Who will blink first?
It’s the question on everyone’s lips ahead of the penultimate round of Premier British League action, which takes place this weekend.
Ormesby and Urban will lock horns in a title decider in a few weeks time. However, both teams face tricky contests this weekend in which neither side can afford any room for error.
The two teams are locked on 28 points at the top of the table and will be desperate to ensure they don’t lose any ground on the other heading into their final round showdown.
Ormesby, top the table courtesy of a 0.23 superior games ratio. They face Ormeau, who they beat 3-2 earlier in the season.
They head to Belfast with their strongest possible squad. Tianyuan Liu, Tianming Zhao, Darius Knight and Danny Reed are all available for selection and will ensure Ormesby have serious firepower for the contest. Gavin Maguire is expected to feature for the hosts.
Urban, meanwhile, are in Scotland, taking on Drumchapel. The two teams engaged in an epic game back in November, one Urban won 3-2.
Satoshi Aida won twice that day and Urban will be hoping their unbeaten star can deliver the goods again. He’ll be no doubt backed up by the likes of Alim Hirji, Daniel Kosiba and Daniel Schaffer.
In Premier ‘B’, it’s actually the final round of the season, after a doubleheader weekend last time out.
On the face of it, there’s not a great deal to play for. Cardiff, who are bottom, will need a 5-0 win over North Ayrshire to hold any hope of overtaking them.
The Scots themselves will be hoping they can climb one place in the table, though that will be determined by the game between Fusion and Batts.
Fusion’s remarkable turnaround has seen them move top of the split competition, and they will end the season there if they avoid a 4-1 defeat. Batts are two points adrift of Fusion and also two points ahead of North Ayrshire, who may think there’s an opportunity to climb the table.