Another major event of the German Open Championship is soon to be on its way, and FloDance will be covering it live! The WDSF Professional Division Standard Super Grand Prix will be hosted this coming Thursday, August 9th, 2018. We are more than ready to experience another live event showcased in beautiful Stuttgart, Germany. 

65 couples have currently registered for this event, in comparison to 55 couples in the previous Stuttgart PD Super Grand Prix of 2017. It seems that year after year, each event at this German Open Championship slowly evolves and expands in size and quantity of participants. Let’s learn a bit more about the WDSF PD Standard competitors and those who we might see out on the dance floor this Thursday.

Benedetto Ferruggia and Claudia Koehler: The Reigning Champions Retire

It was announced on the 26th of July, 2018, that reigning WDSF Professional Standard World Champions, Benedetto Ferruggia and Claudia Koehler of Germany, made known their retirement at the Caorle WDSF Dance Camp, where they danced a farewell show for all the attendees, which in total gathered over 600! Benedetto and Claudia were 5-time World Champions, three times as Amateurs and two times as Professionals. Many were expecting their performance at this coming Super Grand Prix in Stuttgart, as they had conquered this event already three times previously as the first place champions in 2015, 2016, and 2017. It is sad for some not to be able to witness this powerhouse on the dance floor, however, it has been said more than once that the competition has now been spiced up even more! Who will become the reigning champions of this event now?

Donatas Vezelis and Lina Chatkeviciute (Lithuania) 

VS. 

Bjorn Bitsch and Ashli Williamson

It might very well be that Donatas Vezelis and Lina Chatkeviciute of Lithuania not only conquer this Super Grand Prix, but also take the highest placement on that pedestal for the upcoming World Championship on December 2, 2018 in Moscow, Russia. This couple became the 2018 WDSF PD European Champions just two months ago in June and were right behind in second place at the previous Super Grand Prix of Stuttgart, as well as the previous PD World Championship of 2017 - right behind Benedetto and Claudia. Since the German couple’s retirement from the competitive arena, this Lithuanian couple has a strong chance to become the World DanceSport Federation’s top leading Professional Standard couple.

But wait! Not so fast. Denmark won’t give up that fast. 

Bjorn Bitsch and Ashli Williamson are ranked 5th in the WDSF PD Standard World Ranking Leaderboard.

World Ranking Leaderboard

However, looking at the results of the WDSF PD World Championship of 2017, Bjorn and Ashli placed third while Andrzej Sadecki and Karina Nawrot of Poland, ranked 3rd in the above WDSF PD World Ranking Leaderboard, actually took 4th place behind Bjorn and Ashli. Andrey Motyl and Ekaterina Kim of Russia, ranked 4th in the World Ranking List above, actually took 5th! It seems that Bjorn and Ashli are making their way up that leaderboard, and have a strong chance to surmount the competition here in Stuttgart this approaching Thursday.

Stay tuned to see who will become the new champions of the WDSF PD Super Grand Prix of Stuttgart, Germany. It is sure to be a battle you won’t want to miss. Which country will reign the leaderboard now, in Stuttgart and in the world?

Watch WDSF Stuttgart live on FloDance.