Lidl Final4: The highlight of the season
On this page you can read exciting information about the history of our premium event.
Review: THW Kiel is the DHB-Pokal winner 2025
An incredible goalkeeper duel in the final of the Lidl Final4 electrifies the 19,750 fans in the LANXESS arena: In the end, the record cup winners celebrate their 13th title after a 28:23 victory over MT Melsungen, who lose a final for the second time in a row.
The cheers from the white wall in the LANXESS arena were unstoppable and the players on the bench were already clapping each other off a minute before the final whistle: THW Kiel had qualified for the Lidl Final4 in Cologne for the first time - and the record cup winners extended their winning streak right at the premiere on Sunday: The 28:23 victory over MT Melsungen in the final made THW DHB Cup winners for the 13th time overall and for the first time since 2022, while MT lost a final for the third time after 2021 and 2024. And Kiel's triumph had a name: Andreas Wolff. With 16 saves, the national goalkeeper was the outstanding factor in a goalkeeping duel at world-class level, as his counterpart Nebojsa Simic was only slightly behind him with 13 saved shots.
It was the third cup win in a THW jersey after 2017 and 2019 for the mad Wolff, who was deservedly voted DKB Player of the Lidl Final4 2025, and cup title number five for Patrick Wiencek - and this in the last cup game of his long career. THW coach Filip Jicha is now the sole record holder as a DHB Cup winner: after five titles as a player, one as assistant coach and now two as coach, the Czech has overtaken Christian Zeitz (seven titles) with his eighth win.
Final: THW Kiel vs. MT Melsungen 28:23 (10:9)
When the two best goalkeepers in the DAIKIN Handball Bundesliga meet, you can't expect to concede too many goals. Andreas Wolff (THW) and Nebojsa Simic (MT) showed in the first half why they are at the top of the league in saves. The duel between the goalkeeping giants was tied after 30 minutes: Wolf and Simic had each saved eight shots. So it's no wonder that the 19,750 fans in the sold-out LANXESS arena only saw 19 goals scored in the first 30 minutes.
The final was extremely intense and tough right from the throw-off - quite simply, a battle for every centimetre. The game swung back and forth like the Baltic Sea waves in the Kiel Fjord: THW went ahead (4:2), MT followed suit (4:4), then the Zebras pulled away again (7:4 and 10:6). However, Simic sealed his goal in the final seven minutes of the first half to keep Melsungen back in contention at 9:10 at the break. You could see the Kiel side's respect, as THW had not won its last four games against the club from North Hesse in the league (three defeats, one draw).
Melsungen even took the lead at 12:11, but the advantage did not last too long, as Wolff stood in MT's way several times. Melsungen's Head Coach Roberto Garcia Parrondo called a timeout at 14:17, but Kiel's Swede Eric Johansson was unstoppable. His backcourt hammers - some of which travelled at over 155 kilometres per hour - were unstoppable for Simic. The record cup winners led 21:17 with eleven minutes to go.
And then the Wolff madness really got going: No matter where Melsungen threw from, the THW goalkeeper was on hand - and Kiel's first victory in Cologne after twelve titles in Hamburg was wrapped up at the latest when captain Domagoj Duvnjak scored 26:21. Small consolation for Melsungen: After losing 19:30 to SC Magdeburg in the previous year's final, the club from Northern Hesse put up a strong performance and demanded everything from Kiel.
History: The Lidl Final4 since 1994
It is the most popular club handball event in the world: the Lidl Final4. The four best cup teams of the season compete for the coveted DHB Cup on the final weekend, attracting thousands of fans to the LANXESS arena in Cologne every year.
The premiere of the first Final4 tournament in the history of the DHB Cup was celebrated in 1993 in the Ballsporthalle Frankfurt. The following year and for a total of 8 more years, the Hamburg Sports Hall in Hamburg Alsterdorf became the venue for the DHB Cup. The city of Hamburg remained the home of the Lidl Final4 tournament for a long time, even after the move to today's Barclays Arena in 2003, where the DHB Cup final developed into the world's most popular and traditional Final4 tournament in handball from 2003 to 2022.
A new era began with the move to the “Cathedral of Handball” in 2023: the Lidl Final4 was held in the sold-out LANXESS arena in Cologne for the first time. Almost 20,000 enthusiastic fans watched the dramatic final between Rhein-Neckar Löwen and SC Magdeburg live, which was only decided by a seven-meter throw.
Since then, the Lidl Final4 has not only stood for a unique arena atmosphere, but has also set standards as a TV and media event. Both semi-finals and the final will be shown live by Dyn on pay TV. ARD or ZDF will broadcast one of the semi-finals in parallel, ARD will also broadcast the final in addition to Dyn. In total, the Lidl Final4 tournament reaches up to 29 million viewers. The matches of the German Cup final weekend will also be broadcast worldwide on HBL TV.
The DHB Cup winners in chronological order:
2025 THW Kiel
2024 SC Magdeburg
2023 Rhein-Neckar Löwen
2022 THW Kiel
2020 TBV Lemgo
2019 THW Kiel
2018 Rhein-Neckar Löwen
2017 THW Kiel
2016 SC Magdeburg
2015 SG Flensburg-Handewitt
2014 Füchse Berlin
2013 THW Kiel
2012 THW Kiel
2011 THW Kiel
2010 Handball Sport Verein Hamburg
2009 THW Kiel
2008 THW Kiel
2007 THW Kiel
2006 Handball Sport Verein Hamburg
2005 SG Flensburg-Handewitt
2004 SG Flensburg-Handewitt
2003 SG Flensburg-Handewitt
2002 TBV Lemgo
2001 VfL Bad Schwartau
2000 THW Kiel
1999 THW Kiel
1998 THW Kiel
1997 TBV Lemgo
1996 SC Magdeburg
1995 TBV Lemgo
1994 SG Wallau/Massenheim
1993 SG Wallau/Massenheim
1992 TuSEM Essen
1991 TuSEM Essen
1990 TSV Milbertshofen
1989 TV Großwallstadt
1988 TuSEM Essen
1987 TV Großwallstadt
1986 MTSV Schwabing
1985 VfL Gummersbach
1984 TV Großwallstadt
1983 VfL Gummersbach
1982 VfL Gummersbach
1981 TuS Nettelstedt
1980 TV Großwallstadt
1979 TSV Grün-Weiß Dankersen
1978 VfL Gummersbach
1977 VfL Gummersbach
1976 TSV Grün-Weiß Dankersen
1975 TSV Grün-Weiß Dankersen
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