Men’s Singles
Gavin Rumgay secured one of his greatest Grand Prix crowns at the Redbridge Sports Centre after excelling over a series of high-octane Men’s Singles matches.
The Scottish no. 1 was at his effervescent best at the Bribar London Grand Prix, finding extra gears just when they were needed, to register a well-deserved title with a final victory over Chris Doran.
The top seed progressed through his group with comfort before disposing of both Sherwin Remata and Laurence Sweeney to make the quarter-finals where he faced Ireland’s Paul McCreery.
McCreery, who has been in fine form all season, was no match for the Scot who blew him away in three straight games – a signal of his intent to his rivals.
On the other side of the draw, the second and third seeds, Doran and Ryan Jenkins, made their way through the knockout stages to set up an intriguing semi-final meeting.
Doran won all of his knockout matches in four ends, firstly against Niall Cameron, before subsequent wins over Richard Andrews and Matt Ware. Jenkins meanwhile, cruised past Matthew Man in three but struggled to get past Saturday’s Band 1 winner Gavin Maguire.
Maguire took him the full distance 3-2 (11-6, 8-11, 11-5, 8-11, 11-4) before the Welshman managed to get past the challenge of Mike O’Driscoll (3-1) in the quarter-final.
Rumgay’s last four opponent, Artur Daniel from Poland, was the surprise package of the tournament. His languid style, reminiscent of Vladimir Samsonov, took him to a quarter-final meeting with Lewis Gray who had successfully beaten David McBeath 3-2 (8-11, 11-6, 11-7, 4-11, 11-3) for the first time in his career.
However, Daniel was able to defeat the youngster in five games 3-2 (7-11, 11-7, 11-7, 8-11, 11-5) before facing the Scottish Champion in the semi-final.
Both semi-finals were exquisite exhibitions of top-class table tennis.
Rumgay was the first to emerge victorious after a dramatic five games with Daniel, during which the Scot saved a match point in the fourth end before winning 3-2 (11-9, 10-12, 4-11, 12-10, 11-8). Meanwhile Doran, who blew a 2-0 lead against Jenkins, managed to hold on in the fifth 11-8 to make the final.
Perhaps exhausted by their earlier efforts, the duo fought out a hard-working and adrenaline-fuelled final. Much of their energy sapped from Rumgay winning the marathon opening game 16-14, the pair would duel it out for four more ends.
Doran won the next two 13-11 and 11-9, but Rumgay’s fighting spirit brought him level 11-8 and, against a wearing opponent, the Scot was able to take charge of the decider 11-7 and ultimately secure the Men’s Singles title.
Women’s Singles
English no. 1 Joanna Parker cut a dominant figure at the Bribar London Grand Prix by winning the Women’s Singles title – dropping just one game in the process.
Parker, who narrowly missed out on a career-best win at the recent World Championships in Paris, was in no mood to waste any time in Redbridge with a series of professional and calculated performances.
After winning her group, the top seed beat Evangeline Collier 3-0 in the quarter-final before cruising past Lauren Spink 3-0 (11-5, 11-9, 11-0) in the semi-final.
Watched on by her family, including fiancée Paul Drinkhall, she also dominated the final against Spanish opponent Melinda Ciurcui.
Ciurcui, who had to come back from 2-0 down to beat Megan Phillips in her first round encounter, was no match for the English star as she was blown away comprehensively in three straight games.
Men’s Under-21s
Ireland’s Paul McCreery shrugged off the disappointment of a Men’s Singles exit by winning the Under-21s competition in competent style.
McCreery dropped just one game against Callum Evans in his first knockout match before waltzing past Danny Lawrence 3-0. In the semi-final he beat Laurence Sweeney 3-1 to set up a final meeting with the in-form Lewis Gray.
Gray had beaten Connor Neenan, Marcus Giles and Adam Harrison en route to the final. However, in the final an 11-1 first game for McCreery set the tone and ultimately Gray was unable to recover from this set back – going down 3-1.
Women’s Under-21s
Welsh girl Nicole Hall won the Women’s Under-21 title with a fine final victory over local Essex girl Evangeline Collier.
Both players faced difficult semi-finals that took the sting out of their final effort late on Sunday evening.
Collier recorded an excellent 3-2 (12-10, 6-11, 11-4, 6-11, 11-7) victory over Yolanda King while Hall beat Jas Ould by a similar scoreline; 3-2 (11-9, 11-2, 9-11, 6-11, 11-9).
The final threatened to be one-sided when Hall stormed the first game 11-1, but Collier recovered to claim the second game. However, that was as close as the English girl got as Hall won the following two games to take the main prize.
Doubles
Matt Ware and Mike O’Driscoll executed the perfect left-hand/right-hand combination to win the doubles event at the Bribar London Grand Prix.
Ware and O’Driscoll progressed to the knockout draws before beating Keith Lesser/Matt Spero and Alim Hirji/Gergely Urban to make the final.
There they met David McBeath and Richard Andrews who battled past the Scottish duo of Gavin Rumgay and Niall Cameron after an epic five end match 3-2 (7-11, 11-4, 9-11, 11-8, 11-6).
However, in the final the younger pairing were no match for the experience of Ware and O’Driscoll who took command of the tie by winning the first two games before sealing the title 11-8 in the fourth.
Veteran’s Singles
Costas Papantoniou won the Veteran Men’s Singles after a comprehensive afternoon’s work where he stormed through the knockout stages without dropping a game.
Having won his group, Papantoniou saw off defender Dave Randall 3-0 (11-3, 11-4, 11-6) before continuing this form into the semi-final where he defeated Jimmy Walsh in straight games.
On the other side of the draw Abdul Wuraola had his own problems against defence – only just managing to evade the grasp of Alan Cherry after recovering from 2-0 down to win 3-2 (11-13, 12-14, 11-9, 11-6, 11-9).
Although Wuraola then progressed to the final by beating Phil Waker 3-0, he was no match for Papantoniou who cruised home in straight games.
Sudden Death
Tyla Anderson continued the run of maiden Sudden Death victors as he walked home with the £32 prize pot after beating off the opposition on Sunday morning.
Anderson actually had one of the toughest draws, having to beat Gavin Maguire, Jack Bennett and Adam Harrison before beating the defending Champion Colin Dalgleish in the semi-final.
His opponent in the final was the experienced Jimmy Walsh who had a mixture of opponents from stalwart Helmuth Osborne to young international Gabriel Achampong.
Bribar London Grand Prix Results
Men’s Singles
Gavin Rumgay bt Chris Doran 3-2 (16-14, 11-13, 9-11, 11-8, 11-7)
Women’s Singles
Joanna Parker bt Melinda Ciurcui 3-0 (11-2, 11-8, 11-6)
Men’s Under-21s
Paul McCreery bt Lewis Gray 3-1 (11-1, 11-7, 9-11, 12-10)
Women’s Under-21s
Nicole Hall bt Evangeline Collier 3-1 (11-1, 8-11, 11-7, 11-8)
Doubles
Matt Ware/Mike O’Driscoll bt David McBeath/Richard Andrews 3-1 (11-6, 11-6, 7-11, 11-8)
Veteran’s Singles
Costas Papantoniou bt Abdul Wuraola 3- 0 (11-5, 11-9, 11-9)
Sudden Death
Winner: Tyla Anderson, Runner-up: Jimmy Walsh
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