Table Tennis: World Championship

Pick your country, take the paddle and step into the knockout bracket. Three championships lie ahead. Russia — a bracket of sixteen and a gentle start. Europe — thirty-two players who already read your serve. And the world, where a game runs to eleven points and you can only win by two. Every next tournament sits behind a lock: you take it, you don't pick it. Rivals are spread across seven levels of skill. The first ones hit plainly and predictably. The last ones reach almost everything and punish every lazy ball. The ball answers your hand. A sharp swipe is a flat winner. A circle drawn with the paddle is topspin, and the ball curves away. A soft touch is a chop that drops just behind the net. Your progress is saved, and a cup rises over your slot in the bracket — if you get that far.