BARRY CALLISTER MEMORIAL - TOP 12 TOURNAMENT
Sean Drewry Retains Senior Top Title
THE top twelve players in the IOMTTA met recently to establish their official 2016 rankings. Based on current league averages the competitors were split into two groups with games played on a round-robin basis. The top two finishers in each group then competed to determine ranking positions 1-4. Similarly, the third and fourth placed players were matched to determine ranking positions 5-8 and the last two in each group played for positions 9-12.
Sean Drewry (17) showed his undoubted class by retaining the Top 12 title he won for won for the first time last season. Drewry, who plays for island champions Copy Shop A, started his table tennis career at the Manx Youth Games nine years ago and was one of our representatives at the NatWest Island Games in Jersey.
In the final play-off he met the number one seed, Sam Bailey in a repeat of their Division One Singles championship final played last December. Drewry favoured his fast and furious forehand to once again beat Bailey in an extremely close and competitive match. Remarkably, both players scored the same total of points as Bailey had won their second set by a wide margin.
TOURNAMENT – HIGHLIGHTS
GROUP A
Previous Top 12 winner Sam Bailey won four of his five matches and topped the group after a narrow defeat to Adam Teare who recently won the second of the Grand Prix series events. A complicated countback was required to sort out the group positions as two other competitors also finished with four wins.
Paul Kozlowski had lost to Bailey but beat Teare in straight sets to pip him to second spot.
Tim Baker, who plays for Division Two side Surestrike Ramsey B, took fourth place by beating Keeran Chan and then Graham McFarlane who is the Men’s Over 60’s champion.
GROUP B
Drewry was undefeated and hence topped this group.
Malcolm Cummings was awarded second spot for his four wins ahead of Julian Briercliffe who finished with three wins.
The third seed Jason Quirk beat the fifth and sixth-placed players Wael Kassim and Rhys Yardley respectively.
RANKING PLAY-OFFS
Teare tumbled to Quirk 11/6, 5/11, 5/11, 11/6, 4/11
Baker was bettered by Briercliffe 6/11, 11/4, 13/11, 7/11, 6/11
5th/6th Quirk quashed Briercliffe 7/11, 11/5, 10/12, 11/7, 11/7
7th/8th Teare tricked Baker 11/4, 6/11, 11/6, 11/1
Chan crushed Yardley 5/11, 12/10, 11/9, 12/10
McFarlane missed out to Kassim 7/11, 7/11, 3/11
9th/10th Kassim knocked out Chan 11/6, 12/10, 11/13, 11/7
11th/12th Yardley miffed McFarlane 11/5, 11/6, 11/5
TOP FOUR
Cummings conceded to Bailey 12/10, 8/11, 11/8, 5/11, 9/11
Kozlowski keeled over to Drewry 5/11, 4/11, 3/11
3rd/4th Cummings conquered Kozlowski 11/13, 11/8, 10/12, 11/8, 11/6
FINAL
Drewry disappointed Bailey 12/10, 3/11, 11/8, 11/8
NEW 2016 TOP 12 RANKINGS:
1) Sean Drewry 2) Sam Bailey 3) Malcolm Cummings
4) Paul Kozlowski 5) Jason Quirk 6) Julian Briercliffe
7) Adam Teare 8) Tim Baker 9) Wael Kassim
10) Keeran Chan 11) Rhys Yardley 12) Graham McFarlane
MALCOLM LAMBERT
