Pride of place at the GETEC-Arena Magdeburg went to Brazil’s Vitor Ishiy, Frenchman Joe Seyfried and China’s Zhou Kai.

Ranked 236th on the current men’s world rankings, Ishiy beat Ukraine’s Yaroslav Zhmedenko, world ranked 153, 11-8, 5-11, 11-7, 11-9, 12-10. 

Zhmudenko is a player of some repute having won the under-21 men’s singles title back in 2009 at the ITTF World Tour Grand Finals in Macao.

Seyfried overcame Russia’s Vasiliy Lakeev 11-4, 11-6, 11-5, 11-9. 

Perhaps the biggest shock of the night, and certainly one of the most unpopular, saw Zhou Kai, who does not even hold a world ranking, beat the host nation’s world number 87 Patrick Baum, a former European Championships runner-up, 10-12, 12-10, 11-7, 7-11, 11-8, 11-8. 

China’s Yu Ziyang, who had beaten Germany's Jun Mizutani in the final of the  ITTF World Tour Japan Open three years ago, made a winning return to action.

He has been absent from the international scene through injury and does not carry a world ranking but beat Croatia’s Tomisav Pucar 11-7, 10-12, 10-12, 11-7, 5-11, 11-5, 11-6.

In the women’s singles qualification tournament, Germany's Nina Mittelham caused a huge upset.

Presently at 108 on the current women’s world rankings, she beat Li Jie of The Netherlands - ranked 20 and winner earlier in this year of the Europe Top 16 in Antibes - 6-11, 14-12, 7-11, 11-5, 8-11, 11-4,

Alas for the 21-year-old German, earlier in the day she had been beaten in five games by Japan’s 15-year-old Miyu Nagasaki, ranked one place higher at 107, 11-4, 11-9, 13-11, 6-11, 12-10.