The National Junior Masters is taking place this weekend at the Burton Uxbridge Table Tennis Club with the best junior players in attendance ready for fight for the title for National Junior Champion.

Defending his title from 2011 will be Sam Walker from Nottinghamshire. Last year Walker beat Sean Cullen into second place despite losing to him. The current junior number one’s consistency in the round-robin event proved decisive.

This year he will face several of his opponents from 2011 once more. Tees Sport Blackpool GP Under-21’s winner Lewis Gray (third in 2011) begins as the second seed while Igor Morais, Helshan Weerasinghe, Liam McTiernan, Sam Mabey, Bradley Tuttle and Adam Harrison will all have another go at dislodging Walker from his title.

New entries to the competition for this season include Daniel Lawrence, George Downing, Daryl Gee, Marcus Giles, Lawrence Sweeney and Jack Bennett who will all hope to make an impact on the 14-man tournament in Burton.

A new champion will be made in the junior women’s competition as 2011 winner, Karina Le Fevre, cannot defend her title.

This leaves it open for last year’s runner-up, and current junior number one, Vicky Smith, to claim the title after coming so close last time out.

However, she will face stern competition from a number of rivals including recent French Open Cadet Champion Tin-Tin Ho, who is the third seed. Tin-Tin will be full of confidence and will also have memories of the 2011 Masters when she beat the eventual winner Le Fevre in the final match of the tournament.

In a star-studded field (as every Masters produces) Yolanda King, Abbie Milwain, Emma Torkington, Isobel Ashley, Chloe Whyte and Evangeline Collier will all attempt to improve their 2011 position as they once more vie for the title.

Leading the charge from those absent in 2011 will be Emily Bates, a previous Cadet Masters Champion, who will seek to re-discover her best form in Burton. Meanwhile, there will also be chances for Maria Tsaptsinos, Janay Gibson, Lois Peake, Majada Yasmin and Emily Bolton to impress the national coaches in attendance during the event.

Live coverage from the event will include updates on our twitter @ettatabletennis, result tables and end of day reports here on the ETTA website and photos and updates on our Facebook page.

Full Competitor List:
Boys:
Sam Walker
Lewis Gray
Igor Morais
Helshan Weerasinghe
Liam McTiernan
Sam Mabey
Bradley Tuttle
Adam Harrison
Daniel Lawrence
George Downing
Daryl Gee
Marcus Giles
Lawrence Sweeney (wildcard)
Jack Bennett (wildcard)

Girls:
Vicky Smith
Emily Bates
Tin-Tin Ho
Yolanda King
Abbie Milwain
Maria Tsaptsinos
Emma Torkington
Isobel Ashley
Janay Gibson
Lois Peake
Majada Yasmin
Emily Bolton
Chloe Whyte (wildcard)
Evangeline Collier (wildcard)