The night was low, and on December 8, the first stage of the Men's Team event of the 2022 Table Tennis Super League came to an end. Shandong Luneng, led by Ma Long's double-ring slam, beat Jiangsu CSL Cable by an absolute 3-0 margin to collect their seventh victory and finish in the top four in the round robin. Shandong Weiqiao led by Wang Chuqin also swept Shenzhen Bao'an with a perfect 3-0 record in the absence of Fan Zhendong and Xu Xin; Shanghai Real Estate also breezed past Huangshi Base with a 3-0 score, and all three teams advanced to the quarterfinals.
In the ninth round of the first phase of the men's team, Shandong Luneng faced Jiangsu CSL Cable. In the men's doubles match, Shandong Luneng's Ma Long/Yuan Lizen won the first two games, and was nearly recovered by Jiangsu's Yang Shuo/Liu Yipo. At the critical moment, Ma Long/Yuan Lizen seized the opportunity in the fourth set and locked the victory with 12-10, contributing a key point for the team.
Then, in the men's singles match between Xu Yingbin and Sun Jiayi, Xu Yingbin lost two consecutive sets, and then pulled back three consecutive sets, 11-5, 11-6, 11-7, and staged a stunning reversal, once again locking up a city for Shandong Luneng.
In the third match, Yuan Li-Cen and Liu Yipo had an equally exciting battle. Yuan took the first set 12-10, and after the second set was tied at 8, Yuan scored three consecutive points to take the next set 11-8. Although Liu Yipo came back in the third set, Yuan Lizen sealed the win with an 11-4 victory in the fourth set to beat Liu Yipo 3-1, ensuring Shandong Luneng swept Jiangsu CSL Cables 3-0 and entered the top four in the round-robin tournament with a record of 7 wins and 1 loss.
It is worth mentioning that Shanghai Real Estate and Huangshi Base and Shandong Weiqiao advanced to the quarterfinals with the same score. According to the schedule, at 18:00 on December 9, the semifinals will be staged Shanghai Real Estate and Huangshi base of the summit showdown; December 10, 18:00, Shandong Luneng and Shandong Weiqiao will start a strong collision.
