(By Steve Hopkins, photo WTT)
The surprises ended on the final day, as the higher seed won each of the final three matches at the WTT Champions Series event in Macao. The pattern repeated itself in all three Men’s Singles matches Sunday with high seeded Hugo Calderano dispensing with surprise Semifinalist Anders Lind 4-0, the top remaining seed Wang Chuqin then topping surprise Semifinalist Jang Woojing 4-0, and then not to be outdone, World No. 2 Wang Chuqin fought through some close games but dominated World No. 4 Hugo Calderano with yet another 4-0 match.
The implications could not be larger for Wang Chuqin who nets $60,000 USD and 1000 ranking points. That latter prize is a difference of 825 points of Lin Shidong which may be enough to jump over the World No. 1. While there are some quirks in the points system as point totals from past events drop off after about a year – it is being reported that Wang Chuqin will be the new World No. 1 when the next rankings are released on Tuesday.
On the Women’s side, it wa all China in the final four slots with Sun Yingsha set to face Kuai Man and Chen Xingtong to face Wang Manyu. Of course, that is World No. 1 versus World No. 4 and World No. 2 versus World No. 3, so this was a distribution exactly by World Ranking. That pattern held true on Sunday as well, as World No. 1 Sun Yingsha won her Semifinal 4-1, and World No. 2 Wang Manyu won her Semifinal 4-2, and then the world’s top ranked player defeated the world’s second ranked player 4-3.
The pro tour’s next stop is Beijing where the China Smash will be played starting on September 25. Every single player in the World Top 33 will be present in Beijing, including USA’s Kanak Jha. “Smash” events feature the best of the best and with the event in Beijing, this will be one of the biggest stages for our sport for 2025.
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