Men's:
PLA continued its streak by beating Sichuan 4-0. Wang Hao beat Wang Jianjun in a match of two emerging penholder stars. 18-year-old Chen Junji, another hopeful, fell to 17-year-old Bai Shi.
Shaanxi beat Heilongjiang in a close 3-2 tie. Liu Guoliang won his 3 outings, beating Zhang Peng in singles, Xu Hui/Kong in doubles with his partner Yan Sen, and scoring a surprising 5-3 Golden Ball win over close friend Kong Linghui.
In a match between two top teams, Luneng emerged as the stronger one, giving Zhejiang its first loss. Zhejiang was playing without Cheung Yuk who was at the Italian Open. Jin Enhua scored the only win for Zhejiang, beating Zhang Yong 3-2.
Guangdong got back on the winning track by overcoming Nanjing in a 5-match thriller. Qin Zhijian won his 3 outings to pick up the win. He beat Shan Mingjie 5-4 in the Golden Ball match.
Women's:
Beijing scored a 4-0 victory over Hebei who was without its biggest star Li Jing. Shanghai suffered its second blow-out in a row by losing 0-4 to Tianjin. Teenager Hao Shuai scored a huge 3-1 upset over Wang Liqin. It appeared that once Wang lost, the Shanghai team was incapable of winning the tie.
Beijing overcame Henan 3-1, with Guo Yan beating Guo Yue in the pivotal 3rd match 3-2 (12-10 in 5th). PLA scored a tough 3-2 victory over Luneng, which is playing without Lin Ling. Shanghai also scored a tough 3-2 win, over Jiangsu led by Yang Ying. Gao Jun surprising defeated Yang twice in this tie, including a 5-2 Golden Ball win.
Tianjin scored a relatively straight win over Shanxi 3-1, and powerful
Hebei beat Guangdong 3-1 to continue its winning streak. The big upset this
round was the young Sichuan team beating Liaoning. Wang Nan was upset by the
unheralded Li Xiaoxia 1-3. Li Jia also was upset in this tie.