You Are Here: Home » Major Table Tennis Tournaments » 2013 ITTF World Tour
The ITTF World Tour 2013 was expanded to include the Americas, with USA hosting a tournament for the first time
By Martin Hughes
Owner and Editor
In 1996 the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) launched a brand new premier competition - The ITTF Pro Tour.
It was a huge success, so in 2012, after 15 years of solid growth, they took it to the next level and re-named it the ITTF World Tour.
The GAC Group (China-based car manufacturer Guangzhou Automobile Group) continued their sponsorship of the World tour in 2013 as the competition developed further, with three tiers of events now making up the World Tour - Super Series, Major Series and Challenge Series.
^ Top of page ^
So how did the 2013 ITTF World Tour work?
The ITTF World Tour is a Grand Prix series in which players compete in International Open tournaments around the world and earn grand prix points and prize money according to how well they perform.
The best performers (who also meet the qualifying criteria) were then invited to the end of year Grand Finals where a prize fund of one million US dollars was up for grabs.
^ Top of page ^
So how did it work in 2013?
2013 saw 19 events within the ITTF World Tour.
The top rated events were called the Super Series, followed by the Major Series plus the two challenger series of Euro-Africa and the Americas.
There were 6 Super Series events, 6 Major Series events plus 7 Challenger Series events (5 in Euro-Africa and two events in the Americas).
^ Top of page ^
So let's take a look at...
The Super Series tournaments held events for:
The Major Series tournaments held events for:
And the Challenger Series tournaments held events for:
^ Top of page ^
So what about the...
The prize money for the GAC ITTF World Tour 2013 was substantial.
The total prize fund was over $2,500,000 with the Grand Finals once again worth $1,000,000.
Each Super Series event must offer a minimum prize fund of $200,000, whilst in the Major Series it's a minimum prize fund of $100,000, and $30,000 for the Challenger Series.
Additionally, the points awarded to the best performers were also tiered.
The winner of an event in a Challenger Series gained 100 points, whilst in the Major Series it was 200 points and in the Super Series 300 points.
And the players with the most points at the end of the season were invited to compete in the lucrative Grand Finals.
^ Top of page ^
But to be invited to the Grand Finals, players must meet ALL the qualifying criteria...
The number of players at the 2013 ITTF World Tour Grand Finals was as follows...
And the qualifying criteria were...
SINGLES
DOUBLES
UNDER 21 YEARS
Players or pairs who finish equal on points for the last positions to qualify will be decided by their position on the last available ITTF World Ranking list. If players or pairs are still equal, reference will be made to the previous World Ranking list and so on.
I'll be focussing on the Men's Singles (MS) events only.
^ Top of page ^
Here are the events which made up the...
DATES | WORLD TOUR EVENTS 2013 | MS WINNERS |
---|---|---|
SUPER SERIES | ||
14-18 Feb | Kuwait Open (Kuwait City, Kuwait) | Zhang Jike (China) |
20-24 Feb | Qatar Open (Doha, Qatar) | Ma Long (China) |
12-16 June | China Open (Changchun, China) | Ma Long (China) |
19-23 June | Japan Open (Yokohama, Japan) | Masato Shiono (Japan) |
14-18 Aug | China Open (Suzhou, China) | Ma Long (China) |
13-17 Nov | German Open (Berlin, Germany) | Fan Zhendong (China) |
MAJOR SERIES | ||
23-27 Jan | Austrian Open (Wels, Austria) | Fang Bo (China) |
3-7 Apr | Korean Open (Incheon City, South Korea) | Xu Xin (China) |
21-25 Aug | Czech Open (Olomouc, Czech Republic) | Masato Shiono (Japan) |
6-10 Nov | Polish Open (Warsaw, Poland) | Fan Zhendong (China) |
20-24 Nov | Russian Open (Ekaterinburg, Russia) | Kazuhiro Chan (Japan) |
27 Nov-1 Dec | Swedish Open (Stockholm, Sweden) | Yan An (China) |
EURO-AFRICA CHALLENGE SERIES | ||
17-20 Jan | Spanish Open (Almeria, Spain) | Cazuo Matsumoto (Brazil) |
21-24 Mar | Egypt Open (Aswan, Egypt) | Abdel-Kader Salifou (France) |
6-9 June | Zagreb Open (Zagreb, Croatia) | Abdel-Kader Salifou (France) |
27-30 June | Morocco Open (Rabat, Morocco) | Abdel-Kader Salifou (France) |
12-15 Sept | Belarus Open (Minsk, Belarus) | Kaii Yoshida (Japan) |
18-21 Sept | Cancelled (June 2013) | |
AMERICAS CHALLENGE SERIES | ||
3-6 July | US Open (Las Vegas, USA) | Eugene Wang (Canada) |
8-11 Aug | Brazil Open (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) | Hugo Calderano (Brazil) |
9-12 Jan 2014 | ITTF World Tour Grand Finals (Dubai, UAE) | XU, Xin (China) |
^ Top of page ^
So when and where were the Grand Finals staged?
The ITTF World Tour Grand Finals were held from 9-12 January 2014 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates at the AlNasr Sports Club, Oud Meitha Street, Bur Dubai.
Here is the list of the 16 men who accumulated sufficient Grand Prix points and met the additional qualifying criteria of competing in at least five events (tournaments) and therefore were invited to take part in the 2013 Grand Finals men's singles event.
Some players accumulated sufficient Grand Prix points but didn't compete in sufficient events to be eligible to take part in the prestigious end of season grand finals (NE).
Rank | Elig | Points | Events | Continents | Player (Family Name, Given Name) | Assoc |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1150 | 5 | 1 | MA, Long | China | |
2 | 647 | 6 | 2 | FAN, Zhendong | China | |
3 | 625 | 6 | 2 | XU, Xin | China | |
4 | 557 | 5 | 3 | SHIONO, Masato | Japan | |
5 | 513 | 6 | 2 | YAN, An | China | |
6 | 433 | 6 | 2 | ZHANG, Jike | China | |
7 | 369 | 5 | 1 | WANG, Hao | China | |
8 | 339 | 5 | 2 | OVTCHAROV, Dimitrij | Germany | |
9 | 323 | 9 | 2 | SALIFOU, Abdel-Kader | France | |
10 | 278 | 9 | 2 | CHAN, Kazuhiro | Japan | |
11 | 238 | 7 | 2 | CHUANG, Chih-Yuan | Chinese Taipei | |
NE | 209 | 2 | 2 | FANG, Bo | China | |
NE | 169 | 4 | 1 | ZHOU, Yu | China | |
12 | 164 | 5 | 2 | NIWA, Koki | Japan | |
NE | 151 | 4 | 1 | SHIBAEV, Alexander | Russia | |
NE | 150 | 1 | 1 | XU, Chenhao | China | |
NE | 143 | 4 | 2 | YOSHIDA, Kaii | Japan | |
13 | 143 | 6 | 2 | KIM, Minseok | South Korea | |
14 | 142 | 8 | 2 | TAKAKIWA, Taku | Japan | |
NE | 139 | 4 | 2 | MIZUTANI, Jun | Japan | |
15 | 138 | 6 | 2 | MATSUDAIRA, Kenta | Japan | |
16 | 136 | 7 | 3 | MATSUMOTO, Cazuo | Brazil | |
R E S E R V E S | ||||||
17 | 122 | 5 | 3 | WANG, Eugene | Canada | |
NE | 119 | 2 | 2 | HAO, Shuai | China | |
18 | 119 | 7 | 2 | GAO, Ning | Singapore | |
19 | 116 | 6 | 2 | CHEN, Chien-An | Chinese Taipei | |
NE | 113 | 2 | 2 | BOLL, Timo | Germany | |
20 | 112 | 5 | 1 | MACHADO, Carlos | Spain |
The ITTF also invited Abdulla Almohaiseni from the host association (United Arab Emirates).
China's Yan An and Japan's Kenta Matsudaira declined to take part and their places were taken by Eugene Wang from Canada and Gao Ning from Singapore.
^ Top of page ^
So what was the...
The event was played on a knockout basis.
The seeding of the players were determined by the final order of the World Tour points standing.
The player from the host association (Abdulla Almohaiseni) played a first round Challenge match against the lowest seeded player (Gao Ning).
All matches were the best of 7 games.
^ Top of page ^
And what was the...
The total prize money at the Grand Finals was $1,004,000
For the men's singles the breakdown was as follows:
Position | Amount (US $) |
---|---|
Winner | 104,000 |
Runner-up | 52,000 |
Semi Finals | 26,000 |
Quarter Finals | 13,000 |
Last 16 | 6,500 |
Round One | 2,000 |
^ Top of page ^
And the...
The equipment used for the Grand Finals was...
^ Top of page ^
And what was the...
The draw was made on 7th January 2014 at 18:00 hours at Spin Dubai, WAFI City.
by courtesy of the ITTF
Thursday 9 January 2014
Winner | Result | Loser |
---|---|---|
GAO, Ning (Singapore) | 4-0 | ALMOHAISENI, Abdulla (UAE) |
11-7, 11-7, 11-2, 11-5 |
Thursday 9 January 2014
Winner | Result | Loser |
---|---|---|
MA, Long (China) 11-8, 11-6, 11-9, 6-11, 11-8 |
4-1 | CHAN, Kazuhiro (Japan) |
ZHANG, Jike (China) 11-7, 11-8, 11-3, 7-11, 11-2 |
4-1 | TAKAKIWA, Taku (Japan) |
KIM, Minseok (South Korea) 11-8, 11-9, 6-11, 11-3, 5-11, 2-11, 11-9 |
4-3 | OVTCHAROV, Dimitrij (Germany) |
SHIONO, Masato (Japan) 6-11, 6-11, 8-11, 11-5, 12-10, 11-8, 11-9 |
4-3 | GAO, Ning (Singapore) |
XU, Xin (China) 11-8, 11-8, 11-4, 7-11, 11-7 |
4-1 | CHUANG, Chih-Yuan (Chinese Taipei) |
SALIFOU, Abdel-Kader (France) 11-5, 11-7, 11-3, 11-5 |
4-0 | MATSUMOTO, Cazuo (Brazil) |
WANG, Hao (China) 9-11, 11-8, 11-9, 11-8, 11-6 |
4-1 | NIWA, Koki (Japan) |
FAN, Zhendong (China) 11-6, 12-10, 9-11, 8-11, 11-5, 11-4 |
4-2 | WANG, Eugene (Canada) |
Saturday 11 January 2014
Winner | Result | Loser |
---|---|---|
MA, Long (China) 8-11, 3-11, 12-10, 11-8, 11-6, 9-11, 11-5 |
4-3 | ZHANG, Jike (China) |
KIM, Minseok (South Korea) 11-6, 11-5, 11-8, 3-11, 4-11, 7-11, 11-6 |
4-3 | SHIONO, Masato (Japan) |
XU, Xin (China) 11-8, 11-6, 11-8, 12-10 |
4-0 | SALIFOU, Abdel-Kader (France) |
FAN, Zhendong (China) 11-9, 10-12, 11-5, 11-3, 11-9 |
4-1 | WANG, Hao (China) |
Sunday 12 January 2014
Winner | Result | Loser |
---|---|---|
MA, Long (China) 11-5, 11-6, 11-5, 11-6 |
4-0 | KIM, Minseok (South Korea) |
XU, Xin (China) 11-7, 11-8, 10-12, 11-8, 12-10 |
4-1 | FAN, Zhendong (China) |
Sunday 12 January 2014
Winner | Result | Runner-up |
---|---|---|
XU, Xin (China) | 4-3 | MA, Long (China) |
11-8, 10-12, 11-6, 8-11, 11-5, 4-11, 11-5 |
^ Top of page ^
^ Top of page ^
You Are Here: Home » Major Table Tennis Tournaments » 2013 ITTF World Tour
How this site is financed
AllAboutTableTennis.com (AATT) is completely free to use.
However, it's run by one person only (Martin Hughes) and has high running costs that need to be paid for.
This web site receives thousands of visitors every day and therefore, to keep it completely free to use, advertising and affiliate links appear on this web site.
However, these adverts and affiliate links do not influence the advice and recommendations given on this web site.
My intention has always been to give you the best possible information, advice and recommendations, based on my 50+ years involvement in the sport.
Advertising
Adverts appear automatically on my site, provided by third parties, and are not directly controlled by me.
When you click on an advert, it's tracked to AATT and will generate a small payment to me.
Affiliate links*
Affiliate links are links to other web sites who sell related table tennis products.
These work in the same way as normal links, but when you click on it, the link is tracked to AATT and, if you make a purchase, may generate a small payment to me.
They do not cost you anything to use, and any products you choose to buy will not cost you any more than if you went directly to that web site.
These are principally links to Megaspin, Amazon and Bribar, but may include others from time to time.
These links are identified by having an asterisk (*) by its side.
AATT cannot identify any user who clicks on an advert or affiliate link.