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Fan Zhendong and the World's Top Players in Nuremberg: Five Reasons to Attend the Cup Grand Opening
The German Table Tennis Cup Grand Opening in Nuremberg will be a star-studded event: Right at the start of the season, on August 29–30 at the Kia Metropol Arena, everything will be on the line as the teams from the Table Tennis Bundesliga (TTBL) and four qualifiers compete in the round of 16 and quarterfinals of the German Table Tennis Cup. Here are five reasons why you definitely shouldn’t miss the Cup Grand Opening.
Fan Zhendong and Co.: All the Top Stars in One Place
German table tennis has rarely seen so many top stars in one place. World-class table tennis is guaranteed at the Cup Grand Opening: With the twelve teams from the Table Tennis Bundesliga (TTBL) and four qualifiers from the preliminary round, the sport’s elite will take the court at the Kia Metropol Arena. Expected to appear are, among others, Fan Zhendong and Dang Qiu (both from Borussia Düsseldorf), Hugo Calderano and Patrick Franziska (both from 1. FC Saarbrücken TT), Dimitrij Ovtcharov (TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell) and Shunsuke Togami (TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen), as well as many others.
A new format makes its debut
The Cup Grand Opening is taking place for the first time this year, and with the new format, all fans can look forward to nonstop action: Eight games will be played on Saturday (August 29), and four on Sunday (August 30), with two sessions each day. For the 16 teams, the stakes are high: The four winning teams will advance to the Cup semifinals, securing their spot in the next spectacular event—the Liebherr Cup Final4—where the season’s first title will be awarded this winter.
Knockout action from the very first second: It’s all on the line right from the start
No team can afford a slow start—after all, in this knockout format, everything is on the line right from the start of the season. This also means that the defending champion, 1. FC Saarbrücken TT, is in danger starting in the first round when it faces the winner of Preliminary Round Group 4 in the Round of 16. After all, there have been plenty of major upsets in the history of the cup: In 2020, ASC Grünwettersbach—then still known as ASV Grünwettersbach—claimed the trophy, and underdogs have repeatedly made it all the way to the semifinals. High-stakes action is therefore guaranteed on August 29–30.
More top-level table tennis than ever before
Anyone who buys a weekend ticket gets plenty of action for their money. Twelve world-class matches spread over two days: eight on Saturday, four on Sunday. Matches are played simultaneously on multiple tables, ensuring nonstop top-level action at the Kia Metropol Arena. It’s rare to see such a concentration of top-tier matches. At the Cup Grand Opening, the highlights come one after another in a single weekend—a celebration for everyone who wants to experience table tennis in all its glory.
Join as a group starting at just 9 euros
World-class table tennis doesn’t have to be expensive: Groups of ten or more receive a 20 percent discount on ticket prices, meaning a savings of at least 100 euros per group. In the lowest price category, you can attend for as little as 9€ per day ticket or 24€ per weekend ticket. This makes the event especially worthwhile for clubs, training groups, and teams that want to experience the start of the season together. The discount is automatically applied in the ticket shop when purchasing ten or more tickets. Tickets for the Cup Grand Opening are available at the official TTBL ticket shop, by phone at 0761 888499 99, and at all known ticket outlets.
The Cup Grand Opening at a Glance
Saturday, August 29 (Round of 16, two parallel sessions on four tables)
Starting at 11 a.m.:
Match 1: Borussia Düsseldorf vs. TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen (Table 1)
Match 2: Winner of Preliminary Round Group 1 vs. TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell (Table 2)
Match 3: Winner of Preliminary Round Group 2 vs. Winner of Preliminary Round Group 3 (Table 4)
Match 4: SV Werder Bremen vs. TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt (Table 3)
Starting at 3:00 p.m.:
Match 5: Winner of Preliminary Round Group 4 vs. 1. FC Saarbrücken TT (Table 1)
Match 6: ASC Grünwettersbach vs. Post SV Mühlhausen (Table 4)
Match 7: TTC OE Clarity-Telefonie Systeme Bad Homburg vs. TSV Bad Königshofen (Table 3)
Match 8: Borussia Dortmund vs. TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau (Table 2)
Sunday, August 30 (Quarterfinals, two parallel sessions on two tables)
Starting at 11:00 a.m.:
Winner of Match 5 – Winner of Match 6 (Table 2)
Winner of Match 7 – Winner of Match 8 (Table 3)
Starting at 3:00 p.m.:
3:00 p.m.: Winner of Match 1 – Winner of Match 2 (Table 2)
3:00 p.m.: Winner of Match 3 – Winner of Match 4 (Table 3)
