Timo BOLL keeps European flag in Korea

Seamaster 2018 ITTF World Tour Grand Finals

 

In one month we’ll find out the champions of the Seamaster 2018 ITTF World Tour Grand Finals but who do you think they’ll be? Discover the candidates competing for silverware in Korea!

 

Chinese duo XU Xin (1stseed) and FAN Zhendong (2nd) will enter the World Tour Grand Finals as favourites. XU Xin is a two-time WTGF champion (2012 and 2013) while World no. 1 FAN Zhendong will be defending his crown after last year’s success in Astana.

 

Despite withdrawing from both Swedish and Austrian Opens through injury five-time WTGF champion MA Long (3rd) is fighting hard to make a return from his knee injury in time.

A gold medallist back in 2005 Germany’s Timo BOLL (16th) qualified with the narrowest of margins while Dimitrij OVTCHAROV missed out for only the second time since 2007.

 

15-year-old rising star Tomokazu HARIMOTO (5th) will be looking to boost his burgeoning reputation Korea’s JANG Woojin (6th) is the host nation’s biggest hope of glory and Brazil’s Hugo CALDERANO (8th) is aiming to push on since becoming the first Latin American player to enter the World Top 10.

 

WANG Manyu (1st) collected the most points (1 856) on the 2018 ITTF World Tour. The 19-year-old talent is seeking her first career World Tour Grand Finals crown. ZHU Yuling (7th) is World no. 1 and looking to regain the WTGF title she won in 2016. CHEN Meng (6th) is the defending Women’s Singles champion and enters the tournament straight off the back of winning last week’s Austrian Open.

 

It has been an impressive year for 18-year-old Mima ITO (4th) who is full of confidence having won 12 of her last 17 matches against top Chinese opposition. 2014 champion Kasumi ISHIKAWA (2nd) is Japan’s other outstanding candidate.

 

Having missed out on the 2017 World Tour Grand Finals experienced Chinese duo LIU Shiwen and DING Ning are back in it this year. LIU Shiwen (3rd) remains the only player in history to have won three consecutive WTGF titles (2011 2012 2013) while DING Ning (5th) celebrated victory in 2015.

 

Host nation Korea topped the charts in both the Men’s Doubles and Mixed Doubles on the 2018 ITTF World Tour: LEE Sangsu will partner JEOUNG Youngsik in the former category and JEON Jihee in the latter.

The Mixed Doubles have provided arguably the greatest success story of 2018 beyond the realms of table tennis as JANG Woojin (of South Korea) and CHA Hyo Sim (of North Korea) ensure a Unified Korea team presence in Incheon.

 

A formidable force also in the Doubles scene Mima ITO celebrated gold four times on the 2018 ITTF World Tour meaning she forms a top seed partnership with Hina HAYATA.

Of China’s three Women’s Doubles pairings CHEN Xingtong and SUN Yingsha (2nd) are the highest ranked after they claimed three titles this year.

Meanwhile in the Men’s Doubles Japanese pair and defending champions Masataka MORIZONO and Yuya OSHIMA (2nd) are aiming to repeat their triumphs of 2015 and 2017. They too will face stern competition from China in the form of MA Long and XU Xin (3rd).

 

Related News

Italy Push France to the Limit in a Thrilling Round of 16 Battle

In the last round of the third day of play in the Under 19 Boys Event at the European Youth Championships in Ostrava, Slovakia became the first team to book...

Read more

Ladimir MAYOROV’s Brilliance Stuns England and Lifts Spain into the Quarterfinals

Watching 11-year-old Ladimir MAYOROV lead Spain to victory in the Round of 16 of the Under 15 Event at the European Youth Championships was a unique experience. Spain reached the...

Read more

Austrian Under 19 Girls aimed to stay in the top division – now they are in the top eight

The knockout stage of the Under 19 Girls Team Event at the European Youth Championships in Ostrava heated up the atmosphere in the RT Torax Arena. The beginning of the...

Read more

Intense Group Stage Battles Define Final Day Before Top teams enters Knockouts at EYC Ostrava

At the European Youth Championships in Ostrava, the teams that progressed directly to the Round of 16 from the top two spots in the Under 19 Girls’ Teams Event are:...

Read more

Contact

About Us

Privacy Policy

Terms and Conditions

The European Table Tennis Union (ETTU) is the governing body of the sport of table tennis in Europe, and is the only authority recognized for this purpose by the International Table Tennis Federation. The ETTU deals with all matters relating to table tennis at a European level, including the development and promotion of the sport in the territories controlled by its 58 member associations, and the organization of continental table tennis competitions, including the European Championships.

Powered By

All Competitions

Senior Competitions

Club Competitions

Youth Competitions

More Competitions