The return of the annual JOOLA North American Teams Championships was a breath of fresh air for the US table tennis community. An event truly missed by many in 2020, returned to the spotlight in 2021. Once again hosted at the Gaylord National Harbor Hotel and Convention Center, the event delivered its usual dazzling experience. Despite the reduced tournament size due to pandemic precautions, around 700 players came to compete.
Teams was a chance for JOOLA to come back strong and take further steps to continue bringing innovation to the tournament experience. Two new major features were introduced this year: An online tournament system and a new livestream experience.
The new online tournament system allowed teams to digitally register, check-in and report match scores, as well as monitor draws and schedules, all from their smartphone. This system eliminated the need for physical check-in before every round, as well as large amounts of paper and manual entry. The timely innovation also assisted in pandemic precautions as most things could be accomplished digitally, allowing people to maintain social distancing, and preventing the need for gathering in queues.
JOOLA partnered with OSAI, an AI-powered Mixed Reality solution, to bring an immersive viewing experience for table tennis fans. The livestream with OSAI brought new statistical live analysis to matches and was a great step into bringing more engagement to livestreamed matches. Viewers were able to see replays, which tracked ball position and trajectory, as well as unique statistics like the top ball speed of winners, percentage of points won on serve and receive, and more. We believe this is the road forward for enhancing the spectator experience and were happy to undertake this first partnership with OSAI to see what possibilities could be achieved.
As the many matches went on across all the divisions, the main action in Division 1 saw some exceptional matches played. While many a challenge was placed to reach the final showdown, it was NJTTC 1 who would earn the right to face the True North TTC team.
True North saw the main trio fly in straight from the World Championships in Houston. India’s Sharath Achanta Kamal, Ukraine’s Kou Lei, and Canada’s Eugene Wang joined forces with Canada’s Kevin Guo and James Yu. The challengers of NJTTC 1 were Liang Jishan, Tian Ye, Gao Yanjun and Stephen Chu.
Perhaps one of the most impressive performances of the tournament was the opening match between Liang and Kou Lei. A matchup of technical precision and exceptional placement from Kou against the overwhelming power forehand of the left-handed Liang.
The form on display was impressive, with both players exhibiting the highest standards of play. Liang was unrelenting in his forehand attack, while Kou’s seamless technique and compact strokes wreaked havoc across the table.
The match would boil down to a 5th game, where Kou, a player formerly ranked 20th in the world (and still currently 61st), looked to step things up a notch. With his tactical prowess, he sealed out the match and put True North on the board in the best of 5 match finale.
Sharath Kamal followed suit with a convincing victory over Tian Ye. Tian played some great points and on occasion, was able to back Kamal off the table and take advantage to claim points. Overall, it was the class of Kamal which prevailed in the match. His magnificent touch and topspin acceleration were the keys to an outstanding display for the spectators.
Looking to bring home the prize was Eugene Wang. His team was leading 2-0 as he stepped up for the third match.
The opposition this time would be Stephen Chu. He played an instrumental role in bringing NJTTC 1 into the final – with a clutch victory in his third position semi-final match against Bryant Lin in the 5th game.
Chu gave it everything he had, stringing together some exceptional shots and putting up a particularly good fight in the second game. Ultimately, Wang proved too strong – showing why he has been the dominant player in North America for so many years.
The $15,000 prize money and the title of 2021 JOOLA North American Team Champions would go to True North Table Tennis Club. The three international stars proved too much for their domestic competitors.
From all of us at JOOLA, we sincerely thank those who supported the tournament and came out to make this Thanksgiving Weekend especially memorable. It was a reminder to us of all the things we love about this event and we can’t wait to see what JOOLA North American Teams Championships 2022 has in store!
