We were treated to another thrilling evening of high class table tennis at BATTS on 13th May, with a full entry. A large Welsh contingent called in on their way to the London Grand Prix and their leading player, the current Welsh number 2 duly captured the £150 top prize, defeating England number 6 Chris Doran in the final.
As well as a host of stars from the home counties, the contenders included several talented juniors.
There were some spectacularly hard fought and close matches in the early rounds. Two of the greatest battles involved the unseeded Maciej Nakielski, who managed to edge past two of the Welsh stars, winning 13-11 in the 5th set on both occasions. In the first round he beat the Welsh no. 18 Ryan Owen, with an amazing recovery after losing the first two sets. Then in round two he was 2-1 down against the 7th seeded Daniel O’Connell (Welsh no.11 junior) before easing past him in the final two sets.
The Welsh number 2 Charlotte Carey overcame England number 5 Lauren Spink to reach the quarter final stage. The remaining quarter final places were taken by the seeded players as expected. The best quarter final match was a very close tussle between Neil Charles and Eli Baraty, with Neil Charles coming through the victor after having lost the first two sets and saving a match point in the third. In the semis, the top seeded Ryan Jenkins cruised past Gareth Herbert who was playing below his best, and Chris Doran conquered Neil Charles after dropping the first set.
The final was another close encounter but Ryan Jenkins always seemed to have an extra gear and beat the towering Chris Doran fairly comfortably. In the play off for third place, Gareth Herbert recovered some form and overcame Neil Charles.
It was good to see some excellent performances by BATTS players, including several fine wins for Jared Patel, who finished 9th, and Evie Collier who secured 11th place. Also, a notable first outing for Christian Gibson who toppled Anthony Kent as well as the Welsh number 3 girl Nicole Hall.
Click here to download the full results.
Courtesy BATTS website