You Are Here: Home » Major Table Tennis Tournaments » 2016 World Cup
Men's World Cup 2016
The Men's World Cup 2016 took place in Saarbrucken, Germany from 1-3 October 2016.
But who qualified for this prestigious table tennis event?
By Martin Hughes
Owner and Editor
The 2016 Men's World Cup was played in Saarbrucken, Germany at the Saarlandhalle from 1-3 October 2016.
The Men's World Cup first started in 1980 as an invitational event for 16 players, and in 2009 it was extended to 19 players.
But from 2013, 20 players compete for the World Cup, with the World Champion automatically qualifying and at least 17 players qualifying through Continental Cups or equivalent types of tournaments. However, no more than two players per Association are allowed to take part.
The Women had their own World Cup competition in Philadelphia, USA from 7-9 October 2016, but I'll be focusing on the Men's competition here.
^ Top of page ^
So...
How did players qualify for 2016 Men's World Cup
Twenty players qualified for the 2016 Men's World Cup as follows...
- the current World champion
- 18 players through Continental Cups or equivalent types of tournaments
- 1 "wild card" selected by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF)
The rules also state that not more than two players from any Association can participate.
^ Top of page ^
So let's take a look and see...
Which players qualified?
The following players qualified to take part in the LIEBHERR Men's World Cup 2016...
| No. | World Ranking as at Aug 2016 |
Player Family Name, Given Name (Association) |
How Qualified |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | MA, Long (China 1) | World Champion |
| 2 | 40 | ARUNA, Quadri (Nigeria) | African Cup Winner |
| 3 | 3 | XU, Xin (China 1) | Asian Cup Winner |
| 4 | 54 | CALDERANO, Hugo (Brazil) | Latin American Cup Winner |
| 5 | 271 | FENG, Yijun (USA) | North American Cup Winner |
| 6 | 278 | POWELL, David (Australia) | Oceania Cup Winner |
| 7 | 5 | OVTCHAROV, Dimitrij (Germany 1) | Europe Cup Winner |
| 8 | 35 | MONTEIRO, Joao (Portugal 1) | Europe Cup 2nd place |
| 9 | 23 | SHIBAEV, Alexander (Russia) | Europe Cup 3rd place |
| 10 | 27 | KARLSSON, Kristian (Sweden 1) | Europe Cup 4th place |
| 11 | 9 | SAMSONOV, Vladimir (Belarus) | Europe Cup 5th place |
| 12 | 20 | FEGERL, Stefan (Austria) | Europe Cup 6th place |
| 13 | 18 | APOLONIA, Tiago (Portugal 2) | Europe Cup 7th place |
| 14 | 24 | STEGER, Bastian (Germany 2) | Europe Cup 8th place |
| 15 | 17 | GAUZY, Simon (France) | Europe Cup 9th place |
| 16 | 8 | WONG, Chun Ting (Hong Kong China) | Asian Cup 3rd place |
| 17 | 34 | GAO, Ning (Singapore) | Asian Cup 4th place |
| 18 | 6 | MIZUTANI, Jun (Japan) | Asian Cup 5th place |
| 19 | 16 | LEE, Sangsu (South Korea 1) | Asian Cup 6th place |
| 20 | 12 | JEOUNG, Youngsik (South Korea 2) | ITTF wild card |
| Substitutes | |||
| 39 | GERRELL, Par (Sweden 2) | ||
| 2 | FAN, Zhendong (China 2) | ||
Ma Long and Jun Mizutani withdrew due to their exertions at the Rio Olympic Games and were replaced by Fan Zhendong and Par Gerrell.
^ Top of page ^
So let's take a look at the...
Playing format for 2016
The tournament consists of two stages, with all matches being the best of seven games, but first, all the players taking part are ranked and seeded according to the latest available World Ranking list.
Stage 1
In the first stage, the players seeded from 9 to 20 (12 players) are divided into 4 equal groups of 3 players, with all the members of a group playing each other (round-robin).
Players seeded 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th head each group A, B, C and D respectively.
Players seeded 13th, 14th, 15th and 16th are drawn randomly into the second position of each group.
The remaining players seeded 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th are drawn randomly into the third and last position in each group.
If there are two players from the same Association, they are drawn into separate groups.
The top two finishers of each group then join the top 8 seeded players in the second stage of the competition.
Stage 2
The second stage of the competition consists of a knockout draw.
The player seeded 1 is placed in position 1.
The player seeded 2 is placed in position 16.
Seeds 3 and 4 are drawn between positions 8 and 9.
Seeds 5, 6, 7 and 8 are drawn randomly into positions 4, 5, 12 and 13.
Group winners from the first stage are drawn randomly into positions 3, 6, 11 and 14.
Group second place finishers from the first stage are drawn randomly into positions 2, 7, 10 and 15.
Group winners and second place finishers from the same group are drawn into opposite halves of the draw.
There is no separation by Association.
Losers of the semi-finals play each other for third place.
^ Top of page ^
So what prize money was on offer?
The World Cup prize money
The prize money for the men's table tennis 2016 World Cup was US$ 150,000
This was divided up as follows:
| Winner | US$ 45,000 |
| Runner-up | US$ 25,000 |
| 3rd Place | US$ 15,000 |
| 4th Place | US$ 10,000 |
| Places 5-8 | US$ 6,000 |
| Places 9-16 | US$ 3,250 |
| Places 17-20 | US$ 1,250 |
^ Top of page ^
And let's see the...
Equipment used
The German manufacturer DONIC was the table sponsor and supplier for the LIEBHERR Men's World Cup 2016.
The balls being used were Double Happiness 3 star plastic, and the flooring was by Enlio.
^ Top of page ^
So let's take a look at the...
Seedings
The seedings were as follows...
| Seed | World Ranking (Oct 2016) | Player |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | FAN, Zhendong (China) |
| 2 | 3 | XU, Xin (China) |
| 3 | 6 | OVTCHAROV, Dimitrij (Germany) |
| 4 | 7 | WONG, Chun Ting (Hong Kong China) |
| 5 | 9 | SAMSONOV, Vladimir (Belarus) |
| 6 | 10 | JEOUNG, Youngsik (South Korea) |
| 7 | 18 | APOLONIA, Tiago (Portugal) |
| 8 | 19 | GAUZY, Simon (France) |
| 9 | 20 | STEGER, Bastian (Germany) |
| 10 | 20 | LEE, Sangsu (South Korea) |
| 11 | 22 | FEGERL, Stefan (Austria) |
| 12 | 25 | ARUNA, Quadri (Nigeria) |
| 13 | 26 | SHIBAEV, Alexander (Russia) |
| 14 | 29 | KARLSSON, Kristian (Sweden) |
| 15 | 31 | CALDERANO, Hugo (Brazil) |
| 16 | 41 | GAO, Ning (Singapore) |
| 17 | 43 | GERRELL, Par (Sweden) |
| 18 | (46) | MONTEIRO, Joao (Portugal) |
| 19 | 283 | POWELL, David (Australia) |
| 20 | 287 | FENG, Yijun (USA) |
^ Top of page ^
So let's now see who played in...
Stage 1
The draw was made on Friday 30 September 2016.
Group A
- Bastian STEGER (Germany)
- Hugo CALDERANO (Brazil)
- David POWELL (Australia)
Group B
- LEE Sangsu (South Korea)
- Kristian KARLSSON (Sweden)
- FENG Yijun (USA)
Group C
- Stefan FEGERL (Austria)
- Alexander SHIBAEV (Russia)
- Joao MONTEIRO (Portugal)
Group D
- Quadri ARUNA (Nigeria)
- GAO Ning (Singapore)
- Par GERELL (Sweden)
^ Top of page ^
And here are the...
Results for Stage 1 of the World Cup 2016
Saturday 1 October 2016
Group A
| WINNER | Result | LOSER |
|---|---|---|
| Bastian STEGER (Germany) | 4-0 | David POWELL (Australia) |
| 11-6, 11-4, 11-4, 11-6 | ||
| Bastian STEGER (Germany) | 4-0 | Hugo CALDERANO (Brazil) |
| 11-7, 11-5, 11-8, 11-7 | ||
| Hugo CALDERANO (Brazil) | 4-0 | David POWELL (Australia) |
| 11-3, 11-4, 11-8, 11-5 |
Group A winner = Bastian STEGER (Germany)
Group A runner-up = Hugo CALDERANO (Brazil)
^ Top of page ^
Group B
| WINNER | Result | LOSER |
|---|---|---|
| LEE Sangsu (South Korea) | 4-3 | FENG Yijun (USA) |
| 11-7, 7-11, 6-11, 11-8, 11-9, 5-11, 11-4 | ||
| LEE Sangsu (South Korea) | 4-1 | Kristian KARLSSON (Sweden) |
| 11-9, 11-7, 11-6, 9-11, 11-8 | ||
| Kristian KARLSSON (Sweden) | 4-0 | FENG Yijun (USA) |
| 11-4, 11-8, 13-11, 11-2 |
Group B winner = LEE Sangsu (South Korea)
Group B runner-up = Kristian KARLSSON (Sweden)
^ Top of page ^
Group C
| WINNER | Result | LOSER |
|---|---|---|
| Stefan FEGERL (Austria) | 4-2 | Joao MONTEIRO (Portugal) |
| 9-11, 11-9, 11-6, 5-11, 11-7, 11-5 | ||
| Stefan FEGERL (Austria) | 4-3 | Alexander SHIBAEV (Russia) |
| 12-10, 11-6, 6-11, 7-11, 11-7, 11-13, 11-6 | ||
| Joao MONTEIRO (Portugal) | 4-2 | Alexander SHIBAEV (Russia) |
| 12-10, 12-10, 7-11, 7-11, 11-9, 11-7 |
Group C winner = Stefan FEGERL (Austria)
Group C runner-up = Joao MONTEIRO (Portugal)
^ Top of page ^
Group D
| WINNER | Result | LOSER |
|---|---|---|
| Par GERRELL (Sweden) | 4-2 | Quadri ARUNA (Nigeria) |
| 6-11, 11-7, 9-11, 11-5, 12-10, 12-10 | ||
| GAO Ning (Singapore) | 4-3 | Quadri ARUNA (Nigeria) |
| 5-11, 6-11, 16-14, 11-6, 11-8, 7-11, 13-11 | ||
| Par GERRELL (Sweden) | 4-0 | GAO Ning (Singapore) |
| 11-2, 7-11, 9-11, 6-11 |
Group D winner = Par GERRELL (Sweden)
Group D runner-up = GAO Ning (Singapore)
^ Top of page ^
The top 8 seeds then joined the winners and runners-up from the first stage groups...
Stage 2 Results of the World Cup 2016
The draw was made on Saturday 1 October 2016.
Last 16
Sunday 2 October 2016
| WINNER | Result | LOSER |
|---|---|---|
| FAN Zhendong (China) | 4-0 | GAO Ning (Singapore) |
| 11-3, 11-3, 11-6, 11-3 | ||
| JEOUNG Youngsik (South Korea) | 4-2 | Stefan FEGERL (Austria) |
| 11-6, 11-9, 11-3, 11-13, 7-11, 15-13 | ||
| Simon GAUZY (France) | 4-3 | Bastian STEGER (Germany) |
| 11-3, 14-16, 15-13, 3-11, 8-11, 12-10, 12-10 | ||
| Kristian KARLSSON (Sweden) | 4-1 | Dimitrij OVTCHAROV (Germany) |
| 6-11, 11-7, 11-5, 11-5, 13-11 | ||
| WONG Chun Ting (Hong Kong China) | 4-2 | Joao MONTEIRO (Portugal) |
| 11-9, 7-11, 11-6, 11-5, 3-11, 11-4 | ||
| LEE Sangsu (South Korea) | 4-1 | Vladimir SAMSONOV (Belarus) |
| 11-9, 7-11, 12-10, 16-14, 11-6 | ||
| Par GERRELL (Sweden) | 4-1 | Tiago APOLONIA (Portugal) |
| 11-8, 10-12, 11-9, 11-9, 11-4 | ||
| XU Xin (China) | 4-0 | Hugo CALDERANO (Brazil) |
| 11-8, 11-5, 11-6, 11-7 |
^ Top of page ^
Quarter Finals
Sunday 2 October 2016
| WINNER | Result | LOSER |
|---|---|---|
| FAN Zhendong (China) | 4-1 | JEOUNG Youngsik (South Korea) |
| 6-11, 11-5, 11-9, 12-10, 11-9 | ||
| Kristian KARLSSON (Sweden) | 4-3 | Simon GAUZY (France) |
| 5-11, 11-8, 11-4, 10-12, 11-7, 8-11, 12-10 | ||
| WONG Chun Ting (Hong Kong China) | 4-0 | LEE Sangsu (South Korea) |
| 11-9, 11-5, 11-7, 11-5 | ||
| XU Xin (China) | 4-1 | Par GERRELL (Sweden) |
| 7-11, 11-7, 11-8, 11-4, 11-7 |
^ Top of page ^
The 4 winners then progressed to the...
Semi Finals of the World Cup 2016
Monday 3 October 2016
| WINNER | Result | LOSER |
|---|---|---|
| FAN Zhendong (China) | 4-1 | Kristian KARLSSON (Sweden) |
| 11-4, 11-8, 7-11, 11-9, 11-7 | ||
| XU Xin (China) | 4-1 | WONG Chun Ting (Hong Kong China) |
| 11-9, 13-15, 11-7, 11-3, 11-6 |
^ Top of page ^
3rd / 4th Place Match
Monday 3 October 2016
| 3rd PLACE | Result | 4th PLACE |
|---|---|---|
| WONG Chun Ting (Hong Kong China) | 4-1 | Kristian KARLSSON (Sweden) |
| 8-11, 12-10, 11-6, 11-9, 11-7 |
^ Top of page ^
Final of World Cup 2016
Monday 3 October 2016
| WINNER | Result | RUNNER-UP |
|---|---|---|
| FAN Zhendong (China) | 4-1 | XU Xin (China) |
| 11-5, 11-6, 11-8, 7-11, 12-10 |
^ Top of page ^
World Cup 2016 - Winner - Fan Zhendong
World Cup 2016 - Winner - Fan Zhendong
World Cup 2016 Runner up - Xu Xin
World Cup 2016 3rd Place - Wong Chun Ting
^ Top of page ^
^ Top of page ^
You Are Here: Home » Major Table Tennis Tournaments » 2016 World Cup
