Hugo returns to the world table tennis circuit this Tuesday (26), at 23:35 (Brasília time), at the WTT Champions Incheon. And the venue brings back good memories, as it was in this South Korean city that Hugo stood on the podium clinching the bronze medal at the ITTF World Tour Grand Finals in 2018. All the event’s matches will take place at the Inspire Arena.

+ Read also: look back at Hugo’s results so far in 2024

Three-time Pan American Games singles champion, Hugo is the 6th seed at the WTT Champions Incheon and will open his South Korean campaign against Japan’s Shunsuke Togami, ranked 25th in the world. If he beats his first opponent, the Brazilian will face the winner of the match between Taiwan’s Kao Cheng-Jui, WR 31, and France’s Alexis Lebrun, WR 22, who won the French championship last Sunday. Hugo’s match will be the first men’s match in the tournament.

+ Follow Hugo on his official channels: Youtube, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook

The WTT Champions Incheon will be held from March 26 to 31. This will be the first WTT event in South Korea and brings together the top names in table tennis. Among those entered are China’s Fan Zhendong, Liang Jingkun and Ma Long, seeded 1, 2 and 3 respectively, Olympic team medalist Tomokazu Harimoto, from Japan, and Frenchman Felix Lebrun, the best European in the world today. World ranking leader Wang Chuqin of China is the main absentee.

BRAZILIANS IN SOUTH KOREA

The WTT Champions events bring together the top 30 in the world rankings and two wild cards, one from the host country and the other from WTT. Only two Brazilian athletes will be competing at the WTT Champions Incheon. In the men’s division, Hugo is the only Brazilian able to take part in the championship. As for the women, Bruna Takahashi, ranked 19th in the world, is the country’s representative and will make her debut on Wednesday (27) against the experienced 41-year-old German Xiaona Shan, ranked 35th in the world.

The Americas will have two participants among the men at the WTT Champions Incheon. In addition to Hugo, 21-year-old Canadian Edward Ly will also be competing. He entered the competition following the withdrawal of China’s Wang Chuqin. 

COMPETITION SYSTEM

All the matches in the WTT Champions Incheon will take place in a single-elimination system, with five games to determine the champion. The matches will be best-of-five games until the quarterfinals. In the semi-finals and final, the matches will be played in up to seven games.

WHAT’S AT STAKE

Check out the scores and prize money for the WTT Champions Incheon:

Champion: 1000 points / US$ 15,000
Runner-up: 700 points / US$ 10,000
Semi-final: 350 points / US$ 7,500
Quarterfinal: 175 points / US$ 5,250
2nd Round: 90 points / US$ 4,125
1st Round: 15 points / US$ 3,500

WTT CHAMPIONS INCHEON SCHEDULE

Check out the schedule for each day of competition:

Tuesday (26/03) – Round 1
Wednesday (27/03) – Round 1
Thursday (28/03) – Round 1
Friday (29/03) – 2nd round
Saturday (30/03) – Quarter-finals and Semi-finals
Sunday (31/03) – Final

The matches start at 11 a.m. local time (11 p.m. the day before Brasília time).

HOW TO FOLLOW

The streaming service Star+ is broadcasting the WTT Champions Incheon matches in Brazil. And, as always, you can follow our coverage on Team Calderano’s Instagram and Telegram channel!