One of the most competitive leagues in the World saw an exciting final match-up of the 2024/25 season.
The Japanese T-League’s 2024/25 season saw some historical changes, as two new clubs (Kanazawa Port and Shizuoka Jade) entered the elite of the local club competition and marked the league’s expansion. A debut for both of these clubs was far from successful as both of them failed to make it to the play-offs. Another historic moment was Kinoshita Meister Tokyo club’s performance this season. For the first time in its history, the club from Tokyo failed to finish the season with a medal.
The race for the best playoff spots was tight, as three clubs finished the regular season with 16 wins and 9 losses. The leader of the Japanese national team – Tomokazu Harimoto led the Ryukyu Asteeda club to the leading position of the regular season, winning 18 out of his 20 singles games. Individually, he was by far the most consistent player out there. The closest one to Harimoto in terms of wins was TT Saitama’s leading player Taimu Arinobu. He won 15 out of 21 games.
Traditionally, T-League featured some well-known international stars. Such as Lin Yun-ju, Lee Sang-su, Jang Woo-jin, and the experienced Chinese – Hao Shuai. The latter made the biggest impact on his team’s success, finishing the regular season with 13 wins and 9 losses.
The eventual champions TT Saitama had a very tough semi-final game against the Okayama Rivets. The 23-year-old Yukiya Uda turned out to be the hero of this match-up. He earned two points for his team, winning Yuma Tanigaki 3-2, and the one-set-showdown in a decisive game against Ryoichi Yoshiyama.
2400 spectators gathered for the final game of the season at the Yoyogi Gymnasium and they got to enjoy a great display of World-class action. Yukiya Uda continued to play consistently and he got a 3-2 win in a decisive game against the finalist of the 2025 All-Japan Championships – Hiroto Shinozuka. Tomokazu Harimoto had some difficulties against Kakeru Sone, but even an eventual 3-2 win did not help his team to win the title. Maharu Yoshimura and Cho Seung-min lost their doubles match and the experienced Yoshimura failed to win his singles match against Taimu Arinobu (1-3).
3-1 was the final score and emotions hit high as TT Saitama players were celebrating this historical success. The 2024/25 season brought plenty of excitement and T-League has been on a solid path of growth since its inaugural season back in 2018. The coverage of games and presentation is ahead of all the major European leagues and the level of the Japanese and foreign players is World-class. Hopefully, the league will continue its growth, and even more fans gonna attend the finals in 2026.
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