCHFORD—Liam was a clear favorite. This is a great Christmas gift. We’ll give our best to continue and aim for the Final 4,” said Deni KOZUL. Previously, Polish team had to go through the group stage to earn their spot in the competition. A.S PONTOISE-CERGY TT – KS GLOBAL PHARMA ORLICZ 1924 SUCHEDNIÓW 3-2 First leg KS GLOBAL PHARMA ORLICZ 1924 SUCHEDNIÓW – A.S PONTOISE-CERGY TT 3-1

Last year’s Final 4 winners, 1. FC Saarbrücken Tischtennis e.V., runners-up Borussia Düsseldorf, and semifinalists SolexConsult TTC Wiener Neustadt have all advanced to the quarterfinals of the Champions League Men. In addition, KS DARTOM BOGORIA Grodzisk Mazowiecki also repeated their success from last week to secure their spot. 1. FC Saarbrücken Tischtennis e.V. overcame HB Ostrov z.s. once again. This time, Patrick FRANZISKA was absent, while Darko JORGIC returned to the team. However, after two easy game wins against Pavel SIRUCEK, the Slovenian star seemed to run out of steam, losing 2-3 in the end. Nevertheless, after a 3-0 victory in Czechia, Eduardo IONESCU’s two wins over Jiri VRABLIK and SIRUCEK, combined with Cedric MEISSNER’s win against Tomas TREGLER, ensured the defending champions concluded the duel convincingly to reach the quarterfinals. “It is a very good and important victory for us. Now we are one step closer to the Final 4 and to defending our title,” said MEISSNER. “Edi IONESCU played a very good match tonight. JORGIC was also excellent until the third game, but then it became much harder for him. My win was not as easy as the result suggests. Each game was very close and could have gone either way quickly.” In the fourth of five matches within twelve days, Borussia Düsseldorf beat SKST Havirov in straight matches. Timo BOLL, who missed the match in Czechia due to a cold, joined Dang QIU and Kay STUMPER at ARAG CenterCourt. Germany’s trio defeated Adam STALZER, Tomas POLANSKY, and Michal BLINKA. Borussia Düsseldorf now awaits either Alliance Nîmes/Montpellier or SPG Felbermayr Wels in the quarterfinals, with the decision to be made this Sunday. “It’s never easy to play against seemingly weaker opponents. You have to maintain the same intensity as you would against top players, and I managed that well today. We were clear favorites, and we made that evident tonight,” said Dang QIU. Timo BOLL added: “I think we performed quite confidently today. Kay’s match was crucial, especially winning that first game. For me, staying focused was the key. Dang’s match was never in doubt. Overall, it was a deserved victory.” Danny HEISTER, Head Coach, commented: “Congratulations to my team. They performed well, and we achieved our goal with a convincing win. Now we’ll watch Montpellier on Sunday to see who our next opponent will be. Tomorrow, we head to Lübbecke to face Dortmund on Sunday, aiming for a win before our short Christmas break.” SolexConsult TTC Wiener Neustadt replicated their success from the Czech Republic, beating TTC Ostrava 2016 in the return leg at home. Amirezza ABBASI MONJEZI was the key player, securing two wins over Jakub KLEPRLIK and Piotr CYRNEK. Frane KOJIC overcame Adam KLAJBER, while CYRNEK avenged his narrow 2-3 defeat from last week by beating Ivor BAN. “We had the same match line-ups as in the opening leg in Ostrava, which suited us well. When we saw the line-ups, we were satisfied because we were already well-prepared tactically and knew what to expect. However, even with that, the Polish player Piotr CYRNEK created a big upset. He played much better against Ivor BAN than he did last week. On the other hand, we have the very dangerous ABBASI, who plays with a ‘grass’ rubber on his backhand side. His specific style of table tennis is difficult for many players to adjust to, as they rarely encounter it. That makes it uncomfortable for anyone to play against us, especially with ABBASI in such good shape,” said KOJIC. Last season, SolexConsult TTC Wiener Neustadt were surprising semifinalists in the Champions League Men. “We will be ready for the quarterfinals, no matter who is on the other side—BOGORIA or EL NINO PRAHA. Again, we will play two legs, and we look forward to the opportunity to play in front of our home crowd. We already have great experience playing in Europe. We are a small club compared to the giants in this competition, but we will give our best to reach the Final 4 again,” stated KOJIC. The last match of the day was played in Poland between KS DARTOM BOGORIA Grodzisk Mazowiecki and SF SKK EL NINO PRAHA. The hosts defeated the Czech side 3-1 to secure their place in the quarterfinals, although the match did not initially seem headed in that direction. Tomas KONECNY beat Marek BADOWSKI in straight games before Panagiotis GIONIS found himself down 0-2 against David REITSPIES. The Greek player managed to recover and win the duel, changing the course of the match. Takuya JIN overcame Martin SIP, and BADOWSKI prevailed against REITSPIES to seal the victory. “Match was very close. I think Marek was under pressure in the opening match, and he did not play very well. Speaking of my duel, I knew that David REITSPIES plays very well against defense, but I did not expect him to perform at such a high level for the second time in a row. He surprised me a lot. After going down 0-2, I found a better rhythm and improved my psychology. When I won, it created momentum for Bogoria. Takuya seized the opportunity. It was a great game for the spectators, and we will fight for the Final 4,” said GIONIS. Foto: Jörg FUHRMANN 1 FC Saarbrücken Tischtennis e.V. – HB Ostrov z.s. 3-1 First leg HB Ostrov z.s.- 1 FC Saarbrücken Tischtennis e.V. 0-3 Borussia Düsseldorf- SKST Havirov 3-0 First Leg SKST Havirov – Borussia Düsseldorf 1-3 SolexConsult TTC Wiener Neustadt – TTC Ostrava 2016 3-1 First Leg TTC Ostrava 2016 – SolexConsult TTC Wiener Neustadt 0-3 KS DARTOM BOGORIA Grodzisk Mazowiecki – SF SKK EL NINO PRAHA 3-1 First Leg SF SKK EL NINO PRAHA – KS DARTOM BOGORIA Grodzisk Mazowiecki 1-3 Foto: Jörg FUHRMANN

French club GV HENNEBONT TT became the first team to advance to the quarterfinals of the Champions League Men after a dominant performance in both legs against Polish side UKS Dojlidy Białystok. Following a 3-1 victory in Poland last week, HENNEBONT needed just three matches at home to secure their spot in the next stage. Tonight, Vladimir SIDORENKO, Lev KATSMAN, and Iulian CHIRITA left no room for doubt, delivering straight-game wins over Piotr MICHALSKI, Machi ASUKA, and Patryk CHOJNOWSKI. “This was much easier for us compared to the opening leg. With the home crowd and fantastic supporters, we had an advantage. It worked in our favor, and they were also very tired after the trip and their Polish league match on the 17th. We’re just happy that we could play at the same level at home,” said SIDORENKO, who also defeated Machi ASUKA and Patryk CHOJNOWSKI in the first leg. In the quarterfinals, GV HENNEBONT TT will face the winners of the clash between HB Ostrov z.s. and 1. FC Saarbrücken Tischtennis e.V. Reigning champions Saarbrücken lead the tie after a 3-0 win in the opening leg. “We are currently in very good shape. Right now, table tennis is very close, and there’s a 50/50 chance for everyone,” SIDORENKO added. Round of 16 GV HENNEBONT TT – UKS Dojlidy Białystok 3-0 First leg UKS Dojlidy Białystok – GV HENNEBONT TT 1-3