2023 Europe Top-16 Table Tennis Predictions and Betting Preview (February 25-26)

Table Tennis Europe 2023 Top-16: ETTU Event Details

Darko Jorgic and Han Ying are the defending champions of their respective events heading into this weekend, but whether or not they’ll be able to retain their titles is another question. In the men’s tournament, European No.1 Truls Moregardh will be eager to assert himself on the draw, while 5-time champion Dimitriji Ovtcharov is always a threat. For the women, 2021 champion Nina Mittelham will be hungry for more, while the consistency of Bernadette Szocs and Sofia Polcanova cannot be underestimated.

Europe Top-16 Odds

To bet on the 2023 Europe Top 16, punters will have to wait for the latest odds to be released by table tennis bookies. This will likely occur once the current events this week have concluded, so expect the odds to be live by Friday evening GMT.

While we wait for the 2023 Europe Top 16 ETTU odds to be released, however, here’s a look at the top contenders for the title across both the men’s and the women’s events this weekend:

Bookies Favorites to Win Europe Top 16 Men’s Event

This year, a strong male field is present, with several highly-ranked players and returning champions. Here are the players we see as being genuine title threats this year:

• Truls Moregardh
• Darko Jorgic
• Dimitrij Ovtcharov
• Qui Dang

While any one of the men’s participants could take out this tournament, these are the four we see as real challengers. Moregardh is the current European No.1, Jorgic the defending champion, Ovtcharov a 5-time champion, and Qui Dang the up-and-coming World No.10. Find minimum deposit betting sites for this.

Bookies Favorites to Win Europe Top 16 Women’s Event

The women’s draw will also see several big names go toe to toe. Here are our picks for who we think will make a deep run this year:

• Han Ying
• Bernadette Szocs
• Sofia Polcanova
• Nina Mittelham

Again, while virtually any of the women in this event could make a deep run and claim the title – particularly since the last ten years have seen eight different champions – these are the four women we think are most likely to win. Ying is the defending champion and World No.10, proving that betting in Germany also makes sense if picking their compatriots at big events. Still, Szocs has been a consistent performer here over the past five years, Mittelham won in 2021 and has been in strong form, while Polcanova is the World No.14 who has won bronze here on three occasions.

Understanding the Europe Top 16

Since 1971, the Europe Top 16 Cup has been the premier table tennis event in the European calendar. Evolving from a 12-player format to the current 16-player structure, the Europe Top 16 sees the best players from across Europe compete in a knockout tournament across the space of a weekend to see who will be crowned the Europe Top 16 champion.

Here’s how the Europe Top 16 has unfolded over the past five years of play in the men’s event:

• 2018 – Timo Boll defeated Dimitrij Ovtcharov
• 2019 – Dimitrij Ovtcharov defeated Vladimir Samsonov
• 2020 – Timo Boll defeated Darko Jorgic
• 2021 – Patrick Franziska defeated Marcos Freitas
• 2022 – Darko Jorgic defeated Truls Moregardh

And this is how the women’s event has unfolded:

• 2018 – Bernadette Szocs defeated Li Jie
• 2019 – Petrissa Solja defeated Bernadette Szocs
• 2020 – Petrissa Solja defeated Britt Eerland
• 2021 – Nina Mittelham defeated Fu Yu
• 2022 – Han Ying defeated Polina Mikhaylova

Participation is determined primarily based on European rank: the 14 highest-ranked European players qualify, with a max of two from the same country, plus the current European Champion and one player from the host nation. It makes the Europe Top 16 table tennis event always see a stacked draw of players fighting it out. Can Han Ying and Darko Jorgic defend their titles, or will a new champion be crowned?

CCB 2023 Europe Top-16 Betting Tips

While the exact odds for this event are yet to be released, we can already see some excellent Europe Top 16 betting tips emerging. Keep an eye on the bookmakers in Switzerland for their odds, but in the meantime, consider these Europe Top 16 predictions:

Dimitrij Ovtcharov to Win the Men’s 2023 Europe Top-16

Between 2012 and 2019, Dimitrij Ovtcharov won five of the seven Europe Top 16 events that he played in. Add in another runner-up and third-placed finishes, and it’s clear that the German knows how to win in Europe, at the biggest table tennis tournament.

While Ovtcharov has not won here since 2019, the six-time Olympic medal winner is the type of player who can always dig deep and produce his best when it matters. We say that he’s got at least one more Europe Top 16 win left in him, and this weekend will be the moment that he plays his best and gets the result.

Han Ying to Win the Women’s 2023 Europe Top-16

Han Ying is the clear favorite to win the women’s event, and for a good reason. Last year, she stormed to the title, defeating Polina Mikhaylova en route to her first Europe Top 16 title. She is currently the highest-ranked woman in the tournament, at World No.10. We say the combination of her recent win at last year’s Europe Top 16, plus her form overall, will propel Han Ying to back-to-back titles, making it a German one-two in the men’s and women’s events this year.

Qui Dang to Be a Dark Horse

Our dark horse bet this year is on Qui Dang to perform well in the men’s event. The 26-year-old is making his debut at the Europe Top 16 but has had a stellar last 12 months. The German is the current reigning European Champion, defeating Darko Jorgic in the final. He’s also surged up the world rankings and sits at 11th in the world and 6th in Europe right now.

For a slightly higher return bet, back Qui Dang to go all the way and win the Europe Top 16 on debut.