TIBHAR Takes Gold, Silver and Bronze at the Europe Top 16 Cup
Alexis Lebrun retains his title, Darko Jorgic claims silver and Félix Lebrun takes bronze as TIBHAR players dominate the men’s podium in Montreux. Bernadette Szőcs adds another silver medal in the women’s competition, completing an outstanding showing for a team whose strength was evident throughout the field.
Three of the four men’s medallists, a finalist in the women’s competition and six players among the men’s last 16: TIBHAR made its presence felt throughout the 2026 Europe Top 16 Cup in Montreux. Held from 5 to 8 February, the prestigious European event saw Alexis Lebrun, Darko Jorgic and Félix Lebrun secure gold, silver and bronze respectively, while Bernadette Szőcs added another silver medal to the Saarbrücken-based manufacturer’s impressive tally.
Alexis Lebrun Retains His Crown as TIBHAR Extends Its Winning Streak
The men’s final brought together two familiar rivals in a repeat of the 2025 title match. Defending champion Alexis Lebrun faced fellow TIBHAR player Darko Jorgic, who had claimed three consecutive Europe Top 16 titles between 2022 and 2024. With both finalists representing TIBHAR, the company was guaranteed a fifth successive men’s singles title before a ball had even been struck.
Lebrun duly delivered, defeating the Slovenian 3–1 to secure his second consecutive title in Montreux. The 22-year-old Frenchman had earlier beaten his younger brother Félix 3–0 in the semi-finals, while Jorgic booked his place in the final with a 3–1 victory over Germany’s Benedikt Duda.
The result left TIBHAR with three of the four men’s semi-finalists and a complete set of gold, silver and bronze medals, with Félix sharing third place alongside Duda.
Six TIBHAR Players Among Europe’s Top 16
The results were all the more impressive given the scale of TIBHAR’s representation. Six of the 16 players in the men’s main draw were contracted to the brand, accounting for 37.5 per cent of the field.
Alongside the three medallists, Croatia’s Tomislav Pucar, Spain’s Álvaro Robles and Romania’s Eduard Ionescu also competed. Both Pucar and Robles came through qualifying to earn their places in the main draw. Pucar went a step further, reaching the quarter-finals before his run ended against fellow TIBHAR player Jorgic.
Few statistics capture the strength of a team quite as clearly: TIBHAR had more than a third of the men’s field and three of the four players competing on the final day.
Bernadette Szőcs Returns to the Final
TIBHAR’s success extended to the women’s event, where Bernadette Szőcs reinforced her standing among Europe’s leading players by taking silver.
The Romanian, who won the Europe Top 16 Cup in 2018, reached the final for the first time since 2019. She defeated Charlotte Lutz 3–1 in the quarter-finals before overcoming France’s Jia Nan Yuan by the same scoreline in the semi-finals. Her campaign ended with a 3–0 defeat to eventual champion Sabine Winter. Reaching another final seven years after her previous appearance at that stage provided further evidence of Szőcs’s remarkable consistency at the highest European level.
Annett Kaufmann: A Rising Star in the TIBHAR Team
Another notable member of TIBHAR’s squad was Annett Kaufmann, one of European table tennis’s most accomplished young players. Making her Europe Top 16 debut, the German international secured her place in the main draw with two qualifying victories. She then pushed three-time champion Han Ying to five games before narrowly losing 3–2.
Kaufmann had already made history in 2024 by becoming the first European woman to win the Under-19 World Championship singles title. Her achievements also include multiple German senior national titles, the European Under-21 singles crown and several European youth titles.
Together with Poland’s Natalia Bajor, Kaufmann completed TIBHAR’s nine-strong representation in Montreux. While the established stars collected four medals, the young German gained another valuable experience against Europe’s elite, adding to a career that has already produced some exceptional achievements.
