Before the match, it was certain that a place in the semi-finals was at stake as first place in the group was already secured by French Christo Popov, who won all three group matches.
The match between Antonsen and Vitidsarn started evenly. The Dane gained the upper hand halfway through the first set and took a 13-10 lead, but Vitidsarn came back strongly. The Thai then edged ahead 17-15 after a questionable ruling, which frustrated Antonsen and Vitidsarn went on to claim the set 21-15.
In the second set, Vitidsarn took the initiative, but Antonsen fought on. After being behind 4-7, the Dane took the lead and showed that he had plenty of fighting spirit left in the tank.
Vitidsarn played impressive badminton, and Antonsen had to give an appreciative thumbs up to his opponent for a shot that completely took him by surprise halfway through the set.
In a tight second set where the momentum shifted several times in favour of both players, Antonsen took the lead 16-13, but Vitidsarn quickly recovered before Antonsen managed to restore parity by claiming the set 21-18.
A third set was consequently needed , where Vitidsarn had the best start. The world No. 2 was comfortably ahead for almost the entire third set, which he won 21-13.
Kunlavut Vitidsarn will play the semi-final on Saturday. The opponent will be drawn later on Friday.
From Group B in the men's singles, China's Shi Yuqi advanced as number one, while Japan's Kodai Naraoka advanced as number two.