WHAT’S NEW FROM THE HYLO® SPORTS FAMILY
The #hyloathletes have been very active once again this week. We take a look back at the latest events and competitions in recent days featuring our athletes, teams and clubs.
Gaga warms up for the World Darts Championship
Saarland darts pro Gabriel Clemens is back from his England trip with a top result: at the Players Championship Finals last weekend in Minehead (GB), the Saarland player – who is ranked 23rd in the world – defeated some top players and only lost out in the semi-final on Sunday (26 November 2023) against three-time world champion Michael van Gerwen. This means that for the second time in his professional career, the German Giant has reached the semi-final of a PDC major, following the semi-final of the 2023 World Darts Championship in early January.
Gabriel Clemens had a strong start to the tournament on Friday (24 November 2023) with a 6:3 win over Connor Scutt, a match where he was the favourite. In a spectacular last-32 match on Saturday afternoon, the darts player from Saarwellingen put in a brilliant performance to beat Josh Rock 6:3, despite his opponent’s 112 average. On Saturday evening, Clemens reached the quarter finals after an impressive 10:1 victory over Niels Zonneveld. Clemens played a 98 average and only lost a single leg. Another top performance on Sunday secured the Saarland native a ticket to the semi-final, beating Luke Woodhouse 10:7. This marked the end of the German number one’s run: Clemens was defeated 11:6 by Dutch player Michael van Gerwen, a record seven-time winner of this tournament.
Although the semi-final defeat was painful, it was outweighed by the extremely positive impression from his performances during the tournament and his steadily improving form at this test in the run-up to the World Darts Championship. We, like Gaga, are delighted about the upcoming annual highlight that is the PDC World Darts Championship 2024, taking place in London’s legendary Ally Pally from 15 December 2023.
SVE delights once again in the 2. Bundesliga
With an impressive 4:1 home win on Saturday (25 November 2023) against SC Paderborn, SV Elversberg are continuing their successful streak in the 2. Fußball-Bundesliga at the URSAPHARM Arena on Kaiserlinde. The promoted team now have 26 points to put them in sixth, just behind the best teams in Germany’s second highest professional football league. The coach is not the only one full of praise for the team’s performance: we are delighted too! More details in our post-match report.
This Sunday (3 December) the team will be heading to the Olympiastadion in Berlin to face Hertha BSC.
Füchse Berlin back on the road to success
After their first Handball-Bundesliga defeat of the season, to THW Kiel, Füchse Berlin headed straight off to Bucharest. This presented their next challenge, a European cup match on Tuesday (21 November 2023). With a score of 33:32 (16:17), Füchse won their away game against Dinamo Bucharest in the EHF European League and qualified for the main round early thanks to their fourth victory in the group stage. Dejan Milosavljev shone with 22 saves, whilst Mathias Gidsel was the top scorer with 9 goals.
After two away games, things continued on the Sunday (26 November 2023) for Handball Day, with a double-header in the Max-Schmeling-Halle for the capital’s club. Füchse and 1. VfL Potsdam jointly welcomed guests to their home turf, with both teams fighting for top position in their tables. Füchse Berlin played Handball Sport Verein Hamburg, and then the Berlin team’s partner club 1. VfL Potsdam faced VfL Lübeck-Schwartau in a second-league match.
In front of 9000 spectators in a sold-out Max-Schmeling-Halle, Füchse Berlin defeated HSV Hamburg 37:31 (16:18). Hans Lindberg was the game’s top scorer with ten goals (10/4) and a hundred-percent hit rate, on what was a particularly fantastic day for goalkeeper Lasse Ludwig. The Berlin team’s young goalie performed admirably against HSV with some fantastic saves in the second half. Double was the watchword of the day, as this double header saw Füchse’s number 1 being called on once again in the second match between VfL Potsdam and VfL Lübeck-Schwartau, making a number of saves in this home game to secure top position in the 2. Handball Bundesliga table for the Potsdam team.
Things continue on Tuesday (28 November) against Magdeburg at the top of the LIQUI MOLY HBL table. Füchse Berlin are being hosted by Chambery HB in France for an EHF European League game on Tuesday evening (6:45 p.m.), then on Friday (7 p.m.) they have lined up a Bundesliga away game against HSG Wetzlar.
1. FCS Tischtennis remain unbeaten in all competitions
After successfully qualifying for the cup’s final four, 1. FC Saarbrücken Tischtennis remain totally undefeated. In the second round of the Table Tennis Champions League group phase, 1. FC Saarbrücken TT have once again proved dominant, and on Thursday evening (23 November 2023) achieved an impressive 3:0 win over SKST Tesla Batteries Havirov from the Czech Republic. As during the first leg, the team from Saarland held their ground and easily gained a victory. This impressive 3:0 win consolidates the Saarbrücken team’s ambitions to win group A and qualify for the final-four finals on 31 March / 1 April 2024 in front of a home crowd at the Saarlandhalle in Saarbrücken.
To round off the eighth day of play in the Tischtennis Bundesliga (TTBL), 1. FC Saarbrücken played away against the table’s leading light from Fulda on Monday (27 November 2023). The team under ‘capitano’ Patrick Franziska were once again able to continue their winning streak, despite strong opposition from the Fulda team. With a 3:1 victory, Saarbrücken have retained their position at the top of the table with no lost points, joint with Borussia Düsseldorf.
Things continue for 1. FCS Tischtennis on 8 December with a Bundesliga home game at 7 p.m. against 1. FSV Mainz 05 in the Joachim-Deckarm-Halle.
Onwards and upwards for Saarlouis Royals
With a 74:54 away victory against WINGS Leverkusen on Sunday (26 November 2023), the Saarlouis Royals have won their second league game of the current Damen-Basketball-Bundesliga season. With this key win over the next-placed league team, the Saarland players left their opponents in last place and began their upwards trajectory out of the relegation spots under new coach Dragana Svitlica.
The best Royals player in the match against Wings was once again Destiny Littleton, who scored 23 points (6 of 10 three-pointers) and was also able to chalk up 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 24 efficiency points. Maria Kostourkova gained 15 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 21 efficiency points, followed by Naomi Mbandu with 13 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 block and 15 efficiency points and Milena Marjanovic with 10 points.
On Sunday (3 December), the Saarlouis basketball players will be working hard to continue their upward trend in a home game against GiroLive Panthers Osnabrück.
proWIN Volleys still waiting for next win
On Saturday (25 November 2023), proWIN Volleys TV Holz lost their 2. Bundesliga Süd home game 3:0 against the volleyball players of TV SUSPA Altdorf. In front of a home crowd, the Saarland team were unable to reach their full potential, and after five days of play without a win, are still waiting for their next successful performance. Captain Mira Weber was named the game’s most valuable player (MVP).
Stumble, get up, adjust your crown, carry on: that is the motto that the #proWinners will be keeping in mind after their most recent day of play. Looking forward, it is now time for the team to recover quickly from their setbacks and focus on the upcoming double-header weekend with confidence and self-assurance. On Saturday (2 December) the Saarland team are being hosted by TSV TB München and on Sunday (3 December) their work continues at 3 p.m. against BSP Stuttgart.
We are looking forward to upcoming appearances from our #hyloathletes and wish all of our HYLO® partners much luck and success.