A total of US$120,000 is the mouth watering attraction for eight of Europe’s leading male players at the Liebherr Super Cup to be staged in Moscow on Tuesday 11th and Wednesday 12th November 2008.
Staged in the Vinoye Sports Hall, the tournament offers the highest prize money of any current table tennis event in Europe and has thus attracted the cream of the continent’s players.
Leading the charge is Germany’s Timo Boll, he is defending the title won one year ago in Kazan.
Recent Good Form
Boll successfully defended his Men’s Singles crown at the recent Liebherr European Championships and will be seeking to do the same at the Liebherr Super Cup, the second occasion that the event has been staged.
However, he will face stern opposition and the player, who since reaching the final of the Men’s Singles event at the Liebherr Men’s World Cup in September has enjoyed outstanding form, will have to maintain that high level if he is to succeed.
Greatest Threat
No doubt the greatest threat comes from the Belarus virtuoso, Vladimir Samsonov, the three times European Men’s Singles champion whilst, a mixture of youth and experience could well provide the two most notable names with headaches.
Austria’s Werner Schlager, Sweden’s Jörgen Persson and Croatia’s Zoran Primorac provide the experience; Germany’s Dimitrij Ovtcharov supplies the element of youth and Denmark’s Michael Maze, the injection of unbridled talent.
Dangerous Adversary
Also, there is considerable domestic interest with the inclusion of Igor Rubstov; the powerful Russian, who is a late replacement for Romania’s Adrian Crisan, is a player capable of causing an upset.
Just ask Vladimir Samsonov; at the Chile Open earlier in the year, Rubtsov unceremoniously dumped Vladimir Samsonov out of the Men’s Singles event in four straight games in round two.
Draw
The draw for the event will be held on Tuesday 11th November in Hotel Milan, followed by press conference at 2.00pm (local time); the first round matches at will start at 4.00pm.
Schedule
Players compete in two groups, four players in each group with the top two progressing to the semi-final stage scheduled for 5.00pm on Wednesday 12th November 2008.
The bronze medal match will follow at 7.30pm with the final at 9.00pm.
Prize Distribution
US$50,000 is the prize for the winner with US$25,000 being the consolation for the runner up.
The player finishing in third place collects US$15,000 with US$10,000 being awarded to the player in fourth spot; the players eliminated in the group stage, each receive US$5,000.
Co-Operation
The Liebherr Super Cup is a competition is organised by the European Table Tennis Union in co-operation with the Russian Table Tennis Federation.
A three year deal between the two parties was signed in 2007 but with the current level of enthusiasm from all concerned, an extension of the agreement looks a distinct possibility.
Source: www.ittf.com
