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Just two days after the conclusion of Matchday 7, the Table Tennis Bundesliga (TTBL) continues: On Friday, Borussia Dortmund and TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen will kick off Matchday 8. At the same time, TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell will host TSV Bad Königshofen, currently at the bottom of the standings, for the Hesse-Franconia derby. All TTBL matches will be broadcast live on Dyn.

Borussia Dortmund – TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen

Both teams have suffered setbacks recently—and now face off with significantly altered lineups. Borussia Dortmund has lost three games in a row, most recently a 0-3 defeat in Bremen, and has slipped to sixth place as a result. Two regular starters were missing: Anders Lind was away on international duty, and Kristian Karlsson is out with an injury. “He’s been in pain for a few months now,” said Cedric Nuytinck. “We don’t know yet how long he’ll be out.” But that doesn’t change their ambitions, the Belgian added; the goal remains to reach the semifinals. Ochsenhausen, meanwhile, suffered its first loss of the season in the Table Tennis Bundesliga (TTBL) on Sunday—playing with a makeshift lineup in which even coach Bogdan Pugna had to step up to the table. Now Shunsuke Togami, who reached the semifinals at the WTT Champions in Frankfurt, and Tiago Abiodun are back; Darius Movileanu remains sidelined. “We’ll stay the course and head to Dortmund to win,” Pugna announced. Last season, BVB won both head-to-head matches 3–1.

TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell – TSV Bad Königshofen

Ninth place versus last place: For TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell and TSV Bad Königshofen, Friday’s Hessian-Franconian derby is not just about points, but also about setting the course for the rest of the season. Fulda started the season with a string of incredibly close matches—five of the first six matches ended 3–2 or 2–3—but suffered its first decisive loss on Tuesday in Mühlhausen. In the 0–3 defeat, Dimitrij Ovtcharov lost to Ovidiu Ionescu, and Jonathan Groth and Fanbo Meng also failed to score any points. With 4–10 points, last year’s seventh-place finisher is currently in ninth place. Bad Königshofen has been waiting for a win since Matchday 3 and most recently lost 1–3 to Bergneustadt, with Bastian Steger dropping both singles matches. Nevertheless, the veteran remains the most successful player from Lower Franconia with a 5–3 record.

TTC OE Clarity Telefonie-Systeme Bad Homburg – Post SV Mühlhausen

Two teams that have long since turned their slow starts around: TTC OE Clarity Telefonie-Systeme Bad Homburg now sits in fifth place with 8:6 points. The Hessians achieved their biggest success to date last Sunday with a 3:1 victory over Ochsenhausen, which had been undefeated until then. The standout player is Csaba Andras, who won both singles matches for TTC OE Clarity and leads the TTBL player rankings with an 11–2 singles record. “There’s no secret. But I’m no star,” said the Hungarian. “I’d like to stay in this form and continue to help my team.” Post SV Mühlhausen has also turned things around: After three losses to start the season, the Thuringians have won three of their last four matches, most recently 3–0 against Fulda. With 6–8 points, Mühlhausen is in seventh place and would tie with Bad Homburg with a win.

Borussia Düsseldorf – ASC Grünwettersbach

Seven matches, seven wins, 21–5 in singles: Borussia Düsseldorf is the only undefeated team in the TTBL and has a chance to add to its record on Sunday. The record champions recently demonstrated the depth of their roster with a 3–2 victory in Grenzau, which they achieved without Fan Zhendong and Dang Qiu. Kanak Jha won both singles matches, while Anton Källberg and Li Yongyin secured the decisive point in the doubles. With the return of these two top stars, coach Danny Heister will have two players with flawless records at his disposal: Fan is 7–0 in singles, and Qiu is 4–0. ASC Grünwettersbach arrives in 11th place in the standings and is still waiting for its first home win of the season; the Baden team’s two wins have come on the road. Most recently, they suffered a 1–3 loss to Saarbrücken, though Florian Bluhm provided a ray of hope: the defensive player won 3–2 against Eduard Ionescu. “My first TTBL win—that’s always special,” Bluhm said afterward.

TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt – SV Werder Bremen

For TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt, the 3-1 victory in Bad Königshofen was an important step away from the bottom of the standings. Benedikt Duda kicked off the team’s second win of the season with a 3-0 victory over Bastian Steger, but then tempered expectations: “It’s not a breakthrough, but a brief sigh of relief.” Just how far last year’s third-place finisher is falling short of its potential is particularly evident in Duda’s record: After posting a 25–8 record last season—making him the most successful singles player in the TTL—he currently stands at 6–7. SV Werder Bremen, on the other hand, arrives in the Bergisches Land with renewed confidence. In their 3-0 win over Dortmund, Kirill Gerassimenko, Mattias Karlsson, and Irvin Bertrand all secured victories—Karlsson despite a hand injury that had forced him to sit out just a week earlier. “It was important for the team to get back to winning ways after the recent losses,” said Bertrand. With 8-6 points, Werder has moved up to fourth place.

1.FC Saarbrücken TT – TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau

To wrap up the matchday, two players who have yet to lose a singles match this season will face off at the Joachim-Deckarm-Halle—provided both take the court: Hugo Calderano is 5-0 for 1. FC Saarbrücken TT, and Liam Pitchford is also 5-0 for TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau. The reigning German champion most recently won 3–1 in Grünwettersbach, and did so without Patrick Franziska, who simultaneously reached the final at the WTT Champions in Frankfurt, where he lost to Tomokazu Harimoto (2–4). With 10–4 points, FCS currently sits in third place. Grenzau, meanwhile, came close to pulling off an upset in their 2-3 loss to Düsseldorf: Feng Yi-Hsin defeated Li Yongyin 3-0 and was already leading 2-0 in sets against Kanak Jha in the top singles match before the American turned the match around. In eighth place with 6-8 points, the six-time German champion has settled into the middle of the standings.

Match day #8 at a glance

Friday, November 13
6 p.m.: Borussia Dortmund – TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen
6:30 p.m.: TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell – TSV Bad Königshofen
7 p.m.: TTC OE Clarity Telefonie-Systeme Bad Homburg – Post SV Mühlhausen

Sunday, November 15
2 p.m.: Borussia Düsseldorf – ASC Grünwettersbach
3:30 p.m.: TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt – SV Werder Bremen
5 p.m.: 1. FC Saarbrücken TT – TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau

All TTBL matches will be broadcast live on Dyn.

Header image: TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen's Shunsuke Togami (by BeLa Sportfoto)