ITTF WTTTC Finals London 2026, 4/28-5/10

[NextLevel]

I feel Liang made adjustments and moved closer to table, probably realized that too (he couldn't win the far back rallies)

He was not able to control the quality of topspin consistently close to the table without blocking. So that should have encouraged Alexis to just spin as well. There was nothing Liang did that he could not have fallen apart from in games 3 and 4. Game 5 was a different story as Alexis had given Liang complete confidence while ruining his own with his indiscipline. He could even havr tried fishing points. I know Gauzy would have.

 

[job59]

The question was ask at 5-5 or 6-5 in first set between Togami and Kuo.
The voice is clearly not Adam Bobrow who was commenting the match just before.
If you can't tell the difference between their voices I can't do anything for you...

You are right. I could re-watch. In my memory, it was from the Coton match.

 

[NextLevel]

WCQ may be the anchor but LJK is the true GOAT of this match.

Your statement reminds me of my late coach when I played a match and was trying to attack every ball and went down 0-2. He said, wtf are you doing, your opponent isn't Timo Boll, just play some topspins that land on the table and if he wins, we can at least know he can play table tennis. I actually won that match and it reminded me that the opponent has the right to miss to, stop trying to play the ball so well that he cannot touch it. My coach hadn't gotten through to me, I would have left that match thinking my opponent was a legend.

All to say that while Liang exceeded my expectations. I consider WCQ the GOAT of this match and Alexis the guy who decided to make @zeio and Tieba members geniuses.

 

[rpb23]

I dont quite see it that way but yes, Alexis needs patience and Liang is a quality player who can reproduce his form at inopportune moments. The worst example was trying to finish the point at 2-0 12-11. Yes, Liang made an amazing shot, but again, the whole point showed the loss of plot. Make the big man run all over the place. It was after he had won that game that Liang got visibly sharper and even with that better shot selection still got Alexis deuce. But by the 5th game, his demons just over took him and he was a lost cause. Yes Liang was playing better but Alexis had started feeling the magnitude of the result and just folded under the size of the choke. So Liang no longer was the only one feeling any pressure.

Felix played well enough to beat Wang today. Imagine if he was the one with a 2-1 lead backing him up. His play would have been free. Now he had the pressure of beating a player he had never beaten to stay in the match.

To be honest, I think the mistake France made was playing Alexis over Gauzy. Sure, Molin would have been hanged dor it but Gauzy would not have lost the plot.

Agree. Gauzy would have better chance securing France's extra point, based on recent encounter and LJK's current form. But. it would be an unpopular and high-risk decision. I don't think Molin had the guts to pull that one out.

 

[igorponger]

Ill-gotten gains never prosper. Karma is a bitch to come on every cheater, lets live and see.

 

[NextLevel]

Agree. Gauzy would have better chance securing France's extra point, based on recent encounter and LJK's current form. But. it would be an unpopular and high-risk decision. I don't think Molin had the guts to pull that one out.

I might not even watch the final tomorrow, a final thatneould have excited me if i didn't watch match 3 today. It seems the CNT have plot armor lol. I don't want to see who chokes tomorrow.

 

[FIXPOINT]

ITTF WTTC Finals London 2026 Stage2 WT SF

ITTF WTTC Finals London 2026 Stage2 MT SF

 

[Dr Evil]

To be honest, I think the mistake France made was playing Alexis over Gauzy. Sure, Molin would have been hanged dor it but Gauzy would not have lost the plot.

Agree. I think Simon would have won that match.

 

[FIXPOINT]

Scheduled Matches:
All times are local time.
Live streaming: https://www.youtube.com/@wttglobal/streams
All times are local time.

Sun, 10th May 2026
11:00 T1 WTFinal CHN - JPN
16:00 T1 MTFinal JPN - CHN

 

[Bran]

he won the game simply by the will power refusing to lose

Well, that and a bit of help from Alexis not putting away that high return at 2-0 10-9. That wasn't LJK willpower, at that level, that was an unfortunate gift from his opponent. LJK did well to manage the comeback, but it shouldn't have been allowed in the first place.

I hope Alexis recovers from it and takes it as a lesson rather than as a trauma. He has to fix these issues to go higher.

 

[Takkyu_wa_inochi]

What does bro have against China?

Im French

 

[backspacer]

LJK is the biggest joker there is. He lost all his matches before this one on purpose just to remind the world that he is the comeback king.

Joking aside, did Molin get pissed at Alexis or what was that scene? He seemed to shoo someone away when LJK was coming to shake hands.

 

[NextLevel]

Well, that and a bit of help from Alexis not putting away that high return at 2-0 10-9. That wasn't LJK willpower, at that level, that was an unfortunate gift from his opponent. LJK did well to manage the comeback, but it shouldn't have been allowed in the first place.

I hope Alexis recovers from it and takes it as a lesson rather than as a trauma. He has to fix these issues to go higher.

The replay shows the ball.was sitting, but it was not that high.

I am usually for their recovering but I am in a really bad mood after seeing that, lol, and want Alexis to suffer a little. I thought the CNT had lost their plot armor. Now I have to rematch the Asian Champs semi-final but with the CNT feeling confident but maybe Togami replacing Shinozuka changes history lol....

 

[crystalline]

I dont quite see it that way but yes, Alexis needs patience and Liang is a quality player who can reproduce his form at inopportune moments. The worst example was trying to finish the point at 2-0 12-11. Yes, Liang made an amazing shot, but again, the whole point showed the loss of plot. Make the big man run all over the place. It was after he had won that game that Liang got visibly sharper and even with that better shot selection still got Alexis deuce. But by the 5th game, his demons just over took him and he was a lost cause. Yes Liang was playing better but Alexis had started feeling the magnitude of the result and just folded under the size of the choke. So Liang no longer was the only one feeling any pressure.

Felix played well enough to beat Wang today. Imagine if he was the one with a 2-1 lead backing him up. His play would have been free. Now he had the pressure of beating a player he had never beaten to stay in the match.

To be honest, I think the mistake France made was playing Alexis over Gauzy. Sure, Molin would have been hanged dor it but Gauzy would not have lost the plot.

Liang holds a dominant head to head record against Gauzy (sth like 4-0), that may have factored in the coach’s hesitation to use Gauzy on 3.

In hindsight it’s easier to say using Alexis was a mistake but no one could have foreseen this turn of a match and Alexis did play well enough to almost win. His youth and gravity of the situation made this hard for youngster like him, and this is precisely the reason CNT stuck with Liang over inexperienced younger guys;
they understand too well the volatile unpredictable anything-can-happen-at-Teams nature of this tournament which is like no other. TT is such a mental game and experience and composure and mental toughness all that are magnified in Teams event like this.

 

[NextLevel]

LJK is the biggest joker there is. He lost all his matches before this one on purpose just to remind the world that he is the comeback king.

Joking aside, did Molin get pissed at Alexis or what was that scene? He seemed to shoo someone away when LJK was coming to shake hands.

Shouldn't he be pissed at Alexis? Alexis should carry bags for the French team at every Grand Smash this year.

BTW, French national champs this year will.be epic. I dont even know when they are scheduled....

 

[dewnyc]

Shouldn't he be pissed at Alexis? Alexis should carry bags for the French team at every Grand Smash this year.

BTW, French national champs this year will.be epic. I dont even know when they are scheduled....

French national championships taking place next month, June 12-14

Championnats de France Tennis de Table - Laval

French Table Tennis Championships

www.destination-mayenne.com

 

[Bran]

The replay shows the ball.was sitting, but it was not that high.

Yes, just a wording shortcut. I would call it a sitter as well. At that level, on such key points, he shouldn't have missed. And it was also not the first one, he had another very similar point earlier in the game, short side/float serve that got pushed back into a low quality ball, that he similarly hit out.

He'll suffer for it, no doubt, but I wish for him to bounce back and learn from it.

 

[crystalline]

No question WCQ is the most important factor contributing 2 our 3 points towards China's win. However, he is expected to do that as the best player currently in the world. The most critical victory should go to LJK, he won the game simply by the will power refusing to lose. It's not a sure thing that China would lose if LJK had lost his match, but most coaches would like to put the match in the hands of a veteran who's not in full strength, rather than an unproven youngster.

I really thought that if Liang had lost 0-3, China would lose the tie for sure. Don't think in LSD's current form he would win the decider even though he holds advantage head to head against Coton (whose form is so much better than Lin's now)

 

[passifid]

I think we are getting a little carried away while it would be nice for a FR JP final Alexis did very well. LJK is the grand slam from the neck down and used his head in this game. I think Alexis last game fell apart but honestly the tactic change worked perfectly,

And yes AL should have got the 10-9 donkey but every player misses shots he was unfortunate it was that one. It was exactly as NL said, LJK went from trying to go toe to toe with AL to simply returning the ball but with placement all over and smashing the heck out of it when it was high.

Oh well maybe alexis will get more consistant in his late 20s

 

[NextLevel]

Liang holds a dominant head to head record against Gauzy (sth like 4-0), that may have factored in the coach’s hesitation to use Gauzy on 3.

In hindsight it’s easier to say using Alexis was a mistake but no one could have foreseen this turn of a match and Alexis did play well enough to almost win. His youth and gravity of the situation made this hard for youngster like him, and this is precisely the reason CNT stuck with Liang over inexperienced younger guys;
they understand too well the volatile unpredictable anything-can-happen-at-Teams nature of this tournament which is like no other. TT is such a mental game and experience and composure and mental toughness all that are magnified in Teams event like this.

I am.sure Liang had also never lost to the likes of Oh Junsung and Eduardo Ionescu or struggled with thr likes of Connor Green before this event. More seriously your point is taken. Alexis was 1-4 against Liang and the underdog based on head to head so I was pleasantly surprised when form was initially dominant. But it was all a dream...