Lidl Final4

Zebras celebrate in confetti rain, grand gesture for Patrick Wiencek

Monday, April 14, 2025

Photo: Klahn

Four sold-out matches, a beaming winner from Kiel and an extremely positive overall result for all involved: the Lidl Final4 2025 in Cologne's LANXESS arena was an outstanding success.

At its debut in Cologne, record cup winners THW Kiel secured their 13th DHB Cup title in total by beating MT Melsungen 28:23 in the final of the Lidl Final4 on Sunday. Melsungen lost their second consecutive final in the cathedral city after 2024. Surprisingly, second-division side HBW Balingen-Weilstetten secured third place with a 32:31 win over Rhein-Neckar Löwen.

And the semi-final day had already been hard to beat in terms of excitement and drama: THW had to go into extra time against the Löwen before their 32:31 victory was decided, and the game between Melsungen and Balingen-Weilstetten (31:27) was also completely open right up to the crunch time.

It was Kiel's first trophy win since 2022, when they won the last final tournament in Hamburg, and THW not only celebrated their first title in Cologne, but also provided the DKB Player of the Tournament. Goalkeeper Andreas Wolff, who was the match-winner for the Zebras after making 12 saves in the semi-final and saving 16 shots in the final. The tournament's top scorer is also a Kiel player: Emil Madsen, who scored 14 goals, including eleven in the semi-final. By winning the cup, Kiel have secured a starting place in the 2025/26 EHF European League season.

However, the ‘gesture of the tournament’ went to the player who celebrated the fifth cup win in the last cup game of his career: Kiel's pivot Patrick Wiencek, who will retire as a player after the season but will then continue to work in the THW office. Team captain Domagoj Duvnjak immediately handed the trophy to Wiencek, who then lifted it to the thunderous cheers of the 19,750 fans. “When Domagoj Duvnjak handed me the trophy, it was an incredible moment for me. I'll never forget that moment. I'm incredibly grateful for it, it was an incredibly big gesture,” said Wiencek, while Duvnjak simply said: “It was just a small gesture. Patrick has simply given his all for the club for 13 years. And now it was his last Final Four, it was completely spontaneous.”

An emotional moment for Patrick Wiencek

Kiel were almost continuously ahead in the final, but Melsungen were on level terms until minute 45, before Andreas Wolff, who had already been outstanding, started his gala and decided the game almost single-handedly. "I'm hugely proud of my team for the way they performed at the weekend. It was a display of strength and willpower on Saturday and we played to the point in the final and didn't let ourselves get rattled," said THW coach Filip Jicha. The Czech set another record: Jicha is the first eight-time German Cup winner - and always with THW Kiel. After five triumphs as a player and one as assistant coach, the triumph in Cologne was his second as head coach. He thus surpassed Christian Zeitz, who had won the DHB Cup seven times with Kiel as a player.

But it wasn't just Kiel who made for an outstanding cup weekend - all the games were top-class. "I'm proud of all four teams that competed in Cologne. Second-division team Balingen was on a par with our top teams - we saw how close the 2. HBL has come to the 1st league. The teams - especially the finalists - threw everything into it and didn't spare themselves. Both are still in the title race in the league, are in the quarter-finals of the European Cup, but have given their all here over two days," said Frank Bohmann, Managing Director of the DAIKIN Handball Bundesliga.

Bohmann was also more than satisfied overall with the final tournament, which was held under its new name for the first time: "As far as the organisation of the Lidl Final4 is concerned, I'm proud of my team, it works better every year. We want to turn the tournament into the Superbowl of handball, and we're well on our way."

In addition to the great atmosphere in the stands and the performances on the pitch, Bohmann emphasised one aspect in particular: “There have never been TV images like those from the Lidl Final4 in handball - not at a European Championship or World Championship final. We also had great market shares on TV as a result - and we had guests from all over the world, such as an Indian delegation. Our aim is to take the strongest league in the world even further around the world, including markets such as India, the USA and Brazil. In this way, we can offer these fantastic players an even bigger international stage. We want to be the locomotive of global handball.”

The atmosphere was incredible

The finalists also had high praise for the tournament: “In general, it was another great experience”, said Melsungen's CEO Michael Allendorf, while Kiel's managing director Viktor Szilagyi added: “The organisation was excellent again. It's simply fantastic to play a final tournament here in Cologne. It's the greatest thing for our sport, and it's even better when you win medals and a trophy."

The LANXESS arena Cologne will also be the venue for the Lidl Final4 in the next two years (at least), with advance ticket sales for 2026 (11/12 April) having already started on Saturday. The quarter-finals will again be held before Christmas in the 2025/26 season: "This means fans can plan for the long term. Because we will remain an event for the fans, we won't be a caviar and champagne event," said Frank Bohmann.

Lidl Final 4 2025 in Cologne:

Semi-finals: THW Kiel vs. Rhein-Neckar Löwen 32:31 (14:17, 28:28)

MT Melsungen vs. HBW Balingen-Weilstetten 31:27 (15:14)

Bronze final: Rhein-Neckar Löwen vs. HBW Balingen-Weilstetten 31:32 (15:19)

Final: THW Kiel vs. MT Melsungen 28:23 (10:9)