Sponsored by Mecano Sports, presented by Caliente.mx, sanctioned by ICTTF (by Larry Hodges, photo by Larry Hodges: “Player’s Choice Champion Alexander “Flash” Flemming”) There were 48 players in the event, played single elimination, with $2,500 for first, $1,500 for second. For this event, players had their choice of hardbat, sandpaper, or wood. The conventional wisdom is that nearly everyone […]

Sponsored by Mecano Sports, presented by Caliente.mx, sanctioned by ICTTF (by Larry Hodges, photo by Larry Hodges: “Sandpaper Champion Hunag Jungang”) Sandpaper Singles had the most entries among the ten events at the Ping Pong World Cup. As I learned here, there are pockets of sandpaper aficionados all over the world, probably more than hardbat, […]

Sponsored by Mecano Sports, presented by Caliente.mx, sanctioned by ICTTF (by Larry Hodges, photo by Larry Hodges: “Hardbat Champion Wang Shibo and Mexican Rock Star Miky Huidobro”) The preliminary round robins and single elimination to the semifinals was covered in the article “Hardbat Singles to the Semifinals at the Ping Pong World Cup.” We’ll continue […]

Sponsored by Mecano Sports, presented by Caliente.mx, sanctioned by ICTTF (by Larry Hodges, photo by Larry Hodges: “Woodbat Champion Alexander “Flash” Flemming (second from right, in blue shirt)” There were 40 players competing in eight groups of five, with two tables for each group. The top two in each group advanced to the money brackets, […]

Sponsored by Mecano Sports, presented by Caliente.mx, sanctioned by ICTTF (by Larry Hodges, photo by Larry Hodges: “Finalist Sara Gulabani Serving to Hardbat Junior Champion Bryce Milford”) As with Sandpaper, this event was originally an Under 18 event. But there was interest in Under 23 students (i.e. college students), and so they combined the events. […]

Sponsored by Mecano Sports, presented by Caliente.mx, sanctioned by ICTTF (by Larry Hodges, photo by Larry Hodges: “Finalist Alexis Perez serving to Senior Champion David Tiplady”) There were four groups of four, with the top two in each group advancing to the quarterfinals, with the winners of group 1 and group 2 getting a bye […]

Sponsored by Mecano Sports, presented by Caliente.mx, sanctioned by ICTTF (by Larry Hodges, photo by Larry Hodges: “Viktoria Balics Wins Women’s Hardbat Singles”) There were six women in the Hardbat Women event, so they decided to play it as a complete round robin – with one catch. They wanted a real final, and so after […]

Sponsored by Mecano Sports, presented by Caliente.mx, sanctioned by ICTTF (by Larry Hodges, photo by Larry Hodges: “Down 0-6 in the second, top seed Alexander “Flash” Flemming serves to Jan Olek.  Will he come back?”) Play began at 8:15AM on Friday, Jan. 5. There were 50 players competing in ten groups of five, with two tables for each group. The top […]

Sponsored by Mecano Sports, presented by Caliente.mx, sanctioned by ICTTF (by Larry Hodges, photo by Larry Hodges: “Under 18 Student Champion Bryce Milford, their coach, AJ Carney, and Finalist Sara Gulabani”) Originally, it was an Under 18 event. But there was interest in Under 23 students (i.e. college students), and so they combined the events. […]

Sponsored by Mecano Sports, presented by Caliente.mx, sanctioned by ICTTF (by Larry Hodges, photo by Larry Hodges: “Senior Finalist Steve Claflin and Champion John Sabalik”) There were two groups of five, with the top three advancing to the money rounds. All other players advanced to the Consolation brackets. In Group 1, the fourth seed, Sergio […]