Posts in category: Masters

Pictured here are Branko Jakovetič and Kariem Sabir at the Open

Please click HERE for the results of the Masters Munster Open

Please click HERE for the results of the Masters Ulster Open

The well appointed sports hall of Wellington Presbyterian Church, Ballymena, was the venue for this tournament once again. Having withstood a worthy early challenge from Paul Gallagher and Phil Wallace, Daryl Strong beat Tibor Pofók in the final of the Over 40s. It is always difficult to overcome Daryl once he gets into a rhythm, and this is his tenth title in succession!! Free from the burdens of office, Dave Gibbons scored a notable fifth set victory over Phil at the group stage.

In the Ladies event knockout stage, Teresa beat Ger Greene and Annemarie for yet another title. Annemarie had beaten Teresa earlier in the group stages. Paula lost some tight fifth set encounters, and on another day, her results could have easily gone the other way. JingRu Liu made a considerable impact on her debut, losing in the semi-final. Sharon will be pleased to have played well while suffering from a cold.

The Over 50s produced several tight five set matches, especially at semi-final stage. Serving at 8-10 down in the fifth, Kevin Mackey hit two blistering forehand winners to level, and eventually triumph 14-12 over Mark McAlister. Pawel Sulkowski beat Allen Robson 11-9 in the fifth after an absorbing duel with forehand attack against classic defence. The final produced attacking topspin table tennis of a very high order, with no quarter given. Kevin coped with Pawel’s powerful forehand when required, and hit some marvellous wide winners at critical times. Winning a tight second set was key, and Kevin won on a scoreline of 7,9,-9,11. It is noted that Gibbons beat Kevin at the group stages!

A resurgent Norman Nabney won the Over 60s, beating Martin Pickles in the final. Earlier, he had accounted for Pat Bracken and Peter Doherty in the knockout stage. Martin triumphed in the 70s, while Liam Perris was runner up. Really nice to see Ronnie Drain make a welcome appearance here.

Our thanks to Norman McBride and his team for his capable stewardship. The willing response to requests for umpiring was greatly appreciated by all. Our best wishes go to all of our members who are coping with serious illness at this time.

Thunderous forehands, feisty verbal exchanges and deceptive defensive wiles were in evidence at the recent Masters Classification Tournament. Any cobwebs from Budapest or lazy summer beaches were soon blitzed in the early group stages. The knockout section of the 40’s began with a fantastic encounter between Daryl and Kevin Mackey. Delivering relentless heavy topspin, cleverly disguised services and furious winners from both wings, Kevin really put in a remarkable challenge. However, Daryl coped well, and led 4-0 in the fifth. Undaunted, displaying real aggression, Kevin bravely clawed his way back to deuce. Daryl then delivered when the chips were down, getting over the line 13-11. Rory Scott edged out Phil Wallace in five in an evenly contested semi-final. Against Daryl in the final, Rory used his blocking skills to good effect along with powerful flat hitting to win the first. Daryl absorbed Rory’s attack, and countered really well to win the next two. Down 2-7 in the fourth, Rory began to play with controlled aggression and hit some great winners to really trouble Daryl. Too late, alas, and a relieved Daryl won 11-8. Brian Devereux can be well pleased with his initial venture with long pimples here!

The Ladies event featured a welcome visitor, Senga Thomson. Several good performances were registered by Ikuko, Sharon, and Paula. Ger triumphed in a close final with Annemarie. Some of her attacking play was very effective indeed. Many close encounters are indicated over the coming season, going on these results.

The 50’s went to script, though Kieran Burke surprised himself somewhat to reach the semi-final. Returning serve very effectively against the dangerous Nebrojša Gabrič in the other semi-final, Kevin Mackey dominated proceedings, never allowing Neb to settle. Kevin was always in control over Pat McCloughan in the final, winning 6,9,-9,7. A strong entry in the 60’s saw the welcome return of Jeremy Lappin and Albert Coulter. Some tremendous performances in defeat were registered by Tommy Fitzgerald, Kariem Sabir and Philip Shaw. However, the final was not played late on in proceedings, leaving Kieran Burke and Tommy Caffrey to share the spoils.

Jimmy Fleming and Ollie Adamson can be pleased with their performances in the 70s. The final produced a classic of the genre, with Tommy taking the first two games, attacking any loose balls from Martin comfortably. Surprisingly, Martin’s variety of spin caused quite some difficulty thereafter, causing Tommy to struggle considerably. Hitting controlled forehands mixed in with deft defensive variations, Martin proceeded to lead 10-7 in the fifth, and looked to be completely in control. Point by lengthy point, Tommy somehow clawed his way back. Martin’s play could not be faulted. He did not freeze, continuing to mix astute attack with defence. However, Tommy won the game and the match on a scoreline of 10,4,-8,-6,12. Legerdemain, hypnosis, woodshedding in formative years, showtime…somehow, Tommy tapped into his reservoir of skills, technical and mental, to chisel victory out from bleak circumstances. Hats off to both players for this enthralling encounter!!

Our thanks to Roman and Ana at Pingzone for their assistance in staging the tournament. Dave, Sharon and Viv really managed the matches efficiently. Dave Pender, Denis Kelly, Jimmy Fleming among others, are to be commended for their efforts to assist in proceedings. Players’ willingness to umpire greatly assists the timely running of events. It does help if people can put empty bottles and litter into the bins provided. The new online system for entries will improve after this outing. The Masters Leinster Open is on 19 October.

Good Luck to all of our teams playing at the Home Nations Tournament in Perth!

Some wildcard entries featured in some exceptional groups in the Over 40s. Pat McCloughan edged out Robbie Gavin and Mark McAlister in one group, with two matches decided 11-9 in the fifth. The knockout stages saw Rory Scott prevail over Pat, to set up a titanic encounter with Phil Wallace. Rory’s modern defence produced some blistering returns of serve and great variations of spin. However, Phil was in control most of the way in the fifth, winning 11-9. Tibor Pofók beat Brian Devereux in five, -8,-7,3,6,7. In the semi-final, Tibor beat Phil in four, setting up the final with Strong. Daryl maintained his high performance levels to triumph in straight games. Retaining the Harry O’Prey Trophy, it is remarkable that Daryl has lost just three sets in five Masters events all season! Pit bosses in Las Vegas have been warned!

The Ladies event produced several excellent matches, not least Paula’s triumphs over Annemarie 9,10,4, and two fifth set wins over Gillian and Sharon. Drawing on the experience gained in Colleen’s VBL matches, Annemarie won a crucial match against Ger on a score of -7,-9,8,9,5. Also, Ikuko scored a notable win over Sharon. Eventually, Ger, Paula and Annemarie secured the podium placings.

Prevailing in three five set group matches with representatives of the choppers’ fraternity did not assist Dave Pemberton’s quest to retain the Over 50s David Addy Trophy. Those exertions took their toll when facing an on-fire Philip Shaw in the quarter-final. Some electric, all court exchanges between the two left-handers drew gasps from spectators. Winning in four, Philip did not really fire in the semi-final against Pat McCloughan, who had accounted for Kieran Burke earlier. Mark McAlister, having beaten Philip in the group stage, scored a good win against Kevin Mackey in the other half. In the final, Pat beat Mark in a strangely subdued match to emerge as champion.

Tommy Caffrey’s absence opened up the 60s event for several aspirants. Martin Pickles lost narrowly to Kieran Burke in the group stage, and this was a harbinger of things to come. Kieran won a good semi-final match with Philip Shaw, while Martin beat Adamson, Finn and Storey enroute to the final. The final produced a classic forehand spin attack against resolute defiance with long pips. Martin avenged his earlier loss on a scoreline of 9,6,-9,-10,9 in an absorbing match. Later, waxing philosophical, Kieran opined “You really have to look at the  markings on the ball to read the spin coming off those pimples! Shutting your eyes is not an option!”

In the 70s, Martin completed a marvellous double, beating Ollie in the final. Here, Ted made a welcome return to competitive action after recent eye surgery.

Our thanks to the staff at Pobalscoil Iosolde and to the Leinster Branch for all of their assistance in staging the event. Sharon and Dave did a tremendous job as treasurer and tournament referee. Willing cooperation from all who helped set up the hall and umpired when requested helped affairs to progress smoothly. Our good wishes go to members coping with injury or illness at this time.

GOOD LUCK to Teresa, Daryl and all of our participants going to the World Championships in Las Vegas!

The group stages of the 40s provided several cracking matches to whet the appetite for 2018 at Palmerstown recently. Brian Devereux and Dave Gibbons scored notable 5 set victories here. Tibor Pofók was unfortunate to lose two of three five set matches. Pat McCloughan scored a worthy win over Phil Wallace, and a fifth set victory over Devereux en-route to the final. However, Daryl Strong managed to ward off all challenges to secure another title. Losing only two sets all season, he truly is on a roll!

The Ladies event saw some great performances from Paula which did not result in victory. Ikuko prevailed 12-10 in the fifth, and Annemarie had to overcome a 0-2 deficit to fend off Paula’s challenge also! Gillian and Ger served up a real cracker over five entertaining, close fought sets. Coping with tennis elbow, Ger did well to counter Gillian’s formidable forehand attack. Annemarie’s good showing in the 40s event really paid dividends, scoring narrow victories to come through undefeated. Ikuko can be pleased with her performance level here.

The Over 50s event was depleted with the injury to Dave Pemberton. However, debutant Branislav Jakovetic added a new dimension to the mix. Pat McCloughan continued his fine showing in the 40s to triumph over Kevin Mackey in the final.

Branislav beat Oliver and Martin on his way to a semi-final with Tommy Caffrey in the 60s. Using his forehand flat kills very effectively, he led 8-3 in the first game before the maestro found his way back to win out 12,8,5. Earlier, Caffrey had produced a resolute performance to beat Peter Aird in the fifth. On the other side of the draw, Finn came from 0-2 down to beat Philip Shaw. In the final, Brian started very slowly. Unable to penetrate the defensive wiles of the master, he lost the first two games. Persevering with an offensive mindset, he clawed his way back to set up a fifth set. This went nip and tuck to 5-5; then Tommy eked out a 9-6 lead. Playing some courageous last ditch shots, Brian levelled again at 9-9. Unfortunately, he picked the wrong ball to attack, putting a forehand into the bottom of the net. Probing and feinting at match point, he set up a loose high ball which Caffrey dispatched with a rare backhand winner. Stranded, vanquished, Brian could only laugh, swatted away like a fly on a scoreline of 7,9,-9,-9,9!

The 70s went to form with Tommy beating Martin 3-0 in the final. Ken Peare beat Jim Sheehan 7,-8,8,-10,7 in a close encounter at the group stage. The participation here of Liam and Jim is most heartening.

Our thanks to all who assisted in setting up the hall, particularly Denis, Norah, Ray, Terry and Hiroto. The readiness of everybody to umpire when called upon is greatly appreciated. It is hoped that Jim really enjoyed that chocolate digestive late on. Ger’s efforts in the catering department increase everyone’s enjoyment. Dave as referee and Sharon as treasurer/co-ordinator guided the day’s progress with aplomb. The assistance from Leinster Branch in procuring access to the facility is most welcome.

Best wishes to all of our members who are coping with illness or injury!