Bundesliga

Three weeks before their clash in the Liebherr Cup Final Four, 1. FC Saarbrücken TT and TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen faced each other in the Table Tennis Bundesliga (TTBL). With a 3-0 victory, the Saarland team, playing with their best line-up, made a statement in the title race on Sunday.

1. FC Saarbrücken TT and TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen have fought numerous groundbreaking battles in recent years, and both teams are among the title contenders again this season. Before the two top clubs meet in the semi-final match of the Liebherr Cup Final Four on January 4, 2026 – remaining tickets are available from the TTBL ticket shop, and the top event will be broadcast live on Dyn – they faced each other at the start of the 10th match day in the Table Tennis Bundesliga (TTBL). And with a clear result: FCS defeated the reigning champions 3-0 on Sunday, distancing Ochsenhausen in the table. With 14-6 points, Saarbrücken is now in third place; TTF is fifth with 12-8 points.

“You can't overestimate the dress rehearsal. No one is going to show their hand on Sunday,” Ochsenhausen's Iulian Chirita had said before the match. Both clubs fielded their top players, but rotated their lineups somewhat. Saarbrücken put Darko Jorgic in the number one position instead of Fan Zhendong, while Ochsenhausen put Chirita in instead of Shunsuke Togami.

Darko Jorgic hands Shunsuke Togami his first defeat

The key match of the day came in the very first encounter: Jorgic handed Togami his first defeat of the current TTBL season with a 3-2 victory and now tops the TTBL player rankings with a 9:0 singles record. “The first match was decisive,” TTF coach Bogdan Pugna said into the Dyn microphone. “Darko had a slight home advantage, he found the right solutions a little more easily than Shunsuke. Congratulations to Saarbrücken, they were the better team today.” Ochsenhausen couldn't manage more than Togami's two set wins on Sunday: Fan followed up with a 3-0 victory over Chirita, and Patrick Franziska sealed the final score with a 3-0 win over Andreas Levenko.

The 10th match day of the Table Tennis Bundesliga will continue next Tuesday, December 16, with two matches: At 6.30 pm, ASC Grünwettersbach will host TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau, followed by a duel between Borussia Düsseldorf and Post SV Mühlhausen at 7 pm. These and all other TTBL matches will be broadcast live on Dyn.

Match day #10 at a glance

1. FC Saarbrücken TT – TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen 3:0
Darko Jorgic – Shunsuke Togami 3:2 (10:12, 1:11, 11:7, 11:9, 11:6)
Fan Zhendong – Iulian Chirita 3:0 (11:9, 12:10, 11:2)
Patrick Franziska – Andreas Levenko 3:0 (12:10, 11:5, 11:9)

Tuesday, December 16
6.30 pm: ASC Grünwettersbach – TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau
7 pm: Borussia Düsseldorf – Post SV Mühlhausen

Wednesday, December 17
7 pm: Borussia Dortmund – TTC OE Clarity-Telefonie Systeme Bad Homburg
7.30 pm: TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt – TSV Bad Königshofen

Thursday, December 18
7 pm: TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell – SV Werder Bremen

Header photo: 1. FC Saarbrücken TT's Fan Zhendong (by Ulrich Höfer)