Pokal

In the deciding set of the doubles, Post SV Mühlhausen booked the final spot in the German Table Tennis Cup quarterfinals with a dramatic win over TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt. That keeps the Thuringians alive in all three competitions – and at the same time served as revenge for their league defeat to Bergneustadt on Friday.

The fans at the LOTTO Thüringen Center Court had to wait until the very last rally, but then the arena erupted as Steffen Mengel and Marcos Freitas converted match point to send their team through. “That we were even able to field three players – real credit to Kay for stepping up for the team,” said head coach Erik Schreyer on Dyn. Kay Stumper, who had missed Friday’s match due to illness, returned on Sunday and turned into the cup hero.

Duda Returns – Freitas Takes Revenge

Bergneustadt brought back Benedikt Duda, who had rested on Friday, and the German international swept past Ovidiu Ionescu in straight games. All eyes, however, were on the rematch between Romain Ruiz and Marcos Freitas: Ruiz had won convincingly two days earlier, but this time the Portuguese veteran hit back with a 3:1 victory. “Marcos played by far his best match,” praised Schreyer.

Stumper and Mengel Deliver the Key Points

After the break, a still-recovering Stumper battled past Adrien Rassenfosse for an important 3:1 win. Ionescu, however, lost his second singles clearly, setting up the decisive doubles. There, Mengel and Freitas rode the wave of the home crowd, edging Duda/Rassenfosse 3:2 to spark wild celebrations.

Eyes on the Final Four

Mühlhausen are now just one win away from the Final Four in Neu-Ulm on January 4, 2026. As one of the top four quarterfinalists, they can hope for a favorable draw. “A second-division team wouldn’t be bad,” admitted Schreyer, though he also pointed to the packed schedule: “It won’t be easy to find a date – we also still have the Champions League round of 16 ahead.”

Cup Round of 16 fixtures

Post SV Mühlhausen – TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt 3:2
Ovidiu Ionescu – Benedikt Duda 0:3 (8:11, 5:11, 10:12)
Marcos Freitas – Romain Ruiz 3:1 (10:12, 11:4, 11:7, 11:3)
Kay Stumper – Adrien Rassenfosse 3:1 (11:7, 8:11, 11:8, 11:9)
Ovidiu Ionescu – Leo de Nodrest 1:3 (8:11, 4:11, 11:5, 7:11)
Steffen Mengel/Marcos Freitas – Benedikt Duda/Adrien Rassenfosse 3:2 (11:7, 6:11, 12:10, 9:11, 11:5)

TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen – SV Werder Bremen 3:1
Shunsuke Togami – Irvin Bertrand 3:0 (12:10, 11:4, 11:9)
Tiago Abiodun – Kirill Gerassimenko 3:1 (11:5, 12:10, 9:11, 11:2)
Iulian Chirita – Mattias Falck 2:3 (9:11, 11:9, 4:11, 12:10, 6:11)
Shunsuke Togami – Kirill Gerassimenko 3:0 (12:10, 11:7, 12:10)

TSV Bad Königshofen – Borussia Düsseldorf 0:3
Bastian Steger – Anton Källberg 1:3 (7:11, 11:8, 4:11, 7:11)
Andre Bertelsmeier – Dang Qiu 2:3 (4:11, 11:6, 11:8, 4:11, 7:11)
Daniel Habesohn – Kanak Jha 0:3 (7:11, 9:11, 8:11)

TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell – ASC Grünwettersbach 3:0
Jonathan Groth – Adrian Gossow 3:0 (11:8, 11:3, 11:5)
Fanbo Meng – Tobias Hippler 3:1 (9:11, 11:4, 11:4, 12:10)
Dimitrij Ovtcharov – Damian Floro 3:0 (11:8, 11:1, 11:8)

1. FC Saarbrücken TT – Borussia Dortmund 3:0
Fan Zhendong – Adam Szudi 3:0 (11:4, 11:2, 11:7)
Patrick Franziska – Cedric Nuytinck 3:0 (12:10, 11:4, 15:13)
Darko Jorgic – Alberto Mino 3:0 (11:9, 11:5, 11:4)

SV Union Velbert – 1. FSV Mainz 05 3:1
Wim Verdonschot – Nathan Lam 3:0 (11:4, 11:8, 11:6)
Timotius Köchling – Chia-Hung Sun 3:2 (11:4, 10:12, 7:11, 11:8, 11:6)
Anton Limonov – Daniel Berzosa 2:3 (6:11, 8:11, 11:7, 14:12, 7:11)
Wim Verdonschot – Albert Vilardell 3:2 (11:13, 11:4, 11:8, 7:11, 11:6)

1. FC Saarbrücken TT II – TTC OE Clarity Telefonie-Systeme Bad Homburg 1:3
Yuto Muramatsu – Benno Oehme 3:0 (11:9, 11:4, 11:4)
Eduard Ionescu – Csaba Andras 2:3 (11:7, 11:6, 7:11, 4:11, 6:11)
Dennis Klein – Ivor Ban 1:3 (9:11, 9:11, 11:8, 9:11)
Yuto Muramatsu – Csaba Andras 2:3 (10:12, 11:3, 6:11, 14:12, 9:11)

TTC indeland Jülich – TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau 0:3
Laurens Devos – Luka Mladenovic 0:3 (9:11, 10:12, 7:11)
Robin Devos – Feng Yi-Hsin 1:3 (7:11, 15:13, 5:11, 3:11)
Kas van Oost – Samuel Walker 0:3 (3:11, 5:11, 5:11)

Picture: Kay Stumper of Post SV Mühlhausen (Photo: Christian Habel Pixo)