The 2022 JOOLA Global Table Tennis Championships made its debut at the Gaylord Palms Convention and Resort in Orlando, Florida. With over 300 participants and 72 fully floored courts, the stage was set for a truly remarkable event.
The $100,000 prizepool across 67 events drew players from across the US and abroad, with top players heading over from European destinations and South America to put their best foot forward. The Open Singles event was the pinnacle of competition, with an astounding $25,000usd going to the winner.
The honors of the day would go to Argentina’s Horacio Cifuentes, the second seed of the event, competing in the USA for his first time. In a tough field on competition, it was no easy feat for the young Argentinian – currently ranked number 75 in the world. Experience was heavy in the draw, the likes of Lubomir Pistej and Thiago Monteiro both challenging for the crown on behalf of Team JOOLA, and a handful of other highly experienced international players. The top 17 players in the draw were all rated above 2600.
The thrilling matches started straight out of the gate, but by the time the draw reached the Round of 16 it was anyone’s guess who might walk away with the title.
7-game matches were frequent, with Enzo Angles having fought to a 7-game win over Zhang Tianrui in the last 32, then came a tough last 16 match against top seeded Kou Lei. The left handed Frenchman made a bold effort and held an impressive 3-0 lead in the match before he met Kou Lei’s formidable comeback capabilities. Thiago Monteiro advanced to the quarterfinal 4-3 over Andrew Baggaley.
Daniel Gorak narrowly squeezed a 4-3 win over US Olympian Zhou Xin, while on the flipside of the coin Ma Jinbao was the dark horse – eliminating Thomas Keinath in a swift 4 games.
The quarterfinals would prove to be the hottest round of the tournament, with three of the four matches going the full distance.
While Kou Lei was able to move past Thiago Monteiro with comfort in 5 games, the pressure was on for Lubomir Pistej as US-based Liang Jishan and his incredibly powerful forehand were almost unstoppable. Pistej clawed out the final game 11-9 to advance. Ma Jinbao continued his outstanding performance, taking out Daniel Gorak in 7 games. The standout match of the round was Horacio Cifuentes and Eugene Wang.
It was a neck and neck race, with Eugene exhibiting his usually steady calmness and masterful control, he stole away a 2-0 lead winning both games 11-9. Cifuentes by contrast was an explosive powerhouse, he brought the fire and closed out at deuce with a pair of 12-10 wins to balance the match. Eugene led and claimed game 5, but fatigue was beginning to set in as the match moved towards a penultimate showdown. Cifuentes showed impeccable athleticism to turn the tides in his favor, coming back from 2-3 down to win in the final game and book his place in the semifinal.
The semifinals would be a much more one sided affair. Kou Lei proved to be too stable for a spirited Lubomir Pistej. The walking highlight reel of Slovakia certainly made some notable shots, and played an exhausting but outstanding 4th game, however Kou held control of the table, and the amount of risk it took Pistej to claim advantage in points was too much to sustain. Kou won in 5 games.
Cifuentes was vying for a spot in the final and his style would prove to be the ultimate deciding factor. Ma had great wins under his belt, but the offensive prowess of Cifuentes was a whole other hurdle to try and overcome. Ma unleashed the occasional forehand 3rd ball blast, stepping around to hit impressive winners, but overall his backhand game was too passive to handle the assertive onslaught of the Argentinian. He took down Ma in 4 straight games.
The Final Showdown – $25,000usd to the Champion
The top two seeds had survived the perilous journey to the final, now both guaranteed to walk away with no less than $10,000usd. However both players were hungry to take the grand prize of $25,000usd. A prize this large is a rarity in table tennis in the USA, it would be an incredible match with mountains of pressure for both players.
Kou had proved to be both technically precise and unshakeable throughout the event so far. His stability and balance had made him a very difficult player to get through. Pistej’s efforts had shown that a sustained high level of aggression could find a crack in Kou’s defense during his semifinal match, could Cifuentes be the player in the draw with the perfect style to take on the top seed for the top honours? That question would soon be answered.
Cifuentes hit the ground running, he would leave no room for regrets in his final performance, this much was evident. While Kou exhibited excellent, snappy and concise counter-attacks, Cifuentes was all-power from all positions on the table. His dangerous and explosive topspin game off both wings was a warning sign to Kou, who was unable to repel the burning confidence of his younger opponent.
Rallies erupted across the table as the two went toe to toe, but Cifuentes often claimed the upper hand. Where other players had failed, his athletic capability and stamina allowed him to hit 5 or more powerful shots, eventually finding holes in the armor of Kou.
Cifuentes struck early, hitting a blazing round the net forehand on the run to take game one. There was no ball he wasn’t willing to chase down for this grand prize.
The next couple of games were much of the same, Cifuentes setting a high speed pace and maintaining a constant bombardment of forehand and backhand powerloops. Kou looked overwhelmed.
In the fourth as he trailed 0-3 in games, Kou seemed to find some answers, targeting Cifuentes on the wide forehand and timing his shots with perfect accuracy.
Kou’s momentum would be short lived, rescuing game four, but then the Cifuentes show continued.
With four match points in hand, the Argentinian pushed a serve receive at Kou’s elbow and the ball ricocheted off the top edge of his racket. Before it even had a chance to hit the floor, Cifuentes was on the ground, hands over his face in disbelief.
A consistently amazing performance from Horacio Cifuentes to be crowned the Open Singles Champion at the first ever JOOLA Global Table Tennis Championships, a well earned $25,000usd prize in his pocket and he can head home to Argentina with a smile on his face and a medal around his neck.
