The Shandong Luneng was able to achieve a historic peat during this season. Led by Ma Long, the club from Shandong won its sixth title, becoming the most renowned team in Chinese Super League history. Previously, it tied the first place in terms of titles with Ningbo Haitian TTC.
The 22nd Chinese Super League season featured 9 teams, and one foreign player made his debut in the CTTSL â the Swedish star Truls Moregardh. He represented Lexuan Sports Group, but the 2019 World Championships finalist got humbled in some of the games, and his team finished sixth in the group stage. It was obvious that Moregardh crumbled under the pressure at times, showing his frustration way too often. It’s one thing to be a clear favorite and a hometown hero in Eslöv. Moregardh’s antics are too arrogant at times, and his performance wasn’t as impressive, as some might expect from a former WTTC finalist.
Outside the appearance of the Swedish star, many fans were excited to see in action the former World Ranking leader – Xu Xin, who has retired from international competitions but remains active in the local Chinese scenery. He mostly took part in the doubles match-ups and helped Shanghai Zhongxing TTC to reach the semi-finals stage.
Overall, the squads of the Chinese teams were well-balanced. There wasn’t a team, that could have been called a clear favorite before the competition started. Ma Long played alongside the rising internationals – Xu Yingbin and Yuan Licen. Wang Chuqin formed a solid pairing with Liang Jingkun, and Fan Zhendong got some solid help from Zhou Kai, who won 6 out of 10 games. Fan Zhendong also became the MVP of the group stage, winning 9 out of 10 games, losing a match against Zhou Qihao in the third round.
After the four best teams advanced to the semi-final stage, Shandong Luneng players could showcase the best of their abilities. Ma Long won both of his individual match-ups, leaving no chance to Zhao Zihao and Zhou Qihao. The pairing of Xu Yingbin and Yuan Licen was unstoppable in doubles, and without much resistance, the Shandong team won the league title.
Fine rallies, the best players in the World, and an atmosphere, worthy of the World Championships level – the Chinese Super League never disappoints. The only minus of this competition is that the season is short and we don’t get to enjoy these highest-quality games all season long. Otherwise, it was another great season to enjoy and you can see all the results on our 2023 Chinese Super League page.
2023 CHINESE SUPER LEAGUE RESULTS
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