There were 69 entrants in the Horsham Spinners 2 Star on 28th June at Collyers College, Horsham. Player of the tournament was host club Horsham Spinners TTC’s own Charlie Graham-Adams, who won gold in both U12s and U13s. Next best performer was Eren Gozcu of London Academy TTC, who won the U18s and came second in the U15s.

U10s:
This was a round robin group of five players, and won by Jake Grayson (Mi), who beat two players ranked above him: Arthur Bracken (K) (3-0) and Brandon Sangchin (Sy) (3-1). Top ranked player, Bracken came second, with four set wins over Harry Yip (Sx-Horsham TTC) and Benjamin Greve (Gs) and a five set win over Sangchin. Yip came third with a good 11-8 in the fifth win over Sangchin.

U11s:
This was two groups of three players. Top seed, Ollie Michell (Sx-Horsham Spinners TTC) won Group 1 and Grayson came second. Second seed, Bracken won Group 2, although was made to work hard by Sangchin, only winning 11-9 in the 5th. Sangchin was the Group runner-up. In the semi finals Michell defeated Sangchin in straight sets and Bracken got revenge on Grayson in four. Bracken upset the seedings in the final, winning 11-6, 6-11, 8-11, 11-9, 11-6. Grayson won the third place play-off in five sets over Sangchin.

U12s:
There were 19 players in this age group in five groups. The top four seeds won their groups, although no. 3 seed, David Ismaili (Sy) had two fifth set wins. Fifth seed, Jacob Evans (Sx-Horsham TTC), came a cropper, finishing third in his group, thus going into the consolation event. In the quarter finals, top seed Charlie Graham-Adams (Sx-Horsham Spinners TTC) made short work of Natalia Ianau (Mi), Ben Palmer Jones, seeded four, overcame Louis Beesley in the deciding game, Ismaili put out Alexey Aliji (Mi), again in the fifth set and no. 2 seed Patricia Ianau (Mi) ended the hopes of Richard Holmes (K). Graham-Adams put paid to Palmer-Jones in four in the semis and in the other half Ianau beat Ismaili in three close ends. The final was again one-way traffic, as Graham-Adams completed the event, only having conceding one end. Palmer-Jones beat club mate Ismaili 11-7 in the fifth for the bronze medal. Evans made amends for a poor showing in the group, by winning all four rounds of the consolation event in straight sets, defeating Mojtaba Adel (Mi) in the final.

U13s:
There were 22 entries in the U13s in six groups. At the group stage no. 3 seed, Will Michell (Sx-Horsham Spinners TTC) lost to Nathan Enstone (Mi), but still won the group and in Group 6, Thomas Arnott (K) overcame the slightly higher ranked no. 6 seed Sacha Chowdhury (Mi) in three tight games. Other than this the other seeds won their groups. Robert Pelc (Sy) the number 1 seed made his way to the final with wins over Natalia Ianau and Chowdhury, while number 2 seed, Graham-Adams got there by virtue of wins over Palmer Jones (11-9 in the fifth), and Patricia Ianau. In the quarters, Chowdhury had toppled Michell in straight sets and Ianau had knocked out Arnott. The final was another 3-0 win for Graham-Adams. Patricia Ianau overcame Chowdhury in four for the bronze medal. Sacha Groom (Ha) won the consolation, beating club mate, Will Rollitt (Ha) in the final 3-1.

U15s:
There were 31 players in eight groups in the U15s. At the group stage, two seeded players came second in their groups. No. 5 seed Vitor Marquiori (Sy) was defeated in the decider by Fraser Donnelly (Mi) and no. 8 seed, Kieran Gray (Sx-Horsham Spinners TTC) was defeated by the slightly lower ranked Ryan Barnett (Mi). Donnelly continued his good form into the last 16, where he knocked out no. 7 seed, Bertrand Siu (Sx-Warden Park TTC). Gray made amends by ousting no. 4 seed, Jack Stockdale (E) 11-8 in the fifth at the same stage. Sixth seed Vincent Cheung (Ha) survived a fifth set examination by Ollie Guile (Sx) also in round 1. Top Seed, Eren Gozcu (Mi) cruised into the final with 3-0 wins over Billy Keegan (Sx-Brighton City TTC), Donnelly and Vincent Cheung (Ha). Second seed Naylor-Smith (Bu) had a tougher route to the final, beating Kushal Patel (Sy), Barnett and then Theo Achampong (Mi) 13-11 in the fifth game in the semi final. Perhaps the fifth set experience did him good though, as he then overcame Gozcu 11-7 in the fifth in the final, despite winning five fewer points than his opponent. Achampong beat Cheung 3-0 for the bronze medal. Iggy Kalule (Mi) beat Ellis Crockford (Sx-Arundel TTC) in the final of the consolation event 3-1.

U18s:
There were exactly the same number of players and groups in the U18s, as there were in the U15s. There were some interesting group results. Guile had another five setter, this time against the much higher ranked third seed, Gozcu, but unfortunately for him lost again. Fifth seed, Naylor-Smith was also pushed to a deciding game, by Rhoda Boadu (Mi). Group 6 was officially the ‘Group of Death’, as all six matches in the group went the full distance to five sets. I don’t think I had ever seen this happen before in 24 years of playing and six years of refereeing. The group consisted of Cheung (no. 6 seed), Donnelly, David Busari (Sy) and Siu. Donnelly won his matches and the other three went to points count back, with lowest ranked Siu coming second in the group. There was almost nothing to separate Cheung and Busari, but Busari came third by a whisker. In Group 7 Barnett upset the higher ranked Andrew Jackson (Sy), while in Group 8 Marquiori did the same to Achampong.

There was just one unexpected result in Round 1, with Keegan overcoming Barnett in the fifth end. Lucas Papantoniou made it to the final with wins over Siu, Marquiori and fourth seed Richard Pelc (Sy), but he had to come back from 0-2 down to beat Pelc. Third seed Gozcu’s route to the final included victories over Boadu, Donnelly and second seed Fisher, which he won in four. In the quarters, Fisher had ended Keegan’s run and Pelc had knocked out Naylor-Smith. Gozcu beat Papantoniou in a comfortable four-setter in the final. Fisher defeated Pelc 3-0 for the bronze medal. Matt Johnson (Sx-Brighton City TTC) won the consolation event, with a walkover vs Tom Black (Mi) in the final, as Black had to leave.

Summary of Results:
U10s:
1st Place: Jake Grayson (Mi)
2nd Place: Arthur Bracken (K)

U11s:
Main: Arthur Bracken (K) beat Ollie Michell (Sx) 11-6, 6-11, 8-11, 11-9, 11-6

U12s:
Main: Charlie Graham-Adams (Sx) beat Patricia Ianau (Mi) 11-3, 11-7, 11-2
Consolation: Jacob Evans (Sx) beat Mojtaba Adel (Mi) 11-5, 11-7, 11-6

U13s:
Main: Charlie Graham-Adams (Sx) beat Robert Pelc (Sy) 11-6, 11-9, 11-7
Consolation: Sacha Groom (Ha) beat Will Rollitt (Ha) 11-1, 10-12, 11-7, 11-5

U15s:
Main: Ben Naylor-Smith (Bu) beat Eren Gozcu (Mi) 15-13, 5-11, 4-11, 12-10, 11-7
Consolation: Iggy Kalule (Mi) beat Ellis Crockford (Sx) 11-6, 9-11, 11-8, 11-5

U18s:
Main: Eren Gozcu (Mi) beat Lucas Papantoniou (Mi) 11-4, 11-4, 10-12, 11-3
Consolation: Matt Johnson (Sx) beat Tom Black (Mi) (Walkover)

Rory Scott
Horsham Spinners Table Tennis Club Secretary & Head Coach