Two of the three finals are set in Dezhou after the opening day of the second stop of the Teqball World Series. Both the mixed doubles and the men’s doubles competition brought plenty of upsets.

After the great success of the Teqball World Series season opener in Jinan, the FITEQ's top flight is back again in China. This time, the world’s best players gather in Dezhou to face off in three categories, men's singles, men's doubles and mixed doubles.

The XD kicked off the event on Friday with the group phase, then proceeded to the quarterfinals and semifinals to set up the final matchup. Spoiler alert: the gold medal game will not feature the two-time world champions.

14 units were drawn into four groups, where the favourites made no mistakes. New FITEQ WR-leaders Suphawadi Wongkhamchan/Phakpong Dejaroen (THA), 2023 WTCH bronze-medallist Krisztina Acs/Csaba Banyik (HUN), newly formed Kinga Barabasi/Marek Pokwap (HUN/POL), and Wantika Innu/Sorrasak Thaosiri (THA) swept their respective groups to make it to the QFs. There, Innu/Thaosiri had to face another Thai powerhouse, Jutatip Kuntatong and her new partner, Chayawut Dosa, and after two very tight sets, the ‘Queen of Teqball’ and Dosa managed to move on. In the semifinal, they met Acs/Banyik in the closest elimination game, where the Hungarians survived dropping the first set and completing the comeback. On the upper bracket, Barabasi/Pokwap upset the reigning world champs Wongkhamchan/Dejaroen and punched their ticket in the final to make their debut an instant success.

The two Thai duo finished the campaign with bronze medals, however the expectations might have been higher.

‘I think it is a huge feat that we were able to eliminate the world champions, especially with this new lineup. Marek’s powerful attack makes me more relaxed and confident because I know that he finishes everything, and it was the key in the second set. A little improvement in our service game would allow us to play on an even higher level in the final. If we can do that, I would feel great about our chance to win it all’ - said Barabasi after the semifinal.

The men’s doubles stepped to the tables in the afternoon session, and chaos ensued in the group stage already. 16-year-old Stefan Orlowski (POL) and his partner, 17-year-old Milan Csabi (HUN) shocked 2023 world champions Banyik/Balazs Katz (HUN) with a win in three sets (the tiebreaker also went to overtime). 2024 world gold-medallists Jirati Chanliang/Thaosiri unsurprisingly cleared Group B, but in Group C, we had another upset as Hungarians Gergo Dombai/Soma Cseri spoiled the return of three-time world champions Nikola Mitro/Bogdan Marojevic with a 2:0 victory. The Serbians still advanced but had to go up against Chanliang/Thaosiri in the best 8. It was not the only highly anticipated clash in the quarterfinals as Banyik/Katz faced singles world champ Apor Gyorgydeak (ROU) and Marek Pokwap. What an unbelievable lower bracket it was!

On the upper one, Orlowski/Csabi bounced Arpad Sipos/Szabocs Ilyes (HUN/ROU), while Dombai/Cseri raised more eyebrows with a commanding win versus Dejaroen/Dosa (THA), but it has to be mentioned that the latter played through an ankle injury that he suffered in the group phase.

Mitro/Marojevic not only came back from a 0:1 deficit against Chanliang/Thaosiri, but also saved three match points in the third set and somehow snatched the W. They did not have much time to rest before the semifinal versus Gyorgydeak/Pokwap, who eliminated Banyik/Katz in a much shorter game.

Orlowski/Csabi and Dombai/Cseri went toe to toe as both duos were just one step away from their career-best result by making the gold medal game. In the third set, the youngsters had three match points but were not able to capitalize, and in overtime, it was Dombai/Cseri who prevailed in nerve-racking fashion.

Pokwap/Gyorgydeak were put to the test by Mitro/Marojevic, too, but in the third set, they showed everyone that they came for gold and closed out the three-time world champions. It also means that Pokwap will be featured in two finals on Sunday. Stefan Orlowski was understandably teared up after the semifinal because he was that close to fulfilling his dreams by advancing to the final:

‘It is still hard to comprehend what happened. We missed three match points, two while attacking, we were not precise enough. Or mentally prepared. Right now, the bronze medal is still sour, maybe tomorrow we will be able to look at it as a milestone and an achievement that proves that we are on the right track.’

Saturday will be all about the men’s singles, where 47 players (including Mitro, Marojevic, Csabi, Dombai, Cseri, Katz, Orlowski, Wapisiri and Uthen Kukheaw among others) will try to stop defending world champion Apor Gyorgydeak from extending his unbeaten streak of 69 wins. Check out the action on TeqTV!