North American Tour - Grand Final

Good tournament.  Really hope this is a sign of better things for US table tennis in general as this kind of fanfare is usually limited to just the US Open and the US Nationals, to be frank.

NextLevel wrote: Now what if they had used an XSF ball for that match... think about it... Good match, but think about all the crappy rallies that people will never know when a deviant bounce just messed up the shot...

which ball is using?

NextLevel wrote: VictorK wrote: NextLevel wrote: VictorK, can you check Eugene's blade?  The weirdest thing about Kai for me is that I am too blind to see how Roberts influences his game. Anything for you, Next Level ... the handle on Eugene's blade was taped but it looked all wood 7 ply blade "very, very, very similar" to Stiga Clipper. What was the forehand rubber?  Tenergy or Chinese?

As my signature says, I don't put that much importance on equipment, especially when it relates to what professionals use.   However, for NextLevel I decided to check Eugene's racket and the answer is ... to be continued later - I want to keep the suspense for a little longer, unless others ask as well :o)

What a final... GREAT ACTION.

Edited by BH-Man - 02/08/2015 at 8:43pm

NextLevel wrote: vvk1 wrote: NextLevel wrote: vvk1 wrote: Nah, they did mention the fact that both of them are from ICC. They mentioned it, but they didn't give it enough importance in explaining why the match went the way it did. IMHO, it is doubtful that Liang would have been more successful against Bob had they been from different clubs. Jimmy mentioned that Bob's significantly underrated, and that sounded like a very plausible explanation for the match outcome. Liang Yonghui actually took 2 games off Ovtcharov when they first played... When Bob Chen first came to the US, he was on the East Coast before moving West.  When he first arrived, they felt that he would definitely challenge Eugene.  I have no doubt that when he is on, he is 2750+.  But there are quirks to his game that came out when he played more - he was often nervous in close matches.  Familiarity does help.

Liang told me Ovtcharov has issue reading his serve somehow. Just watch the video, actually I'm not surprise the result between liang and Bob by follwing reason.
1. Power vs. speed + spin. Liang is a FH player, when he face player like Bob super fast close to table, strong on both side Liang doesn't have enought time to use FH. If he can't get much advance on short game, Liang will lost counter. Is the same against Zhou Xin, Zhou Xin is speed + spin + power, Liang just hard to find good chance to use FH, but not as bad as Bob, Bob just too fast. Does Ovtcharov got a good BH? ofcause, but more on power, Liang still got time react to use FH.

2. Flash vs Old. Liang doesn't train much now,for his style physical abilities is most critical key. I play two times a week from 9:30 to 12:00, I always see Bob practice with Jiaqi at ICC last month, although no one can tell their practice/talk ratio... :) but I can see some techni Bob practiced, actually using a lot when he play with Eugene and it works well.      

It looks like Eugene Wang may have lost up to 20 lbs. or 10 kg which would have helped his quickness and mobility.

LUCKYLOOP wrote: It looks like Eugene Wang may have lost up to 20 lbs. or 10 kg which would have helped his quickness and mobility.

Presto!!!  That's what I been saying the last year to 2 years - check my posts here.

At his age, this is his last good crack at getting into the top 50 in the world. He's got 2, max 3 yrs left to do it.  No pressure Eugene. Just stay the course - fitness regimen & diet program. All of us Canadians are behind you.  If you need a top-notch fitness trainer who trains Elite-Canadian Athletes, let me know.


Edited by Snakefish - 02/10/2015 at 2:40pm

That stuff has to have some kind of mystique to it, so players are willing to buy up every possible rumored setup...

Great matches. Certainly North America's finest, and I mean North America, not the TT brand "North America".  I've been waiting a while to see Eugene and Sean Zhang play each other.