Courtesy of ITTF

Timo Boll is the European player of the moment. The German beat his long time adversary Vladimir Samsonov 4-0 in the final of the TMS European Table Tennis Super Cup in Kazan, Russia on Wednesday October 17, 2007.

The three times European Champion had to struggle especially in the semi-final against Russia’s Alexei Smirnov. Boll recovered in a contest where he was trailing 1-3.

Michael Maze Close to Boll and Samsonov
Michael Maze was showing his best from the very first game and he was very close to a victory against the pre tournament favorites Timo Boll and Vladimir Samsonov. Maze challenged Boll in the group taking the German the full distance and did the same in the semi-final against Samsonov.

The 26 year old Dane lost both duels but at least showed that he is able to compete with the very best. Bronze medalist in the 2005 Volkswagen 48th World Championships, Maze is currently only ranked number 8 in Europe and number 22 in the world.