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The first open scratch start tournament of the Table Tennis season attracted a sizeable field and produced a new winner after a dramatic final.
Such was the anticipation for the Lions Senior Group tournament, it saw the highest number of entrants in recent memory with 43 players taking part.
The defending champion, Ben Foss, was absent, which left things wide open.
Just four players have won the crown in the last 16 years, with two of them in Phil Ogier and Lawrence Stacey in the draw.
In the end though, it was Joshua Stacey who picked up his maiden crown in this event, beating Ryan Bichard over five well contested sets in a dramatic finish which saw him save a match point in the process.
The victory was the first open title for Stacey since the 2022/23 season having experienced defeats in a few finals last season, including in this event, where he lost in four sets to Foss.
There were no surprises in the initial group stages as all 14 seeded players emerged as group winners, with the expected players in each group also qualifying as runners-up.
The First round also saw the higher ranked players make it through, but there were a couple of compelling matches at this stage.
Barnaby Groves is one of the upcoming junior players in the top flight of the Doric Insurance sponsored senior leagues and the Ravenscroft Panthers player found himself in a tight tussle with Division 2 player Kennedy Chepkor. Chepkor took the opener before pinching a close fourth set 11-9 to force a deciding end. The decider could have gone either way, but in the end Groves did enough to squeeze through 13-11.
Another close match saw 10th seed Matthew Casey in a five set clash with fellow Division 1 player Connor Powell. Casey was always in front and despite Powell forcing the decider, Casey did enough in the final set and took it 11-8.
The Last 16 saw a pair of results where higher ranked players were defeated and this included fifth seed Paul Hainsworth who was beaten in four close sets by ninth seed Jamie Ferbrache, the first ever victory for Ferbrache over Hainsworth, in a match where he played some excellent attacking strokes.
The other result to go against seeding was 12th seed Nye Matthew’s four set win over eighth seed Joseph Bourgaize, as Matthew responded well to dropping the opening set.
The evening ended here for Groves, although he did provide a good account for himself against third seed Lawrence Stacey in a four set defeat.
The Quarter finals saw wins for the higher ranked players, albeit fourth seed Bichard was extended to four sets by Lions C team-mate and sixth seed Dan Collenette in an entertaining match.
The semi finals consisted of two high quality affairs, firstly between twins Joshua and Lawrence Stacey. Lawrence started brighter and edged the opener 13-11. He was in a reasonable position in the second end, before losing out 11-9, but again found himself with an advantage at 10-8 in the third. Joshua dug deep here and saved both set points, going on to clinch the important set 14-12. He then continued with the momentum and closed out the match, which included some excellent rallies, 11-7.
On an adjacent table, the other prior winner of this event, second seed Ogier, was embroiled in a tight clash of his own against Bichard. Bichard started well and was always in charge of the contest during the early stages. Despite trailing 1-0 and 2-1, Ogier fought well to force a decider, edging the fourth end 12-10. Ogier started the decider strongly, but Bichard rallied well and turned the tides from around the middle stages of the set and in the end powered through 11-6.
The signs looked ominous for Bichard in the first part of the final, as Stacey was in full flow and romped through the opener 11-2 and was looking set to extend his advantage. Bichard started to improve his game, and it saw him pinch the close second 12-10 and he followed up with another narrow success in the third, 14-12. Stacey looked to be in trouble in the fourth at during the middle parts, but he raised his game at the right time to come through 11-7.
It was fitting that the decider went all the way and it looked like Bichard was heading for the title when he opened up a 9-6 lead. Stacey fought back well, however it was Bichard to hold the first match point at 10-9
It looked like victory was surely his after a well-constructed point led to what would usually be considered a match winning forehand smash, but unfortunately for him he put this long, letting Stacey off the hook. Stacey needed no further invitations, and he sealed the title 12-10 courtesy of two strong points, ending with a trademark forehand topspin drive.
The wait for the next open tournament is not long, as the Whistlers Open Singles will take place on the evening of Monday 4 November.
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