Top Seeds Move to Final Rounds at 2015 Butterfly Los Angeles Open
by Barbara Wei

Headlining players did not disappoint on the first day of play at the 2015 Butterfly Los Angeles Open. Joo Sae Hyuk (WR #13), this year’s feature player swept his Open Singles round robin group, surprisingly dropping a single game to Mexican defensive player Andres Avila. Hou Yingchao (China) similarly breezed through his round robin group, graciously giving a few pointers to 2015 US Women’s World Championship Team member Angela Guan during their educational and entertaining match. Top ICC coaches Bob Chen, Liang Yonghui, Wang Jinxin, Tao Wenzhang all advanced to the knock out rounds without issue. In the single elimination round of 16, Wang Jinxin defeated Zheng Pu (3-1), Zhang Xiang Jing defeated Liu Dan (3-2), Xia Jiwei defeated Yuan Xiao Jie (3-1) and Tao Wenzhang defeated Tian Ye (3-0), with Joo Sae Hyuk, Liang Yonghui, Bob Chen and Hou Yingchao receiving byes.

The quarterfinal match ups pit Joo Sae Hyuk against Wang Jinxin (2015 US Open Champion), Hou Yingchao against Tao Wenzhang (2014 US Open Champion), Zhang Xiang Jing against Liang Yonghui and Bob Chen against Xia Jiwei. With all eight quarterfinal players over 2650, this afternoon’s championship matches will feature be some of the highest level table tennis played on U.S. soil.

In the Open Doubles event, the biggest surprise came in the quarterfinal round where Joo Sae Hyuk and middle school friend Kim Bong Geun lost in a deuce in the fifth battle to ICC team Liang Yonghui and Liu Dan. After leading 2-1, Joo/Kim dropped the last two games 11-9 and 12-10. The Open Doubles final between ICC coach teams Bob Chen/Tao Wenzhang and Liang Yonghui/Liu Dan will be played at 5:00 p.m. PST directly before the Open Singles final.

Play continues on Sunday with the Women’s Singles event (12:00 p.m PST) and the conclusion of the Open Singles and Open Doubles event. Live streaming will begin at 4:00 p.m. for the Semifinals of the Open Singles event and will continue until the finals.

Continual coverage of the LA Open and stories about the athletes will be available at ButterflyOnline.com, or via Butterfly North America’s Twitter and Facebook pages.