Wang Chuqin's Toughest Nemesis Emerges; Hugo and Little Bro's Battle of Nerve
Hey, I get one evening off a week to drink tea with my parents. But tonight’s matches were too good, too thrilling — by the time I finished Hugo against Félix, I felt exhausted.
So many great duels, but we will pick just two. Wang Chuqin lost 2-4 to Sora Matsushima; Hugo lost 3-4 to Félix.
Wang Chuqin: Q968, NEO Blue National Hurricane, Hurricane 8-20 custom Sora Matsushima: Fan Zhendong ALC custom, D09c, ZYRE-03
First, my old trade — the gear. Why is Sora Matsushima’s a custom? Those who say a labeled one is the market version should look at Portugal’s Geraldo first. A contracted player of that level already uses customs. Let alone Sora Matsushima, who could grow into Butterfly’s flagship face. As for the difference between custom and market version — if some friends cannot bring it out, that is just because you cannot. The ball-wrap, the support, the loading feel are all different.
Then on Wang Chuqin’s Q968. I do not know how long he has played it, or whether it has gone “a bit soft.” By comparison, it always feels the support is not quite enough, with some loops inexplicably going into the net. A bit like my own Yoshimura Maharu Limited that went soft a couple of years ago.
Now the technical side. This is just how Sora Matsushima plays — every so often a fast long serve, because his defense is good. When he cannot break through, he suddenly serves long too — a habit. Watching their recent meetings, including the December 2025 Hong Kong Finals where Wang Chuqin came back to win 4-3, and the October 2025 Asian Cup team event where Wang lost 2-3, you understand that Matsushima is now a tougher nemesis for the big head than Tomokazu Harimoto.
A few reasons. For one, Wang Chuqin also receives Matsushima’s serve poorly. In game two, Matsushima chased from 1-5 down to 3-5 on two serves at the middle position — that serve placement worked well all match. For another, Matsushima is left-handed and keeps speeding up. My advice: in future big events, at least recall fellow lefty (and my WeChat friend) Lin Gaoyuan as a sparring partner. A lefty’s sense of speed, lines and rhythm are all different.
Since switching his backhand to ZYRE-03, Matsushima’s backhand has been very slick these months — no need for spin, just speed-up. On the backhand line, Wang Chuqin gets no edge. Although the forehand cross is the big head’s strength, Matsushima’s speed this match was genuinely blazing. Even though he wobbled mentally in the middle and slumped for a stretch, if Wang Chuqin cannot produce richer spin variation and wide forehand angles, beating him is not easy.
Oh, and Matsushima’s coach now is Morizono Masataka, also a lefty. So on how to play a lefty — from sparring to match insight — Morizono surely helps him.
Hugo: Joola Hugo ARY-C (inner), Trinity Charged on both sides (57.5°) Félix Lebrun: Tibhar Felix, K3 Pro on both sides (custom-hardened)
This match went to 11-13 in the decider; Hugo lost. Had I not napped at noon, with the match still going, I would have been sleepy enough to drop off.
At one point I thought Hugo would win. He really is a mid-table king. He actively backs off the table, trading space for time against the younger Lebrun’s speed-up. And once back, he can fully use his power advantage. Mid-table is exactly the sweet zone of this inner blade.
Little Bro’s sweet zone is close to the table, needing speed-up to beat Hugo. Once it falls into a mid-table battle, he is at a disadvantage. So how did Félix finally win? One, the forehand short is still Hugo’s biggest weakness. Two, late on, Hugo’s nerve was not as big as Félix’s. Little Bro played more aggressively.
See, every personality has its good and bad. The hot-tempered, even volatile ones, like Little Bro, are also the gutsy ones who dare to go for broke at the key moment. Hugo, meanwhile, seems to be reaching for the next realm of his game — a ball he could have attacked, he chose to “deliberately” drop short. That is what masters (Ma Long, Fan Zhendong) do. You can grope toward trying it, but the foundation is not there yet.