World Table Tennis is launching its newest marquee event today as part of its WTT European Summer Series in Budapest. Taking place from 18 to 23 July at the BOK Hall and with USD$500 000 prize money on offer and 1000 ranking points for winners the WTT Champions event will see WTT deliver its premium tier of events for the first time within the WTT Series the official professional Table Tennis series of events.
WTT Champions provide world-class competition for the Top 30 men and women stars from the ITTF World Table Tennis rankings and two wildcards with a maximum of four players per member association. They compete directly in a Main Draw knockout on just one table.
Undoubtedly the headline name in the Men’s Singles draw China’s Ma Long tops the seeding list and is a man on a mission as he bids to lift a WTT trophy for the first time after being defeated in the semifinal of the WTT Star Contender ESS 2022 last week. He will again face an incredibly strong field of opponents with Wang Chuqin Hugo Calderano Truls Moregard Lin Yun-Ju Tomokazu Arimoto and Quadri Aruna all in the running for a shot at the inaugural WTT Champions title.
In Women’s Singles it is hard to pick a favourite between Chen Meng Sun Yingsha Wang Manyu and Wang Yidi as the quatuor has been sensational over the past year. Along with them the entries in the Women’s Singles include an impressive list of stars including Mima Ito Ying Han Doo Hoi Kem Adriana Diaz Jeon Jihee and Bruna Takahashi who all impressed in recent WTT Series events. The complete player list and the draw are available here.
The men’s and women’s competitions are held as combined WTT events during the European Summer Series offering fans double the excitement. Ma Long and Chen Meng the current world number one’s open the action.
After first being introduced at Singapore Smash the Infinity Arena is making its return for the WTT Champions ESS 2022. An aerial view of the Arena shows the octagonal shape of the court abstractly recalling that of an infinity symbol (∞) with the intersection of the lines in the centre marking the location of the playing table. The revolutionary Arena signifies the limitless possibilities that await the sport of table tennis captivating the audience and elevating the game.
