At this time last year, 1. FC Saarbrücken - TT’s players watched as TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen celebrated winning the 2024-25 Liebherr Cup, knowing they were just one match away from holding that trophy themselves.
One year later, those same players celebrated with the 2025-26 Liebherr Cup in their hands.
Saarbrücken defeated TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell in four sets on Sunday to take home the 2025-26 Liebherr Cup. This is Saarbrucken’s third Liebherr Cup in club history, and its first since 2022.
This victory was spearheaded by Fan Zhendong (No. 1), who won his first-ever German title in his Liebherr Cup Final Four debut. Fan faced off against Dimitrij Ovtcharov (No. 2) and Ruwen Filus (No. 1) in the Liebherr Cup finale, and he did not drop a single game against either player.
“I’m very happy about winning the title,” Fan said after the match, per Table Tennis Bundesliga. “It was my first Final Four and it was a lot of fun. Today was a special moment in my career. I hope to be able to participate in this event again in the future.”
Saarbrücken only loss in the finale came at the hands of Filus, who took down Patrick Franziska (No. 2) in five games. All three of Saarbrücken's other sets, including Darko Jorgic’s (No. 3) battle against Fanbo Meng (No. 3), came in three-set sweeps.
“The title was our big goal,” Franziska reportedly said after the match. “Therefore, I am very proud of the entire team and the entire club, also because we were always there for each other.”
Saarbrücken advanced to this year’s finale after defeating Ochsenhausen, the reigning Liebherr Cup champions, in a revenge match that took only four sets to win. After Shunsuke Togami (No. 1) swept Jorgic (No. 2) to start the match, Saarbrücken rallied to win three straight sets, all of which took four games.
Fulda earned its spot in Sunday’s final showdown by beating TTC OE Clarity-Tel.Syst. Bad Homburg, the underdog that defeated Borussia Düsseldorf in the quarterfinals. Ovtcharov (No. 2) and Filus (No. 1) took the first six games before Ivor Ban (No. 3) and Jo Yokotani (No. 1) forced a match-deciding doubles set, which Ovtcharov and Fanbo Meng (No. 4) won.
Fulda would have won its first Liebherr Cup in club history if it had beaten Saarbrücken. Regardless, returning to the Final Four after missing out last season was an outcome that Filus considered a “positive conclusion.”
“We have to acknowledge that Saarbrücken was the better team and therefore deserved to win,” Filus reportedly said after the match. “So we are very happy with the silver medal overall.”
Fulda will play its next match on Jan. 11 against Bad Homburg, a rematch of the Final Four. Saarbrücken will return on Jan. 12 to face BV Borussia 09 Dortmund.
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Overview:
1. FC Saarbrücken - TT vs. TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell: 3-1
1. Fan Zhendong (No. 1) vs. Dimitrij Ovtcharov (No. 2): 3-0 (11-9, 11-9, 11-8)
2. Patrick Franziska (No. 2) vs. Ruwen Filus (No. 1): 2-3 (10-12, 11-8, 11-9, 7-11, 12-14)
3. Darko Jorgic (No. 3) vs. Fanbo Meng (No. 3): 3-0 (11-6, 11-9, 11-8)
4. Fan Zhendong (No. 1) vs. Ruwen Filus (No. 1): 3-0 (11-8, 11-3, 11-6)
