Announcement
Top 8 Confirmed for HSBC BWF World Tour Finals
Ultimate glory awaits the top eight players and pairs who have qualified for the season-ending HSBC BWF World Tour Finals that begins 11 December in Guangzhou, China.
It is the pinnacle of the badminton season pitting the best of the best against each other as they compete for their share of the biggest prize pool ever seen in badminton – US$1.5 million.
The by-invitation HSBC BWF World Tour Finals features the top eight players and pairs who have qualified throughout the year-long HSBC Race To Guangzhou across the five badminton disciplines, with the current world champions gaining automatic entry.
The eight qualifiers in all five events were finalised after the final qualifying tournament – the Gwangju Korea Masters 2019 that concluded on Sunday 24 November 2019. A maximum of two players/pairs from each Member Association can qualify.
Men’s Singles
| Number | Name | Country | World Tour Ranking |
| 1 | Kento Momota (world champion) | Japan | 1 |
| 2 | Chou Tien Chen | Chinese Taipei | 2 |
| 3 | Jonatan Christie | Indonesia | 3 |
| 4 | Chen Long | China | 4 |
| 5 | Viktor Axelsen | Denmark | 5 |
| 6 | Anthony Sinisuka Ginting | Indonesia | 6 |
| 7 | Anders Antonsen | Denmark | 7 |
| 8 | Wang Tzu Wei | Chinese Taipei | 8 |
Women’s Singles
| Number | Name | Country | World Tour Ranking |
| 1 | Chen Yu Fei | China | 1 |
| 2 | Ratchanok Intanon | Thailand | 2 |
| 3 | Akane Yamaguchi | Japan | 3 |
| 4 | Nozomi Okuhara | Japan | 4 |
| 5 | Tai Tzu Ying | Chinese Taipei | 5 |
| 6 | He Bing Jiao | China | 6 |
| 7 | Busanan Ongbamrungphan | Thailand | 7 |
| 8 | Pusarla V. Sindhu (world champion) | India | 15 |
Men’s Doubles
| Number | Name | Country | World Tour Ranking |
| 1 | Marcus Fernaldi Gideon/Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo | Indonesia | 1 |
| 2 | Mohammad Ahsan/Hendra Setiawan (world champions) | Indonesia | 2 |
| 3 | Takeshi Kamura/Keigo Sonoda | Japan | 3 |
| 4 | Lee Yang/Wang Chi-Lin | Chinese Taipei | 4 |
| 5 | Li Jun Hui/Liu Yu Chen | China | 5 |
| 6 | Hiroyuki Endo/Yuta Watanabe | Japan | 7 |
| 7 | Lu Ching Yao/Yang Po Han | Chinese Taipei | 8 |
| 8 | Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik | Malaysia | 9 |
Women’s Doubles
| Number | Name | Country | World Tour Ranking |
| 1 | Yuki Fukushima/Sayaka Hirota | Japan | 1 |
| 2 | Mayu Matsumoto/Wakana Nagahara (world champions) | Japan | 2 |
| 3 | Kim So Yeong/Kong Hee Yong | Korea | 3 |
| 4 | Chen Qing Chen/Jia Yi Fan | China | 5 |
| 5 | Greysia Polii/Apriyani Rahayu | Indonesia | 6 |
| 6 | Du Yue/Li Yin Hui | China | 7 |
| 7 | Lee So Hee/Shin Seung Chan | Korea | 8 |
| 8 | Jongkolphan Kititharakul/Rawinda Prajongjai | Thailand | 9 |
Mixed Doubles
| Number | Name | Country | World Tour Ranking |
| 1 | Dechapol Puavaranukroh/Sapsiree Taerattanachai | Thailand | 1 |
| 2 | Zheng Si Wei/Huang Ya Qiong (world champions) | China | 2 |
| 3 | Praveen Jordan/Melati Daeva Oktavianti | Indonesia | 3 |
| 4 | Wang Yi Lyu/Huang Dong Ping | China | 4 |
| 5 | Chan Peng Soon/Goh Liu Ying | Malaysia | 5 |
| 6 | Yuta Watanabe/Arisa Higashino | Japan | 6 |
| 7 | Hafiz Faizal/Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja | Indonesia | 7 |
| 8 | Seo Seung Jae/Chae YuJung | Korea | 8 |
Defending HSBC BWF World Tour Finals winners Pusarla V. Sindhu (women’s singles), Li Jun Hui/Liu Yu Chen (men’s doubles), and Wang Yi Lyu/Huang Dong Ping (mixed doubles) are back at another shot at glory, while world No.1 Kento Momota will be seeking his second Finals trophy after winning the Dubai World Superseries Finals in 2015.
Pusarla was assured of her spot despite being in 15th place as one spot in each category is reserved for the current world champions.
Last year’s women’s doubles champions and Rio 2016 gold medallists, Misaki Matsutomo/Ayaka Takahashi, have missed out as they are the third Japanese pair in the top eight. Compatriots Yuki Fukushima/Sayaka Hirota topped the rankings, followed by world champions Mayu Matsumoto/Wakana Nagahara.
The stunning city of Guangzhou is the spiritual home of the season-ending finale and will stage the Finals until the end of 2021.
This high-stakes showdown appeals to fans and audiences across the globe as badminton’s revolutionary new concept promises to deliver the most electric competition of the year.
It caps off an exciting second year in the partnership between the Badminton World Federation and its Principal Global Partner and title sponsor of the World Tour, HSBC.
The draw for the HSBC BWF World Tour Finals 2019 will be held at the Magnolia Room, Level 3, at the LN Garden Hotel on Monday 9 December from 10.30am.
The HSBC BWF World Tour Finals 2019 Press Conference will be conducted immediately following the conclusion of the draw, with an Open Media Day taking place on Tuesday 10 December.
The 2019 Player of the Year Awards will also be announced at the annual Gala Dinner on Monday evening, 9 December. Nominees for the awards will be announced later this week.
