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ITTF World Tour 2015
The ITTF World Tour 2015. Where the best players in the world compete for the biggest money prizes
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) began sponsoring this event in 2012 and currently have an agreement to sponsor this event until the end of 2015.
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So how does the 2015 ITTF World Tour work?
Points mean prizes
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) are then invited to the end of year Grand Finals where a prize fund of US$500,000 is up for grabs.
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So how does it work in 2015?
Tournaments around the World
2015 sees 23 events within the ITTF World Tour.
The top rated events are now called the Super Series, followed by the Major Series plus the challenger series in Euro-Africa, the Americas, Asia and Oceania.
There are 6 Super Series events, 6 Major Series events plus 11 Challenger Series events.
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So let's take a look at...
The Format
The Super Series tournaments hold events for:
- Men's singles
- Women's singles
- Men's doubles
- Women's doubles
and two optional events... - Under 21 years Men's singles
- Under 21 years Women's singles
The Major Series tournaments hold events for:
- Men's singles
- Women's singles
- Men's doubles
- Women's doubles
- Under 21 years Men's singles
- Under 21 years Women's singles
And the Challenger Series tournaments hold events for:
- Men's singles
- Women's singles
plus two events from... - Men's doubles
- Women's doubles
- Under 21 years Men's singles
- Under 21 years Women's singles
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So what about the...
Prize Money
The prize money for the GAC ITTF World Tour 2015 is substantial.
The total prize fund is over $3,000,000 with the Grand Finals worth $500,000.
Each Super Series event must offer a minimum prize fund of $220,000, whilst in the Major Series it's a minimum prize fund of $110,000, and $35,000 for the Challenger Series.
Additionally, the points awarded to the best performers will also be tiered.
The winner of an event in a Challenger Series gains 100 points, whilst in the Major Series it is 200 points and in the Super Series 500 points.
And the players with the most points at the end of the season will be invited to compete in the lucrative Grand Finals.
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But to be invited to the Grand Finals, players must meet ALL the qualifying criteria...
2015 ITTF World Tour Grand Finals
The number of players at the 2015 ITTF World Tour Grand Finals will be as follows...
- Men's and women's singles will each have 16 players.
- Men's and women's doubles will each have 8 pairs.
- Under 21 men's and women's singles will each have 8 players.
And the qualifying criteria are...
SINGLES
- The top 15 men and 15 women who have accumulated the most grand prix points and have competed in at least 5 tournaments.
- The ITTF will also invite one man and one woman from the association hosting the 2015 World Tour Grand Finals if they have competed in at least 5 tournaments.
DOUBLES
- The top 7 men's doubles pairs and 7 women's doubles pairs who have accumulated the most grand prix points, as a pair, and have competed in at least 4 tournaments.
- The ITTF will also invite one man and one woman doubles pair from the association hosting the 2015 World Tour Grand Finals if they have competed in at least 4 tournaments.
UNDER 21 YEARS
- The top 7 U21 men and 7 U21 women who have accumulated the largest number of grand prix points and have competed in at least 4 events in at least 2 continents.
- The ITTF will also invite one man and one woman from the association hosting the 2015 World Tour Grand Finals.
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.
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Here are the events which make up the...
GAC ITTF World Tour 2015
| DATES | WORLD TOUR EVENTS 2015 | MS WINNERS |
|---|---|---|
| SUPER SERIES | ||
| 11-15 Feb | Kuwait Open (Kuwait City, Kuwait) | Ma Long (China) |
| 17-22 Feb | Qatar Open (Doha, Qatar) | Vladimir Samsonov (Belarus) |
| 18-22 Mar | German Open (Bremen, Germany) | Ma Long (China) |
| 24-28 June | Japan Open (Kobe, Japan) | Xu Xin (China) |
| 1-5 July | Korean Open (Incheon, South Korea) | Jung Youngsik (South Korea) |
| 5-9 August | China Open (Chengdu, China) | Ma Long (China) |
| MAJOR SERIES | ||
| 25-29 Mar | Spanish Open (Almeria, Spain) | Maharu Yoshimura (Japan) |
| 26-30 Aug | Czech Open (Olomouc, Czech Republic) | Wong Chun Ting (Hong Kong China) |
| 2-6 Sept | Austrian Open (Wels, Austria) | Jun Mizutani (Japan) |
| 21-25 Oct | Polish Open (Warsaw, Poland) | Fan Zhendong (China) |
| 4-8 Nov | Russian Open (Yekaterinburg, Russia) | CANCELLED |
| 11-15 Nov | Swedish Open (Stockholm, Sweden) | Fan Zhendong (China) |
| EURO-AFRICA CHALLENGE SERIES | ||
| 28 Jan-1 Feb | Hungarian Open (Budapest, Hungary) | Jiang Tianyi (Hong Kong China) |
| 10-14 Mar | Nigerian Open (Lagos, Nigeria) | Omar Assar (Egypt) |
| 13-17 May | Belarus Open (Minsk, Belarus) | Li Ping (Qatar) |
| 19-23 May | Croatian Open (Zagreb, Croatia) | Maharu Yoshimura (Japan) |
| 19-23 Aug | Bulgarian Open (Panagyurishte, Bulgaria) | Kim Donghyun (South Korea) |
| 8-12 Sep | Belgium Open (De Haan, Belgium) | Nima Alamian (Iran) |
| AMERICAS CHALLENGE SERIES | ||
| 16-20 Sep | Argentina Open (Buenos Aires, Argentina) | Eric Jouti (Brazil) |
| 23-27 Sept | Chile Open (Chile) | Thiago Monteiro (Brazil) |
| ASIAN CHALLENGE SERIES | ||
| 27-31 May | Philippines Open (Subic Bay, Philippines) | Yuya Oshima (Japan) |
| 29-2 Aug | Pyongyang Open (Pyongyang, North Korea) | Choe Il (North Korea) |
| OCEANIA CHALLENGE SERIES | ||
| 3-7 Jun | Australian Open (Gold Coast, Australia) | Jung Youngsik (South Korea) |
| 10-13 Dec | ITTF World Tour Grand Finals (Lisbon, Portugal) | Ma Long (China) |
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So when and where are the Grand Finals being staged?
The Grand Finals
The ITTF World Tour Grand Finals will be held from 10-13 December 2015 in Lisbon, Portugal.
Here is the list of the men who accumulated sufficient Grand Prix points and met the additional qualifying criteria of competing in at least five events (tournaments) and were therefore invited to take part in the 2015 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 | Player (Family Name, Given Name) | Assoc |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1556 | 5 | MA, Long | China | |
| 2 | 1250 | 5 | XU, Xin | China | |
| 3 | 1000 | 5 | FAN, Zhendong | China | |
| 4 | 978 | 10 | JUNG, Youngsik | South Korea | |
| 5 | 738 | 7 | YOSHIMURA, Maharu | Japan | |
| 6 | 669 | 6 | SAMSONOV, Vladimir | Belarus | |
| 7 | 650 | 5 | OVTCHAROV, Dimitrij | Germany | |
| 8 | 613 | 5 | ZHANG, Jike | China | |
| 9 | 566 | 10 | WONG, Chun Ting | Hong Kong China | |
| 10 | 488 | 7 | CHUANG, Chih-Yuan | Chinese Taipei | |
| 11 | 481 | 6 | FREITAS, Marcos | Portugal | |
| 12 | NE | 475 | 4 | JOO, Saehyuk | South Korea |
| 13 | 394 | 6 | MIZUTANI, Jun | Japan | |
| 14 | 371 | 11 | LEE, Sangsu | South Korea | |
| 15 | 362 | 7 | NIWA, Koki | Japan | |
| 16 | 346 | 10 | OSHIMA, Yuya | Japan | |
| 17 | 338 | 13 | KIM, Donghyun | South Korea | |
| 18 | 322 | 10 | JANG, Woojin | South Korea | |
| R E S E R V E S | |||||
| 19 | 263 | 11 | MATSUDAIRA, Kenta | Japan | |
Maharu Yoshimura declined his invitation to play.
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So what was the...
Playing format for the 2015 Grand Finals
The event was played on a knockout basis.
The seeding of the players was determined by the final order of the World Tour points standing.
All matches were the best of 7 games.
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And what was the...
Prize Money
The total prize money at the 2015 Grand Finals was $500,000
For the men's singles the breakdown was as follows:
| Position | Amount (US $) |
|---|---|
| Winner | 60,000 |
| Runner-up | 30,000 |
| Semi Finals | 15,000 |
| Quarter Finals | 7,500 |
| Last 16 | 3,750 |
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And the...
Equipment used
The equipment used for the Grand Finals was...
- Tables - Double Fish
- Balls - Double Happiness 40+ Three Star
- Flooring - Tinsue (blue)
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So let's take a look at the men's singles finals...
Date of the draw
The draw was made on 9 December 2015 at 13:00 hours.
First Round
Friday 11 December 2015
| Winner | Result | Loser |
|---|---|---|
| Ma Long 11-7, 11-3, 11-7, 5-11, 11-8 |
4-1 | Marcos Freitas |
| Dimitrij Ovtcharov 11-7, 11-6, 14-16, 11-7, 10-12, 7-11, 11-7 |
4-3 | Jun Mizutani |
| Zhang Jike 11-9, 11-3, 8-11, 11-6, 8-11, 11-7 |
4-2 | Lee Sangsu |
| Yuya Oshima 11-6, 5-11, 11-9, 11-2, 6-11, 4-11, 14-12 |
4-3 | Jung Youngsik |
| Fan Zhendong 11-6, 11-9, 11-3, 12-10 |
4-0 | Kim Donghyun |
| Chuang Chih-Yuan 11-5, 11-8, 11-7, 10-12, 11-4 |
4-1 | Wong Chun Ting |
| Vladimir Samsonov 11-9, 11-3, 6-11, 11-7, 11-8 |
4-1 | Koki Niwa |
| Xu Xin 11-6, 11-0, 11-9, 11-7 |
4-0 | Jang Woojin |
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Quarter Finals
Saturday 12 December 2015
| Winner | Result | Loser |
|---|---|---|
| Ma Long 11-9, 11-5, 12-10, 11-4 |
4-0 | Dimitrij Ovtcharov |
| Zhang Jike 17-15, 11-9, 11-8, 15-17, 11-5 |
4-1 | Yuya Oshima |
| Fan Zhendong 12-10, 11-4, 14-12, 11-3 |
4-0 | Chuang Chih-Yuan |
| Xu Xin 10-12, 14-12, 11-3, 10-12, 11-8, 12-10 |
4-2 | Vladimir Samsonov |
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Semi Finals
Sunday 13 December 2015
| Winner | Result | Loser |
|---|---|---|
| Ma Long 11-5, 11-5, 8-11, 12-14, 11-7, 11-8 |
4-2 | Zhang Jike |
| Fan Zhendong 6-11, 11-4, 11-8, 7-11, 11-8, 17-15 |
4-2 | Xu Xin |
Final
Sunday 13 December 2015
| Winner | Result | Loser |
|---|---|---|
| Ma Long 12-10, 12-10, 11-13, 7-11, 7-11, 11-8, 11-9 |
4-3 | Fan Zhendong |
Fan Zhendong and Ma Long
Fan Zhendong and Ma Long
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