START7: Kick-off for the points chase – Preview of the first match day

The new DAIKIN HBL season kicks off with a highly exciting match and a rematch between last season's runners-up: Hannover's Recken host VfL Gummersbach. The spotlight will be on the star new signings of both clubs, Leif Tissier (Hannover, START7 market value: approx. 1.3 million euros) and Kay Smits (Gummersbach, 340,000 euros). Both promise to score a lot of points for the START7 account when in top form. Based on last season's experience, this also applies to the top German players Renars Uscins (€1.6 million), Justus Fischer (€1.5 million) and Marius Steinhauser (€700,000), who will be on the court together on Wednesday. However, Miro Schluroff will not be there, as he suffered a meniscus injury during preparation.

In addition to the opening game, another match on the first day of the season is likely to cause excitement among handball fans: the newly formed Rhein-Neckar Löwen are guests at runners-up Melsungen! It will be exciting to see how the Lions' new signings around Dani Baijens (510 thousand euros) perform and how many points MT newcomer Olle Forsell Schefvert (650 thousand euros) scores against his former club.

However, David Späth (€650,000), Patrick Groetzki (€540,000) and Jannik Kohlbacher (€650,000) as well as Dainis Kristopans (€620,000), Erik Balenciaga (€520,000) and Timo Kastening (€630,000) on the Melsungen side also promise to score points.

 

In addition to the top matches of the matchday, there are also a few games on the schedule in which the favourites seem to be clearly defined. These games are always particularly good for START7 points – provided that the manager has a corresponding player from the superior team in their squad. Anyone who has a player from Kiel, Flensburg, Berlin or Magdeburg in their team should therefore definitely put them in the START7 if they haven't already done so.

The Zebras kick off on Thursday evening in Erlangen. Here, offensive players Erik Johansson (€900,000) and Emil Madsen (€1.6 million), who were already sure-fire point scorers last season, will be looking to score goals and rack up points.

Simon Pytlick (€1 million), Marko Grgic (€1.6 million), Lasse Møller (€1.5 million), Luca Witzke (€830,000), Emil Jakobsen (€1.6 million), Johannes Golla (€1 million), Lukas Jørgensen (€780,000), Kevin Møller (€800,000)... The list of exceptional players who could make the difference at any time is particularly long at SG Flensburg-Handewitt. However, anyone who has just one of these men in their squad already has a good chance of scoring decent points on the first match day when Flensburg plays in Wetzlar.

This is undoubtedly also true of Berlin's top players, who will begin their title defence on Sunday against promoted Bergischer HC. One thing is clear: having Mathias Gidsel in the team is half the battle, as the world handball player guarantees START7 points. However, his astronomical market value of €2.3 million draws attention to his more affordable teammates, including Mijajlo Marsenic (€620,000), Dejan Milosavljev (€750,000), Lasse Andersson (€1.6 million), Tim Freihöfer (€950,000) and Nils Lichtlein (€530,000). Last but not least, new signing and world-class winger Aitor Arino (€380,000) could also bring joy in Fantasy Manager and the DAIKIN HBL in the future.

 And then there is Champions League winner Magdeburg, which faces Lemgo, arguably the toughest opponent of all four top teams. If they stay fit, Felix Claar (€1.6 million), Gisli Kristjansson (€790,000), Omar Ingi Magnusson (€1.1 million) and Magnus Saugstrup (€1.5 million) will be a real boon for every START7 manager. Against TBV, however, it is quite possible that Sergey Hernandez (€900,000) will have a lot to do as goalkeeper and will play a key role with a strong performance.

 

And the remaining matches? Between Eisenach and Leipzig, Minden and Göppingen, and Stuttgart and Hamburg, both sides have justified hopes of picking up points. However, one thing is clear: Eisenach, Leipzig and Hamburg will have to replace their most important START7 point scorers from last season following the departures of Grgic, Witzke and Tissier. In Eisenach, Max Beneke in particular could slip into a key role.

Frederik Bo Andersen (€780,000) is an exciting prospect for Hamburg – last season, he was one of the most reliable point scorers alongside Tissier. Göppingen also has some proven options: Ludvig Hallbäck (€540,000) has long established himself as a playmaker and now has strong support in goal from Kristian Saeverås (€620,000), who also has the potential to score big in Fantasy Manager. In Stuttgart, on the other hand, many hopes rest on Kai Häfner (€380,000), who could have a much stronger season under a new coach with fresh momentum.

And then there is promoted team Minden – a real surprise package. But with Ian Weber (€90,000) and Alexander Weck (€210,000), who have already impressed in the second division, there are also players here who could cause surprises at START7.