"There's something about taking a plow and breaking new ground," wrote author and Merry Prankster Ken Kesey. "It gives you energy." The table tennis world is on the verge of breaking new ground as World Table Tennis (WTT) prepares to make its world debut this week in Macao, China's answer to Las Vegas. Running November 25-29, the long-awaited showcase will offer $800,000 USD in prize money for players to reinvest in the local casinos. The USA's Lily Zhang is among the 16 women and 32 players overall hoping to claim more than the $15,000 appearance fee. Citing her success in the 2019 and 2020 ITTF Women's World Cups, it is a good bet that Zhang will be playing with house money. WTT, largely the brainchild of ITTF CEO Steve Dainton, promises an innovative playing format and scoring system. "WTT Macao will be a table tennis show like no other before it," promises Dainton. "After months of waiting to see what this is all about, the time has come to raise the curtain for our first ever exhibition of World Table Tennis." WTT is focused on maximizing the commercial value of table tennis, aiming to dramatically expand its media coverage around the world. After years of planning, Dainton and WTT Council Chair Liu Guoliang are itching to smash the champagne across the bow. "WTT Macao is our opportunity to show the world just what an incredible transformation our sport will be going through in the World Table Tennis era, and to demonstrate how we are elevating table tennis into one of the greatest sporting properties on the planet," says Liu, a legendary player and coach in his own right. For those pulling the strings behind the scenes like Steve Dainton and Liu Guoliang, to those elite players basking in the limelight like Lily Zhang, WTT Macao is a most promising plow poised to furrow fallow fields. Can't you feel the energy?

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