International

1.FC Saarbrücken TT has won the Champions League for the fourth consecutive time. Led by superstar Fan Zhendong, the team defeated Alliance Nimes-Montpellier of France 3-2 on Sunday in front of their home crowd. Following their cup victory, this marks the second title of the season for FCS, which is now aiming for the treble.

1.FC Saarbrücken TT triumphed for the fourth time overall, with the Saarland-based team having won all of its titles since 2023. After facing Borussia Düsseldorf in the finals for the past three years, this time they faced Alliance Nimes-Montpellier, featuring the brothers Felix and Alexis Lebrun. Despite two losses by Fan Zhendong, who was off his game, Saarbrücken came back strong and won the match 3-2.

Fan, who will be leaving the Saarland at the end of the season after one year to join Borussia Düsseldorf, was all the more relieved. “I’m thrilled with the team’s strong performance,” he said into the Dyn microphone: “I’m still working on my English and can’t fully express my feelings in English. But this title means a lot to me, even though I wasn’t able to help the team today.”

Truls Möregardh keeps his cool

Things got off to a rocky start for the defending champion, who was playing without Patrick Franziska. Alexis Lebrun completely caught Fan off guard in the top spot. Despite some spectacular rallies, the Chinese player made too many errors and lost decisively 0-3 (6-11, 8-11, 9-11). In a much closer second match, Truls Möregardh kept his cool in the decisive moments against Felix Lebrun and evened the score with a 3-0 victory (15-13, 15-13, 12-10).

In the third match, Darko Jorgic, who was playing in place of Franziska, had fewer problems. The Slovenian defeated Antoine Hachard 3-0 (12-10, 11-4, 11-7), though he carelessly gave up too many points in the first set. But Fan just couldn’t get going and subsequently lost for the first time to Felix Lebrun 0-3 (6-11, 11-13, 8-11). Möregardh secured the decisive victory for the cup champions against Alexis Lebrun with a 3-1 win (11-5, 11-7, 5-11, 11-6).

Saarbrücken aims for the triple at the Liebherr TTBL Final4

The Lebrun brothers single-handedly eliminated record champions Borussia Düsseldorf 3-1 in Saturday’s semifinal.

Fan also celebrated his second title in Germany following the cup victory in January. Now the Chinese player and FCS are aiming for the triple: On the weekend of May 30–31, the Liebherr TTBL Final4 will take place at the Süwag Energie ARENA in Frankfurt, where Saarbrücken will face SV Werder Bremen in the semifinals. The other semifinal will be between Düsseldorf and TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt. Tickets for this top event are available here.

Champions League at a glance

Final

1. FC Saarbrücken TT – Alliance Nimes-Montpellier 3:2
Fan Zhendong – Alexis Lebrun 0:3 (6:11, 8:11, 9:11)
Truls Möregardh – Felix Lebrun 3:0 (15:13, 15:13, 12:10)
Darko Jorgic – Antoine Hachard 3:0 (12:10, 11:4, 11:7)
Fan Zhendong – Felix Lebrun 0:3 (6:11, 11:13, 8:11)
Truls Möregardh – Alexis Lebrun 3:1 (11:5, 11:7, 5:11, 11:6)

Semifinals

1.FC Saarbrücken TT – KS Bogoria Grodzisk Mazowiecki 3:0
Fan Zhendong – Milosz Redzimski 3:0 (11:6, 11:6, 11:4)
Patrick Franziska – Marek Badowski 3:0 (11:8, 11:5, 11:7)
Truls Möregardh – Panagiotis Gionis 3:2 (11:8, 3:11, 14:12, 10:12, 6:4)

Borussia Düsseldorf – Alliance Nimes-Montpellier 1:3
Dang Qiu – Alexis Lebrun 0:3 (5:11, 8:11, 8:11)
Anton Källberg – Felix Lebrun 0:3 (9:11, 14:16, 8:11)
Kanak Jha – Manav Thakar 3:1 (11:9, 12:10, 8:11, 11:9)
Dang Qiu – Felix Lebrun 1:3 (14:16, 11:9, 5:11, 8:11)

Header photo: 1. FC Saarbrücken TT's Fan Zhendong (by BeLa Sportfoto)