Joe Kennedy defeated Trevor Kerry to win the Oldham World Championships of Ping Pong Qualifier following a dramatic five-end final to decide the champion.
Kennedy recorded a perfect 9-0 record in his group to cruise into the knockouts while his eventual final opponent, Kerry, only managed to finish third in his group behind Martin Gunn and Shaun Hall following defeats to the pair. He did, however, manage to overcome Fred Dove in a close encounter 14-15, 15-12, 15-13 to make it through ahead of the Essex player.
Kennedy continued his form to beat Paul Cicchelli, David Savage and Ryan Fellows in straight games to reach the final where he met Kerry who had dramatically improved his form from his shaky group start to overcome Robin Ashleigh in three, Glenn Johnson in two and a very confident 15-6, 15-9 semi-final victory over Joe Pilkington.
In the final, man-in-form Kennedy, started strongly winning the first two ends 15-12, 15-11 but found himself pegged back by the gutsy Kerry who won games three and four 15-13, 15-8.
The final end produced all the drama expected of a title decider but ultimately it was Kennedy, the stand-out performer, who secured the win 15-13 to take home the accolades.
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by Russell Moore (July 29, 2014)