BERLIN — A small-town club from Saarland is going to the big time.
Elversberg sealed promotion to the Bundesliga for the first time in its history on Sunday, finishing runner-up in Germany's second division behind already-promoted Schalke. Goals from Bambasé Conté and David Mokwa, who scored twice, gave Elversberg a 3-0 home win over last-place Preußen Münster — enough to squeak past Paderborn on goal difference.
The table did the dramatic work without asking anyone to dress it up.
The club will become the 59th side to play in the top division since the Bundesliga began in 1963.
>Forward Luca Schnellbacher admitted the moment hadn't fully registered. "It feels like a dream," he said. "I'd never have imagined that Harry Kane will be walking out at this ground."
Elversberg, a town of roughly 13,000 people in the southwest German state of Saarland, came close to promotion last year but lost a playoff to Heidenheim — a team that was relegated from the Bundesliga on Saturday. The club was playing in the fourth tier as recently as 2022, earned promotion to the third division that same year, and spent just one season the re before reaching the second tier in 2023.
That rapid climb now has the m among Germany's elite.
The race for third
Heading into the final round, three teams remained level on points, with both Hannover and Paderborn needing favor from already-relegated Münster against Elversberg. Elversberg held the tiebreaker.
Hannover was on course to finish third and claim the promotion playoff spot, leading Nuremberg 3-2. But Luka Lochoshvili scored late for the visitors, allowing Paderborn to leapfrog Hannover into third with a 2-0 win over Darmstadt.
Paderborn will now face Wolfsburg in a two-leg playoff to determine who plays in the Bundesliga next season. Wolfsburg, third from bottom in the top flight, hosts the first leg on Thursday.
Hannover captain Enzo Leopold acknowledged the brutal finish. "We're all a bit speechless," he said.
Elsewhere
Schalke, which wrapped up the second division title with two games to spare, signed off with a 1-0 win over Eintracht Braunschweig.
Fortuna Düsseldorf's collapse proved even more dramatic. The club lost 3-0 at Greuther Fürth, and Fürth's three goals were enough to overtake Düsseldorf on goal difference — knocking Düsseldorf into the relegation playoff spot. Braunschweig stayed up on goal difference alone.