Brighton and BATTS to contest first SBL Cup final

Opportunity knocks for BATTS and Brighton in the final of the first ever SBL Premier Cup tomorrow.

Perhaps unfancied at the start of the competition, having finished in the bottom half of the league, they seized the day in memorable style and one of them will make history tomorrow by becoming the first winners of the trophy.

Photos by Michael Loveder – see more on our Flickr page

Brighton were first into the final, once again showing that their mix of styles in Jordan Wykes, Will Bayley and Ukrainian chopper Ihor Zavadskyi was a potent combination.

Wykes (pictured above) got them started, though not without some issues as his opponent finally took the first match 20-18 – but it was almost all Wykes from then on as he won 3-1.

Zavadskyi doubled down on Brighton’s advantage as he overcame Garry Dodd in five, but the doubles went to the Scottish side as Victor Guang Shi & Danny Bajwa came from 2-1 down to prevail 11-9 in a decider.

Bayley roared his approval as he went 2-0 up against Guang Shi after two close games, but he saw his opponent power back – literally, as Bayley admitted afterwards he’d seldom faced so many balls flying past his defences. But the Paralympic legend found a way – it was 11-9 in the decider.

Dodd took the first against Wykes to briefly raise hopes, but that was snuffed out as Wykes blitzed through the next three to complete the 4-1 match score and put Brighton one win from glory.

Their opponents in the final will be hosts BATTS, who blew away Fusion 4-0 in the other semi-final – the only whitewash of the day.

Josh Bennett started as BATTS meant to go on as he defeated Josh Bruce 3-0 – though the second and third were close. Shayan Siraj never let Shaquille Webb-Dixon get a foothold as he also won in three straight.

The doubles was the only match to be extended past three, but Bennett & Siraj looked as if they had thrown it away after seeing a 2-0 lead evaporate against Brice & Robert Pelc. But the home duo found their form to take the decider 11-6.

Ralph Pattison versus Larry Trumpauskas was a hard-hitting feast with the two teenagers giving no quarter, but it was Pattison who shaded three tight sets to put his team into the final.

In the first of the play-off matches involving the beaten quarter-finalists, North Ayrshire defeated Ormeau 4-1 to take their place in the 5th-6th place match.

Chris Main won a high-octane match against Matt Ware 11-8 in the fifth, having seen his opponent battle back from 2-0 down to force the decider. As the tension mounted, Ware earned a yellow and yellow-red in quick succession either side of the match point.

Martin Johnson made it 2-0 in four games against Conor Nugent, but Ormeau got themselves on the board as Ware & Zak Wilson beat Johnson & Viktor Gorman in five.

But hopes of a comeback were quashed as Gorman beat Wilson in three and then Johnson defeated the luckless Ware in five.

Results

Semi-finals
Brighton 4 Drumchapel 1
Jordan Wykes (BRI) bt Baoman Wan (DRM) 3-1 (18-20, 11-5, 12-10, 11-5)
Ihor Zavadskyi (BRI) bt Garry Dodd (DRM) 3-2 (10-12, 11-8, 11-8, 7-11, 11-5)
Victor Guang Shi & Danny Bajwa (DRM) bt Wykes & Zavadskyi (BRI) 3-2 (7-11, 11-9, 7-11, 11-4, 11-9)
Will Bayley (BRI) bt Guang Shi (DRM) 3-2 (11-9, 13-11, 7-11, 7-11, 11-9)
Wykes (BRI) bt Dodd (DRM) 3-1 (8-11, 11-5, 11-4, 11-4)

BATTS 4 Fusion 0
Josh Bennett (BAT) bt Josh Bruce (FUS) 3-0 (11-4, 14-12, 11-9)
Shayan Siraj (BAT) bt Shaquille Webb-Dixon (FUS) 3-0 (11-7, 11-5, 11-6)
Bennett & Siraj (BAT) bt Bruce & Robert Pelc (FUS) 3-2 (11-9, 11-8, 7-11, 8-11, 11-6)
Ralph Pattison (BAT) bt Larry Trumpauskas (FUS) 3-0 (12-10, 11-8, 12-10)

Positional play-offs
North Ayrshire 4 Ormeau 1
Chris Main (NAY) bt Matt Ware (ORM) 3-2 (11-9, 11-9, 5-11, 7-11, 11-8)
Martin Johnson (NAY) bt Conor Nugent (ORM) 3-1 (11-8, 11-4, 10-12, 11-4)
Ware & Zak Wilson (ORM) bt Johnson & Viktor Gorman (NAY) 3-2 (7-11, 11-7, 9-11, 11-3, 11-3)
Gorman (NAY) bt Wilson (ORM) 3-0 (11-2, 11-8, 11-6)
Johnson (NAY) bt Ware (ORM) 3-2 (3-11, 11-7, 11-7, 4-11, 11-9)

Brighton and BATTS to contest first SBL Cup final Table Tennis England.