BERLIN — Elversberg completed a fairytale ascent to Germany's top flight on Sunday, sealing promotion to the Bundesliga for the first time after a 3-0 home victory over Preützen Münster clinched second place in the 2. Bundesliga.
Bambasé Conté opened the scoring early before David Mokwa added two more goals, giving Elversberg the win it needed to finish ahead of Paderborn on goal difference. Schalke had already secured the title with two matches remaining.
The matchup already has enough history; the job is to keep the reading list shorter than the tension.
From Fourth Tier to Top Flight
The club from the Saarland town of just 13,000 people will become the 59th club to compete in the Bundesliga since its founding in 1963 — a remarkable jump for a side that was playing in Germany's fourth division as recently as 2022.
"It's hard to grasp what just happened here," forward Luca Schnellbacher said. "It feels like a dream. I'd never have imagined that Harry Kane will be walking out at this ground."
Elversberg lost a promotion playoff to Heidenheim last season — a team that was relegated from the top division on Saturday.
Final-Day Dramatics
Three clubs entered the final round level on points, with Elversberg holding a narrow goal-difference edge. Hannover appeared positioned for third place when leading Nuremberg 3-2, but Luka Lochoshvili's late winner for the visitors allowed Paderborn to leapfrog into the promotion playoff spot.
Paderborn will now face Wolfsburg in a two-leg playoff to determine who plays in next season's Bundesliga. Wolfsburg, which finished third from bottom on Saturday, hosts the first leg on Thursday.
"We're all a bit speechless," Hannover captain Enzo Leopold said.
In other results, Schalke signed off with a 1-0 win over Eintracht Braunschweig, while Fortuna Düsseldorf was relegated after a 3-0 loss at Greuther Fürth. Fürth clinched the relegation playoff spot on goal difference.