Japan Series Vol.1: Tsukue Downs Hayashi For Title

No.2 seed Ryunosuke Tsukue took the Japan PSA Satellite Series Vol.1 in SQ-CUBE after defeating top seed Naoki Hayashi in the final in Yokohama.

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the event was restricted to only domestic entries, meaning only those residing in Japan were allowed to enter.

The Pakistani duo of Muhammad Haris Iqbal and Shahzad Ali both featured, but were both knocked out in surprise defeats in the opening round. In fact, four of the seeded. Players made it through the first round of action in Yokohama.

Tsukue got the better of Masaki Suzuki in straight games to get his campaign underway before then downing No.8 seed Tomomine Murayama to secure a semi-final place.

After defeating Shota Yunasari in the last four, he set up a clash with top seed Naoki Hayashi, and he was able to continue his fine form. Tsukue downed the top seed in straight games to go through the entire event without dropping a game.

The World No.180 sealed his second title as a professional following his victory at the City of Kalgoorlie Golden Open back in 2019.

Results: Japan PSA Satellite Series Vol.1 in SQ-CUBE
Final
[2] Ryunosuke Tsukue (JPN) bt [1] Naoki Hayashi (JPN) 3-0: 11-5, 11-1, 11-7 (45m)

Semi-Finals
[1] Naoki Hayashi (JPN) bt Naoki Sone (JPN) 3-0: 11-3, 11-9, 13-11 (40m)
[2] Ryunosuke Tsukue (JPN) bt Shota Yasunari (JPN) 3-0: 11-2, 11-2, 11-3 (30m)

Quarter-Finals
[1] Naoki Hayashi (JPN) bt [6] Yuta Kiyosawa (JPN) 11-0, 11-5, 11-8 (35m)
Naoki Sone (JPN) bt Kato Shoki (JPN) 3-0: 11-8, 14-12, 11-7 (40m)
Shota Yasunari (JPN) bt Kosei Toki (JPN) 3-0: 11-7, 11-7, 11-7 (22m)
[2] Ryunosuke Tsukue (JPN) bt [8] Tomomine Murayama (JPN) 3-0: 11-4, 11-1, 11-2 (25m)

Round One
[1] Naoki Hayashi (JPN) bt Teppei Ito (JPN) 3-0: 11-1, 11-4, 11-2 (15m)
[6] Yuta Kiyosawa (JPN) bt Yusei Toki (JPN) 3-0: 11-2, 11-8, 11-3 (15m)
Naoki Sone (JPN) bt [7] Yujin Ikeda (JPN) 3-0: 11-9, 11-9, 11-5 (40m)
Kato Shoki (JPN) bt [4] Shahzad Ali (PAK) 3-2: 13-15, 11-13, 12-10, 13-11, 11-9 (65m)
Shota Yasunari (JPN) bt [3] Muhammad Haris Iqbal (PAK) 3-1: 10-12, 11-9, 15-13, 11-2 (45m)
Kosei Toki (JPN) bt [5] Kanta Ito (JPN) 3-2: 11-8, 11-8, 4-11, 5-11, 11-8 (42m)
[8] Tomomine Murayama (JPN) bt Ren Makino (JPN) 3-0: 11-5, 11-4, 11-7 (22m)
[2] Ryunosuke Tsukue (JPN) bt Masaki Suzuki (JPN) 3-0: 11-2, 11-4, 11-2 (25m)