It’s taken some time but congratulations to the winners at the Bribar and City of Derby 4 star!

Starting ‘at the top’ it was a tournament full of surprises in the Junior Boys and Junior Girls competitions with neither of the top seeds making it past the quarter-final stage.

In the Junior Boys singles it was Igor Morais who missed out, being felled by Reece Placid in an absorbing five game match which Placid finished the stronger to claim a wonderful victory 3-2 (11-9, 7-11, 8-11, 11-9, 11-3) despite trailing 2-1 to the top seed.

Placid then played Lawrence Sweeney in the semi-final in which the latter was triumphant in three tight games. Sweeney went onto the final against the returning Ping Ho who had steadily progressed to the showpiece match after successive victories over Dominic Sussex (3-1), Mike Fraser (3-1) and Luke Walsh (3-0).

It was always likely to be a tight affair between the pair with the first two games being shared between Ho and Sweeney 12-10 apiece. It seemed Sweeney made the big move in the third with a crunching 11-3 game but Ho was not to be denied his chance at victory when he battled to a tense 15-13 fourth game to level to match and take it to a title-deciding game.

In the end it proved a slight anti-climax as Ho raced ahead to win 11-4 and take home the Junior Boys title.

The Junior Girls was similarly hotly contested – starting with a surprising first round match-up: top seed Yolanda King faced second seed Tin-Tin Ho!

This was because Ho was defeated by Modesta Vaitkeviciute in the group stages, who herself went on to reach the quarter-finals of the tournament.

Despite Ho’s slip-up in the group, she then showed few signs of weakness in charging to the Junior Girls title – dropping only one game on the way. After beating King 3-0 (11-8, 11-6, 11-7) she then beat Evangeline Collier (3-0), Abbie Milwain (3-1) and finally Isobel Ashley (3-0) in the final to win yet another crown.

The Cadet Boys title was also not won by the top seed as Jack Bennett beat Bradley Wood in a dramatic five game victory in the final.

Bennett had made the final after wins over Gabriel Achampong 3-2 (11-7, 4-11, 11-8, 2-11, 11-4) in the quarter-final and James Hobson 3-0 (11-6, 11-4, 11-8) in the semi-final respectively.

In the final he met Wood who defeated Danny Lewis 3-1 (8-11, 11-7, 11-6, 11-4) and Matthew Leete 3-1 (12-10, 11-7, 7-11, 11-4) at the same stages. Leete had earlier beaten top seed Alec Ward in a thrilling five-ender 3-2 (11-7, 7-11, 11-9, 9-11, 11-6).

The final came down to the wire between two very good players. Wood taking an early lead before Bennett fought back to lead 2-1 after three games. Wood managed to level again for 2-2 but Bennett proved to strong in the end as he took the final game 11-7 and the Cadet title to boot.

The Cadet Girls was just as exciting and provided one of the biggest upsets of the day. Jazmin Johns, a lower seed in her qualifying group – finishing second to Lucy Zhu, made it through two more stages before defeating top seed Emily Bolton in an epic five-game match.

Johns emerged triumphant despite twice going behind to Bolton before she held her nerve to take the deciding game 12-10 and a place in the semi-final. There she met Hiba Feredj whom she beat in straight games to reach the final.

There she met Letitia McMullen who herself, had also knocked out a top seed in five close games when she beat Zhu 3-2 (11-6, 3-11, 10-12, 14-12, 11-8). The player from Hampshire then sealed the title by beating Johns 3-1 (7-11, 11-8, 11-7, 11-6).

In the Junior Boys band 1, Jamie Davies recovered from 2-1 down to beat Abhijay Mishra 3-2 (7-11, 11-6, 6-11, 11-5, 11-9). While in the Junior Girls Band 1, Emma Tovey also won her own five-gamer against Daniella Gray. Tovey was 2-0 up before Gray fought back, only for Tovey to hold her nerve in the closest of finals with a 12-10 title-winning game.

In the Cadet Boys Band 1 final the top two seeds met with William Ross beating James Hobson 3-2 (12-10, 8-11, 11-9, 9-11, 11-9) with hardly breathing space between the pair. The Cadet Girls Band 1 saw Jazmin Johns continue her good form as she sped to victory – defeating Hiba Feredj in the final.

With the best saved until last, Luke Savill won the Under-13 Boys Singles in the best match of the tournament against Alec Ward. With nothing to separate them it was Savill who eventually held his nerve to come back from 2-0 down to win 3-2 (11-13, 13-15, 12-10, 11-7, 12-10).

In the Under-13 Girls Singles Hiba Feredj made up for her defeat in the Cadet Girls Band 1 final by beating Zahna Hall in three straight games to take the title home.

Final Results:

Junior Boys:

Ping Ho bt Lawrence Sweeney 3-2 (10-12, 12-10, 3-11, 15-13, 11-4)

Junior Girls:

Tin-Tin Ho bt Isobel Ashley 3-0 (11-4, 11-8, 11-4)

Cadet Boys:

Jack Bennett bt Bradley Wood 3-2 (7-11, 11-9, 11-4, 7-11, 11-7)

Cadet Girls:

Letitia McMullen bt Jazmin Johns 3-1 (7-11, 11-8, 11-7, 11-6)

Junior Boys Band 1:

Jamie Davies bt Abhijay Mishra 3-2 (7-11, 11-6, 6-11, 11-5, 11-9)

Junior Girls Band 1:

Emma Tovey bt Daniella Gray 3-2 (11-5, 14-12, 9-11, 8-11, 12-10)

Cadet Boys Band 1:

William Ross bt James Hobson 3-2 (12-10, 8-11, 11-9, 9-11, 11-9)

Cadet Girls Band 1:

Jazmin Johns bt Hiba Feredj 3-1 (11-5, 11-7, 9-11, 11-6)

Under-13 Boys:

Luke Savill bt Alec Ward 3-2 (11-13, 13-15, 12-10, 11-7, 12-10)

Under-13 Girls:

Hiba Feredj bt Zahna Hall 3-0 (11-4, 11-8, 11-4)