Men’s Band 1
Ashley Willetts ruled the roost at the Bribar London GP, claiming the Band 1 title by beating Adam Harrison 3-0 (11-9, 11-9, 11-8) in the final at Redbridge Sports Centre.
Lincolnshire’s Harrison had sunk top seed Danny Lawrence in four in the quarter-finals and Daniel Basterfield in three in the semis, but had no answer to Willetts in the final clash as the Greenhouse coach romped to victory.
Willetts had earlier recovered from losing the first end in both the quarter and semi-finals, to Lawrence Sweeney and Chris Lewis respectively.
Women’s Band 1
Top seed Karina Le Fevre took Saturday’s top women’s prize with a 3-1 (11-4, 11-5, 9-11, ) victory over Abbie Milwain.
The Cleveland player, who defeated Yolanda King in the semi-finals, had too much in her armoury for Derbyshire’s Milwain, who had advanced with victories over Angharad Philips and Yasmin Ould.
Men’s Band 2
Top seed Khalid Alotaibi kept his nerve to win the Men’s Band 2 event at the Bribar London Grand Prix, holding off successive five-end challenges from both Tyla Anderson and Callum Evans in Redbridge.
Alotaibi comfortably won his group before dispatching Sherwin Remata and John Hall with the minimum of fuss in the early knockout rounds.
However, his cruise towards the title would be given a major obstacle when he ran into Anderson in the semi-finals. The young Middlesex player pushed the top seed all the way in a 3-2 (10-12, 11-9, 12-10, 9-11, 11-8) epic.
Soon after, Alotaibi would be repeating the dose as he battled back from 2-0 down against Evans to win the title.
The young Welshman, who had also won in five ends against both Lawrence Sweeney and Chris Lewis in the two previous rounds, had begun well in London to take the firs two games 12-10, 13-11. But, back raced Alotaibi with three games on the spin to earn his hard-fought glassware prize.
Women’s Band 2
Irish girl Ashley Givan won the Women’s Band 2 event at the Redbridge Sports Centre by beating Cherith Graham in the final on Saturday afternoon.
The duo had both been drawn into group 1 and produced a spectacular match during their first encounter. Despite trailing 2-1, the Irish youth recovered to win 3-2 (11-6, 5-11, 11-13, 11-7, 11-8) and claim top spot in the group with Graham sneaking through as runner-up via countback ahead of Sally Hughes and Barbara Izyk.
That meant Graham had to fend off challenges from both Natasha Walsh (3-0) and Emma Ludlow 3-2 (11-7, 6-11, 8-11, 11-5, 11-5) to secure her place in the final, while Givan denied English junior Emily Bolton 3-0 in the other semi-final.
The duo’s rematch in the final wasn’t as close as the previous encounter but still saw some competitive table tennis with a 12-10 third game proving crucial for Givan en route to her 3-1 victory.
Men’s Band 3
Welsh prodigy Jac Jenkins won the ‘Jac/k’ derby in the final of the Men’s Band 3 event after defeating Grantham College’s Jack Dempsey in a five game final.
Jenkins, playing without the watchful eye of father Ryan who is at the World Championships in Tokyo, ensured he continued his push for the overall points prize by winning at the Bribar London GP.
The Welsh junior won group 5 and followed this with fine knockout victories against Bradley King, Kevin Gray, Alex Ramsden and Omar Khassal.
Dempsey, who had won group 9, saw off Rajan Waterman, Kevin Kan, Xin Li and Karim Khassal to ensure neither of the Khassal brothers made the final stage.
When the duo met in the final they produced a tight encounter but, just like the toughness shown by his father, Jenkins made sure he kept his head in the end to win the decider 11-7.
Women’s Band 3
Hiba Feredj denied Isabelle Joubeily of a second title at the Bribar London Grand Prix as the Greenhouse player emerged victorious late on at the Redbridge Sports Centre.
Joubeily, who had won band 4 earlier, made her way to the final once more despite finishing as runner-up in Group 3 to Sally Hughes. Instead, the youngster battled past Amy Blagbrough 3-2 (11-8, 11-13, 11-7, 9-11, 15-13) in thee quarter-finals before beating top seed Ikue Humphrey 3-1 in the semi-final.
Feredj, who won Group 2, fought off Sally Hughes in the other semi-final 3-2 (11-8, 9-11, 9-11, 11-8, 11-9) and was strong enough to maintain her form into a final triumph.
Men’s Band 4
Adam Feargrieve picked up a handy victory from the Bribar London GP after emerging from Group 6 to race to the Men’s Band 4 title.
The youngster wasted no time in seeing off group 7 winner Bradley King 3-0 (12-10, 11-2, 11-8) but struggled to get past Team GB member David Wetherill 3-2 (13-11, 11-13, 6-11, 11-8, 11-2) in the quarter-finals.
However, after that his game clicked into gear and saw off both Shane Clark and Patrick Green in four ends to win the main prize.
Green had previously battled hard to beat both Leo Veinsrider 3-2 (8-11, 11-8, 6-11, 12-10, 11-9) and Miroslav Vala 3-2 (5-11, 8-11, 11-9, 11-6, 12-10) in matches that went the full distance to make the final.
Women’s Band 4
Isabelle Joubeily won the Women’s Band 4 prize at the Bribar London Grand Prix with a confident series of victories at the Redbridge Sports Centre.
Joubeily had already beaten Wales’ Lydia John in the group stages 3-0 (11-5, 11-6, 11-7) before they met again in the final. Despite John’s best efforts, she couldn’t prevent a repeat of the first meeting as Joubeily emerged victorious in three ends once again.
Both Nicola Francis and Rhoda Boadu had also made the semi-finals but were unable to claim a place at the final hurdle.
Men’s Band 5
Phil Handy fought off a spirited performance from 11-year-old Ethan Walsh in the final of the Men’s Band 5.
Handy, who won Group 2, also beat Stuart Harriott (3-0), Romayne Stewart (3-0) and Roger Pyle (3-1) to make the final where he faced young Walsh.
The young prodigy, who fended off tough matches against Dariusz Gulbicki 3-2 (10-12, 11-6, 11-7, 13-15, 11-2), Vincent Stacey 3-0 (11-8, 13-11, 15-13) and Matthew Daish 3-0 (11-5, 12-10, 14-12) , couldn’t quite keep his energy levels going and fell narrowly short to the more experienced player.
Men’s Band 6
Michael Julian and Phil Handy battled out one of the best finals of the morning bands at the Bribar London Grand Prix with a 3-2 battle of attrition inside the Redbridge Sports Centre.
It was a long journey for both players to make the final with the large entry in London. Having won Group 9, Julian then went on to beat Daniel Spurling (3-0), Gary Morgan (3-0) and George Hazell (3-0) meanwhile Handy saw off David Jeavons (3-0), Claudiu Andrei (3-1) and Vincent Stacey (3-0).
When the pair met in the final they produced a classic tussle – going all the way to five ends, before Julian dominated the final end to win it 11-5 and claim the title at the same time.
*Grand Prix points will not be completed this weekend due to errors in recording during the earlier part of the season. Full records will be rechecked and victors and prize monies allocated at a later date.
Bribar London Grand Prix Results:
Men’s Band 1:
Ashley Willets bt Adam Harrison 3-0 (11-9, 11-9, 11-8)
Women’s Band 1:
Karina Le Fevre bt Abbie Milwain 3-1 (11-4, 11-5, 9-11, 11-5)
Men’s Band 2:
Khalid Aloitaibi bt Callum Evans 3-2 (10-12, 11-13, 11-7, 11-8, 11-4)
Women’s Band 2:
Ashley Givan bt Cherith Graham 3-1 (11-6, 5-11, 12-10, 11-8)
Men’s Band 3:
Jac Jenkins bt Jack Dempsey 3-2 (13-11, 4-11, 11-6, 7-11, 11-7)
Women’s Band 3:
Hiba Feredj bt Isabelle Joubeily 3-0 (11-9, 11-5, 11-9)
Men’s Band 4:
Adam Feargrieve bt Patrick Green 3-1 (12-10, 10-12, 11-9, 11-6)
Women’s Band 4:
Isabelle Joubeily bt Lydia John 3-0 (11-8, 11-3, 11-3)
Men’s Band 5:
Phil Handy bt Ethan Walsh 3-1 (11-9, 3-11, 14-12, 11-7)
Men’s Band 6:
Michael Julian bt Phil Handy 3-2 (12-14, 11-6, 15-13, 10-12, 11-5)