The WTT Champions event in Incheon is the second Champions event of the year. The first was held in Chongqing from March 11 to 16, where Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha claimed the titles. Incheon’s tournament is scheduled to take place from April 1 to 6.
However, the player list for the event is missing some of China’s biggest stars. Lin Shidong, Wang Chuqin, Liang Jingkun, Sun Yingsha, and Wang Manyu will not participate in the tournament—something that, until recently, would have led to fines and the Zero-Point Penalty.*
Due to public pressure on WTT, which intensified after Olympic champions Fan Zhendong and Chen Meng withdrew from the world rankings, WTT introduced a new rule. This rule takes effect for the first time at WTT Champions Incheon.
Chinese top stars are taking advantage of WTT’s new regulation, which grants every player two annual exemptions from WTT Champions participation.
Before this rule change, participation in WTT Champions events was mandatory. Players who withdrew without being injured or ill had to pay fines and received a zero-point penalty.
*Zero-Point Penalty explained: World ranking points are calculated based on a player’s eight best tournament results. With the zero-point penalty, one of these eight tournaments is counted as zero points, meaning only the best seven results contribute to the ranking.
Photo Source: WTT