ITTF Men's and Women's World Cup Macao 2025, 4/14-20

[Tony's Table Tennis]

Yes I am aware of that. Germany played a pivotal role. Brazil just didn't have the resources and that level of players.

yep
but still, you can't write off any country or any player.

i still remember tieba users saying you need to have world champions becoming coaches to groom next generation world champions - kind of like standing on the glory of CNT success (as their own success to look down on others).

But I was like, who was Waldner's coach?
Who was Schlargers coach?
RSM? and now Hugo?

They were laughing at Japan with no leadership.

the ball is round, anything can happen.
the same failure Japanese players has, the same could occur to CNT players.

 

[Tony's Table Tennis]

Yes I wanted to say the same, I think Hugo lived in France first then moved to Germany and has been training there for many years. In this season even tho he wont play in the Bundesliga he will still train at Ochsenhausen Facility I believe

Yes, he wanted to focus on internationals.
he didn't really play full season this season, and now he will be more focused on international (guess he knows he isn't getting any younger and he is going for the kill, and he got it like 2 or 3 weeks after his announcement)

 

[NetProphet]

You can't get any better than a fully form WCQ really. If Hugo is like WCQ, God saves the CNT, lol. The only way to stop that nuclear powered FH of WCQ and Hugo is to call FZD back.

Yes, please bring him back!
I fully expect him to mount a comback at some stage in time for LA.
Not for any information that I've heard or read anywhere but just because so many who retire early get the itch and he's only just turned 28 so......🙏🏻
I do miss watching him, although LSD has done a great job of replacing him so far!

 

[Tony's Table Tennis]

If LSD is at his best like last year I think he will absolutely blitz Hugo. LSD has more speed and compactness over the table and is probably even more stable far from the table.

I think LSD has definitely fallen off slightly from his insane purple patch last year which seems to happen to lots of young players (Felix, Tomokazu) so if Hugo plays well it could be a good game.

LJk held off Darko pretty well so we'll see if he can beat LSD again.

i have made a bold statement before - remove the perks and the playing field is way more even.

CNT came from national games into world cup, they didn't have weeks to prepare with this ball.
CNT had the same issue last year going into the Asian champs.

without "good" preparation, they are more vulnerable than we think.
So question is, are they very good, or they just have very good preparations on top of the good?

While Hugo, he is used to having different match ball (+ table) every match in TTBL.
in Superleague, they use the same table/ball, in the same hall for those few days.
TTBL is proper home and away matches, so players are forced to adapt with only 2 to 4 hours before the league match.

remove the perks of landing 1 to 2 weeks earlier than others (CNT arrives 3 to 4 weeks before tournament start date) in Doha, they might also stumble,
but having those perks, I am sure CNT will still be a strong force.

the true goat is the people behind the scene giving those perks to the players!

 

[NetProphet]

Well ... I tried, but the mod did not activate my account before the match ...

Well this match did remind me of Incheon and WCQs victory so kudos to you if you predicted similar before game 2 ! 👍

 

[NextLevel]

yep
but still, you can't write off any country or any player.

i still remember tieba users saying you need to have world champions becoming coaches to groom next generation world champions - kind of like standing on the glory of CNT success (as their own success to look down on others).

But I was like, who was Waldner's coach?
Who was Schlargers coach?
RSM? and now Hugo?

They were laughing at Japan with no leadership.

the ball is round, anything can happen.
the same failure Japanese players has, the same could occur to CNT players.

The ball is round but these things happen once in a blue moon. Is anyone picking Hugo for WTTC next month?

 

[rpb23]

By beating the top two Chinese, it's about time someone can break years of Chinese dominance. But that someone from south American rather than table tennis heavy Europe and non-Chinese Asia is a huge surprise.
Hugo played like possessed, most of his shots were high-risk shots, yet the majority of them landed with devastating power and pace. Never see someone dominate Chinese players in first three shots and in both short game and long rallies.
It underscores the point how hard to beat Chinese that you have to play every shots like there is no tomorrow and pray they land.
Bravo, Hugo!
Though it's unrealistic to expect him to play like that in the future, hope he can continue with the momentum and the confidence he gained and give us more pleasant surprise.

 

[NextLevel]

i have made a bold statement before - remove the perks and the playing field is way more even.

CNT came from national games into world cup, they didn't have weeks to prepare with this ball.
CNT had the same issue last year going into the Asian champs.

without "good" preparation, they are more vulnerable than we think.
So question is, are they very good, or they just have very good preparations on top of the good?

While Hugo, he is used to having different match ball (+ table) every match in TTBL.
in Superleague, they use the same table/ball, in the same hall for those few days.
TTBL is proper home and away matches, so players are forced to adapt with only 2 to 4 hours before the league match.

remove the perks of landing 1 to 2 weeks early in Doha, they might also stumble,
but having those perks, I am sure CNT will still be a strong force.

the true goat is the people behind the scene giving those perks to the players!

Agreed, the resources and execution are incredible.

 

[banbekas]

I thought LSD would have better defence, but no, Hugo's loopkills just ripped a hole in his defence. It is just way too hot to handle. The way he was hitting today was out of the world.

LSD couldn't shutdown Hugo's game because he doesn't have the short push capabilities to do so. Players like Ma Long and ZJK can short push everything including short no spin and heavy sidetopspin so they can shut down an in-form attacker.

Hugo's power is rent free in his head, lol

LSD's short game is solied- not as delicate as ML's and ZJK's but definitely up there with WCQ. The thing is, he doesn't really rely on it; his backhand flick is just out of this world, I'd say even better than ZJK and FZD. It's the very reason why he was able to go toe to toe with FZD even took down ML.

Problem is, Hugo just blasted it back with even more force today. Usually, players play it safe in that situation which gives LSD the chance to press the attack. Not Hugo; he just went all in and blasted it back. As you can see, LSD couldn't wrap his head around it- nobody has ever done that to him. It rattled his confidence and threw off his game.

You know how it is in TT, most of the game is in the head.

 

[banbekas]

The ball is round but these things happen once in a blue moon. Is anyone picking Hugo for WTTC next month?

Not me. WCQ is my horse.

 

[baotran]

Ma Long is about to retire anyways. He probably would have struggled if Hugo was hitting hard with accuracy like today.

Remember Ma Long lost to similar hard hitters Patrick Franziska and Lee Sang Su.

I don't think this is true. Last China Smash ML not only defended the strong hits from Lee and Hugo well, but also can defend with crazy good placements to omit their power play fluids. Also remember that he defended well against WCQ's forehand and Felix's backhand in WC 2024. Those are also as strong as Hugo's shots. The things that can stop ML are the long rallies and fast paced shots to his wide corner, which are not Hugo's strength. That's why he usually struggles against Ma Long.

 

[NetProphet]

By beating the top two Chinese, it's about time someone can break years of Chinese dominance. But that someone from south American rather than table tennis heavy Europe and non-Chinese Asia is a huge surprise.
Hugo played like possessed, most of his shots were high-risk shots, yet the majority of them landed with devastating power and pace. Never see someone dominate Chinese players in first three shots and in both short game and long rallies.
It underscores the point how hard to beat Chinese that you have to play every shots like there is no tomorrow and pray they land.
Bravo, Hugo!
Though it's unrealistic to expect him to play like that in the future, hope he can continue with the momentum and the confidence he gained and give us more pleasant surprise.

A South American prodigy curated in Europe tho.
It won't be often this happens because usually one of the Chinese gets you, it's so difficult to beat them all!

Easier now that FZD is off the scene but still, one day at 95% and your toast.
This week was special because he was almost perfect in every match.
And mentally against WCQ he was an absolute monster. To be 1-3 down and do that, wow!

 

[TampaBayTableTennis]

im not crying youre crying

 

[banbekas]

Hugo HAL is like BTY Moonbeam, isn't it? Seems like it's time to dig and bring back Moonbeam FL and be Hugo. Lol.
What is golden Viscaria W968, H3, and D09C? It's Hugo's time baby!

 

[NextLevel]

What is Hugo's blade now? Is he still using his carbon less stuff? This is inspirational to EJs everywhere....

 

[olive-nguyen]

Saw the match live earlier on. Where is the LSD we have started to see?
Calderano did a pretty good job, on fire i might say. Haven't seen him play such high risk igh rewards shots in some time. And what about the 2 backhand edge. Wow

 

[Tony's Table Tennis]

And mentally against WCQ he was an absolute monster. To be 1-3 down and do that, wow!

WCQ must never become LGY as what fans in China labeled with that record 0-19 point record

 

[longle]

What is Hugo's blade now? Is he still using his carbon less stuff? This is inspirational to WJs everywhere....

It's this one. I hope it's not another W968 with Xiom handle lol

 

[banbekas]

It's this one. I hope it's not another W968 with Xiom handle lol

It's Viscaria minus the carbon.

I'm sorry, I didn't get the joke until it was too late

 

[NextLevel]

It's funny that Hugo is playing with a discontinued blade. Great marketing for Xiom lol.