Well, it didn’t take long for the drama to surface did it? Premier British League finally got under way over the weekend, and it didn’t disappoint.
Here’s a lowdown of the action.
BATTS set the pace
Essex-based side BATTS were the big winners of the opening weekend as they stormed to an 8-0 whitewash at Cardiff City TTC.
Spearheaded by Sweden’s Malte Moregard, Batts dropped just four games on their way to a perfect opening game.
The tightest game of the afternoon was the opener, with Jack Bennett coming from behind to defeat Dan Cundy in the fifth.
But Moregard picked up two 3-0 victories over Louis Price and Cundy before Tony Halling and Steve Beerling defeated Pouyan Javanmard and Benedict Watson respectively by the same margin.
Cardiff’s Javanmard and Price offered some resistance as they got a game apiece against Bennett and Beerling, before Halling wrapped up an emphatic performance with a 3-0 win over Watson.
Urban return in style
Urban’s return to Premier British League couldn’t have gone much better as they shocked powerhouses Ormesby thanks to Daniel Schaffer’s double.
Following promotion to the Championship, Urban were given a difficult fixture upon their return as they travelled north to face an Ormesby side led by Darius Knight and Daniel Reed.
However the English duo were left stunned as they fell to back-to-back defeats.
Knight lost the opening set to Hungarian Szilard Gyorgy, while Reed went down to unranked Japanese player Satoshi Aida, who also plays in the Swedish League and has an impressive resume.
Viktor Brodd got Ormesby up and running as he defeated Alim Hirji 3-0, but Urban’s two-set lead was restored when Schaffer got to first of his two wins with victory over Matej Mamut.
Knight made amends for his earlier defeat with a strong performance in victory over Aida, despite trailing two ends to one, and Brodd then levelled the fixture as he defeated Gyorgy 3-1.
However, Urban secured an outstanding victory as Schaffer, the Hungarian ranked 416th in the world, defeated Reed, who boasts a world ranking of 224.
That left Hirji with the chance to secure the match, and he did so with a 3-1 win over Mamut.
Cathcart heroics help Ormeau
The rapid rise of Owen Cathcart continued as the teenager from Northern Ireland secured two wins to ensure Ormeau’s Premier British League debut ended in a stalemate against defending champions Drumchapel.
Fresh off the back of winning the ITTF Serbian Open cadets earlier this month, Cathcart’s stock rose once again as he defeated Victor Guang Shi and Sepehr Bidari to pick up a superb point.
With Drumchapel boasting the talents of world No 280 David McBeath and Scotland star Craig Howieson, it looked set to be a long afternoon for the visitors as the aforementioned duo defeated Ashley Robinson and Paul McCreery respectively.
But Cathcart got the ball rolling with an outstanding win over Guang, and the match was level when Gavin Maguire defeated Bidari 3-1.
Sets were exchanged thereafter as McBeath cruised past McCreery before Robinson overcame Guang comfortably.
It looked as though Drumchapel had won it when Howieson sensationally came from 2-0 down to defeat Maguire in the fifth, but Cathcart rescued a point with a straight ends win over Bidari.
North Ayrshire’s fixture with Fusion has been rearranged for November 18th due to a clash with the Scottish league.