(by Steve Hopkins)
With seven of the World’s Top 10 present, the WTT Star Contender in Ljubljana Slovenia has provided high quality action. And while there is little surprise that World No. 1 and No. 2 will face off in the Final – the order those players on Sunday is a bit of a surprise as Wang Chuqin overtook Fan Zhendong for the No. 1 position in the latest rankings that were released on Tuesday – and in order for Chuqin to keep that position he will have to defeat Zhendong on Sunday (as the winner will gain enough points to hold the first position).
Further down the rankings, the results have been more interesting. World No. 3 Ma Long lost to the red-hot Zhou Qihao. World No. 4 Harimoto fell to Shunsuke Togami – with two-time Japan champion Togami being one of the few players outside of the World top 10 that gives Harimoto a hard time. Like Chuqin and Zhendong, Calderano had a solid showing with wins over Karlsson, Seungmin, and Togami before falling to Fan Zhendong in the Semifinals.
France’s Lebrun brothers continue to make waves. A week ago, they finished first and third in the European Games. This week, Alexis Lebrun reached the Round of 16 before falling to Truls Moregard, and Felix Lebrun took out Darko Jorgic before falling 2-3 to Zhou Qihao. Another big upset went to Quadri Aruna who reached the Quarterfinals by defeating Lin Yun Ju. Quadri fell in the Quarters to Zhendong.
The big Final is set for Sunday. The winner in Slovenia will be Number 1 when the rankings come out on Tuesday.
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