11-May, Final:

Black & White RC Worms bt Paderborner SC 2/2
(Worms win 8-7 on games countback)
  Nick Matthew bt James Willstrop 11-6, 11-4, 11-9 (49m)
  Jens Schoor lost to Simon Rosner 9-11, 6-11, 11-6, ret. (52m)
  Andre Haschker lost to Raphael Kandra 12-10, 8-11, 1-11, 5-11 (55m)
  Tim Weber bt Norman Junge 11-8, 11-7, 8-11, 11-9 (74m)

Jens Schoor Clinches Dramatic
Bundesliga Title For Worms

In one of the most dramatic finishes in the event's 34-year-history, Black & White RC Worms beat title-holders Paderborner SC in today's fotobuch.de Squash Bundesliga final in Germany - German number three Jens Schoor snatching a vital game in the decider against Paderborner's top-ranked national Simon Rosner to give Worms an 8-7 victory on games countback at the Pink Power Squash Centre in Boeblingen.

It took 74 long and hard-fought minutes for Worms to take the early lead when the team's revitalised No4 Tim Weber beat Paderborn opponent Norman Junge 11-8, 11-7, 8-11, 11-9.

German No2 Raphael Kandra was expected to level the tie against national team-mate Andre Haschker - but the Worms No3 thrilled his team by taking the opening game after a tie-break.

With the opening skirmish out of the way, Kandra then took control of the match to win 10-12, 11-8 11-1, 11-5 for Paderborner and leave the score poised at one-all in matches and four-all in games.

Then the teams' top strings took to the court - and the packed crowd was treated to squash excellence of the highest quality between Englishmen Nick Matthew and James Willstrop, ranked two and four, respectively, in the world.

Matthew, in his second season for Worms, was in devastating form. Despite boasting an unbeaten PSA Tour record against his rival stretching back to 2007, Matthew lost to Willstrop at the same stage of this event 12 months ago.

Firmly putting memories of this behind him, Matthew took the first two games 11-6, 11-4 and built up a 7-0 lead in the third.

Willstrop was not ready to lie down, however, and pulled back the deficit to nine-all. But Matthew maintained the pressure to close out the match 11-9.

The straight games win, however, left Paderborn needing to win the decider 3/0 - not only to retain the trophy, but to claim the title for a record tenth time.

Rosner, the seven-time German national champion who has represented Paderborn in every Bundesliga final since 2006, survived two close first games against Schoor as the packed crowd became increasingly animated as the climax approached.

Spurred on by the Worms section of the crowd, underdog Schoor raced to a 4/0 lead in the third. Rosner pulled back to draw level - but again Schoor dug deep and reeled off five points in a row before Rosner was able to reply.

Rosner reduced the deficit by a further point, but a winner from Schoor gave him the all-important game-ball - and a no let decision against Rosner that followed clinched the winner for Worms.

"This is our third title and our second German one," said Worms team manager Michael Zehe after the joyous festivities died down. "But what makes it really special is that we won it by beating our great German rivals Paderborn - something which we haven't done before.

"There were very close matches - and there was a lot of pressure on Nick to win 3/0.

"And Jens played really well too. In the past he has been very defensive but today he was much more confident in his game. But it was tough for Simon too.

"And the Worms supporters made a lot of noise!"

The outcome was clearly a blow for Rosner who has enjoyed such a distinguished career, not only for his home club Paderborn but also for the German national team.

"But Paderborn can't win everything," said the despondent German number one later.

"I had to be really focussed in that match - and it's tough to cope with the pressure.

"But he deserved to win - he played really well and that's the most important point in the end."

Event promoter Peter Schmidl was delighted with the two-day event: "We had good drama, a good final, a good crowd and a good atmosphere.

"And we had PSA SquashTV streaming all the action to squash enthusiast all over the world.

"The people who came were happy, and I was happy!"

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10-May, Semi-Finals:

Paderborner bt Sport-Insel Stuttgart 3/1
James Willstrop lost to Gregory Gaultier 5-11, 11-7, 7-11, 6-11 (61m)
Simon Rosner bt Moritz Dahmen 11-2, 11-1 (21m)
Raphael Kandra bt Valentin Rapp 11-6, 11-4, 11-4 (31m)
Norman Junge bt Ben Petzoldt 12-10, 12-10, 11-3 (48m)

Black & White Worms bt Squash Inn Hamborn 3/1
Nick Matthew bt Daryl Selby 11-9, 11-8, 11-4 (53m)
Jens Schoor bt Rudi Rohrmuller 13-11, 4-11, 11-9 (41m)
Andre Haschker lost to Stefan Leifels 8-11, 15-13, 12-10, 10-12, 9-11 (96m)
Tim Weber bt David Kandra 11-6, 11-5, 11-1 (23m)



Champions Paderborner To Face
Black & White Worms In Bundesliga Final

Defending champions Paderborner SC will be aiming for a record tenth title when they face German rivals Black & White Worms in Sunday's fotobuch.de Squash Bundesliga final at the Pink Power Squash Centre in Boeblingen for the second year in a row.

Paderborner defeated home team Sport-Insel Stuttgart 3/1 in the first semi-final to celebrate their 13th appearance in the final - and later Worms beat Squash Inn Hamborn, also by a 3/1 margin, to earn their third successive appearance in the climax.

Powerful performances by fourth and third strings Norman Junge and Raphael Kandra gave Paderborner the perfect start to their campaign. Junge, the 23-year-old German No7, beat Ben Petzoldt 12-10, 12-10, 11-3 before the national No2 Kandra despatched Valentin Rapp 11-6, 11-4, 11-4.

A battle between the third and fourth best players in the world then produced a fightback for Stuttgart when Frenchman Gregory Gaultier, the world No3, beat James Willstrop 11-5, 7-11, 11-7, 11-6. But the Englishman's second-game win in the 61-minute match was enough to guarantee Paderborner's place in the final.

However, Paderborn star Simon Rosner, the German number one who has been a central figure in the club's Bundesliga campaign since 2006, crushed Stuttgart's No2 Moritz Dahmen 11-2, 11-1 in the best-of-three 'dead rubber' to finish the tie on a high.

"Being very superstitious, I'm very happy to be in the final for the 13th time," said the Paderborn club team manager Norman Farthing. "Especially considering the state of our team about a week ago after Simon was forced to withdraw from a PSA event in Switzerland and we had injury problems with two other members of our squad.

"I was glad that Simon did so well in the Grand Slam Cup in Frankfurt earlier in the week as it did his confidence a power of good.

"But if we play Worms in the final - which is what I expect - we will have a tough job. They are a strong team and I think it will go down to the wire."

Peter Schmidl, manager of the Stuttgart team, said: "I was confident that Greg would win but I was disappointed by the performance of the other members of my team. I had hoped for more from them."



Worms went one up in the second semi when talented left-hander Tim Weber defeated David Kandra 11-6, 11-5, 11-1.

But a marathon battle followed, in which veteran Stefan Leifels, a 40-year-old former German champion, rolled back the years to beat current German international Andre Haschker 11-8, 13-15, 10-12, 12-10, 11-9 in 96 minutes to bring Squash Inn Hamborn back into contention.

The underdogs' dream was short-lived, however, as Nick Matthew - the world No2 from England making his season debut for Worms - beat national team-mate Daryl Selby 11-9, 11-8, 11-4 to ensure his team's third successive place in the final.

A long-drawn-out best-of-three dead rubber rounded off the long day when Jens Schoor beat Rudi Rohrmuller 13-11, 4-11, 11-9.

Leifels, the recent World O35 Masters runner-up, was understandably delighted with his earlier performance: "I was really pleased with this result as, with my work and family commitments, I don't have the chance to train like I used to - so I'm not as fit as guys who are playing full-time. So under the circumstances, it's probably one of my best ever wins."

"But this is probably my last appearance in the premier division of the Bundesliga as the demands are becoming too difficult to manage alongside my other commitments. I hope I will be able to find a team in the second division to play with, which will cut down the travelling."

Worms team manager Michael Zehe was pleased to be back in the final again: "Stefan played a clever game to win today, but I am not worried as the pressure will be off Andre tomorrow when he plays Kandra.

"It's a very important meeting with our big rivals Paderborn tomorrow though - especially as it will give Nick an important second match for us this season, which will enable him to play for us in the next European Club Championships.

"We will need to win at four - and we will need to win at one!"
 

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Bundesliga finals LIVE

The European Leagues season is coming to an end, and one of the most popular ones with the players and the fans is Germany's Bundesliga.

The finals take place over two days with semi-finals plus the final, with many of the world's top players representing their German teams, including Nick Matthew (ENG, WR#2 Worms), Greg Gaultier (FRA, WR#4 Stuttgart), James Willstrop (ENG, WR#3 Paderborn), Laurens Jan Anjema (NED, WR#13, Hambornn), not to mentionGerman's own Simon Roesner, who has now climbed to number 12 in the world rankings.

The action takes place at the 12-court squash centre in Boblingen, and will be covered live by SquashTV.

Semi-Finals, Fri 10th from 15.00:

Paderborn v Stuttgart

Paderborn are one of the powerhouses of German and European Squash,  with nine Bundesliga and nine European Club titles safely tucked away in their trophy cabinet. They start strong favourites against Stuttgart, who will be able to count on local support.

"We don't want a free weekend," says Paderborn's Andreas Preising, "and we're desperate for that tenth title."

Stuttgart manager Arno Limmeroth accepts the underdog role, and sees Paderborn as favourites to take the title. However, after a good training camp with Shawn Mohham and the team in Prague, he's not counting out an upset:

"The key games for us are in positions 1 [where he has Gaultier to call on] and 4 A victory in the first game is vital, and if we can do that then an exciting match could develop,."

Worms v Hamborn

A repeat of last year's final, this could be Hamborn's last match as they aren't entering a team next year. Worms manager Michael Zehe, who decided no special team preparations were necessary, sounds pretty confident:

"I think we have a good chance against Hamborn and if all the players stay healthy, then there should be a final against Paderborn," said the manager of the defending champions and reigning European Club Champions.

Who can they call on ? 
check out the Teams page ...

Photos by Jordan Mansfield