A bumper entry of over 65 competitors took part in the South Devon & Torbay Table Tennis League’s Annual Closed Tournament held at the Torbay Leisure Centre on Sunday 22nd April. A total of 14 different titles were up for grabs, with all the top local players taking part.
The main event was the Open Singles, competing for the Burton Cup. A top-class field produced some wonderful matches, with Group winners being Kris Piwowar, Patrik Cincala, Lenard Hernandez, Jon Cheung, Kevin Nicholls, Adam Shipway and Shaun Gibbs. Kris Piwowar, attempting to win his 5th consecutive title, cruised through the knockout stages into the final without losing a game. His opponent was Shaun Gibbs, who had knocked out higher-ranked Patrik Cincala and Adam Shipway to reach the final. In an excellent final, Piwowar took control early on, taking the first two games 11-4 and 11-5. Gibbs fought back to take the 3rd 11-7 and was up in the fourth, but Piwowar rallied to take the 4th game 11-9 and retain his title.
Open Singles Final – Shaun Gibbs v Kris Piwowar
The Knight Cup for the Ladies Singles was won by Sonja Ryland. Sonja, whose Albany Florists sponsor the League, defeated runner-up Wiktoria Florczyk 11-3, 11-3, 8-11, 11-6 to collect the Knight cup for the 6th time, her first title being back in 2002.
Chairman George Breyley Ladies Singles winner Sonja Ryland
In a one-sided Men’s Doubles final, the holders Kris Piwowar and Patrik Cincala retained their title with an awesome display of attacking table tennis. Although it was a comfortable win there were some amazing rallies and Kevin Nicholls and Jon Cheung played their part in a quality final, going down 11-1, 11-3, 11-8.
To complete the set, Kris Piwowar joined forces with Esmeralda Suarez, coming from behind to defeat Kevin Nicholls and Sonja Ryland in the final 4-11, 11-5, 11-8, 11-6.
Chairman George Breyley, Mixed Doubles Winners Esmeralda Suarez & Kris Piwowar and presenting the awards Sponsor Sonja Ryland Albany Florists
Wiktoria Florczyk & Esmeralda Suarez defeated Sonja Ryland amd Ann Morris in the final of the Ladies Doubles 11-8, 11-4, 8-11, 11-9.
Patrik Cincala retained his Veterans’ title in a close encounter with Dennis Gibbs, Cincala eventually winning 11-6, 11-8, 9-11, 12-14, 11-7.
Gibbs recovered to win the Super Veterans, defeating Clive Banham 11-2, 11-8, 11-6.
In the Divisional events: the Division 4 title was won by Jamie McGuire who defeated John Fowler 8-11, 8-11, 11-9, 11-3, 11-8. Division 3 champion was Craig Collins, with Elsa Perry the runner-up. Philip Avery defeated Jakub Piwowar 11-7, 11-8, 11-6 to win the 2nd Division title.
The Junior Boys event was won by Lenard Hernandez who beat Jakub Piwowar 10-12, 11-7, 11-3, 11-4
With the Cadets, Under 13s and Under 11s competitions being opened up to non-League players, there was an excellent number of youngsters who really enjoyed their afternoon of competition. Jakub Piwowar won the Cadet event defeating Jamie McGuire in the final. Jakub Piwowar also won the Under 13 event, beating his brother Kacper in the final. Kacper Piwowar won the under 11s with a win over Ivan Vaplaks in the final.
Under 11 winner Kacper Piwowar Under 13 & Cadet winner Jakub Piwowar
An excellent day’s table tennis. Many thanks to an excellent group of helpers, umpires and players who made the day run so smoothly.
More pics from the tournament can be found in the gallery
