Pontypridd Summer Table Tennis Festival – Full Report
The Pontypridd Summer TT Festival took place today at Pontypridd High School and was well attended with over 30 players competing from all areas of South Wales. There were players represented from The Rhondda, Cardiff, Ael-y-Bryn, Abertillery, and of course Pontypridd. There were three events making up the day which were the Beginners/Improvers Band, Band 1, and a Pairs Team Handicap Event. All events were well contested and every player gave everything in their bid to become the Pontypridd Champion in their respected events.
In the beginners/improvers the format was the taken from the popular dragon series, with the initial group positions playing a final group against players of the same position. There were 18 entrants for the event and they were split into four groups. After the initial group the top 4 seeds all progressed to make the top group, playing for positions 1-4. These were Callum Evans (Tonyrefail), Dylan Lewis (Ferndale), Jonathan Bisp and Kyle Adams (both of Pontypridd). It was Callum Evans who came through to take the winners prize beating all three players only dropping 1 set. Jon Bisp caused the biggest upset beating team mate Kyle Adams for the first time, by a 3-0 score line. Kyle nearly bounced back to beat Dylan, but Dylan came through a tight match to claim 2nd place, with Kyle having to settle for 4th, and Jon taking a very respectable 3rd. Final standings are shown below.
The most hotly contested event of the day was the band 1 singles, with 9 Welsh Internationals in attendance. With such a strong entry, even progressing through the group stage was to prove very difficult. Number 1 seed Cameron Thomas had to win two five set matches in order to progress through his group, beating youngsters Beth Roberts and Ryan Oyler. Beth played great table tennis in beating both Ryan Oyler and Steven Fawkes to join Cameron in the final 8. Groups 2 and 3 went with seeding with Connor Edwards and Benjy Gregory safely through, Ashley Perry also progressed as runner-up from group 2, and Stefan Jeczalik was made to work very hard for his place in the final 8, after being pushed all the way by Liam Winder. The final group had a big match-up between Welsh under 13s Champion Chris Griffiths and Welsh Doubles Junior Champion Alex Prosser, after having both beat Laura Edwards. This was a great match and it went right to the wire, but Chris found that extra push and came through 3-2 to top the group. Alex settled for runner-up, booking the final place in the last 8.
In the final 8 there was great table tennis all around with all players fighting it out for a semi-final place. Connor Edwards was the first through, bringing Beth’s good run to an end with a 3-0 victory, however, the other 3 matches were much tighter affairs. Benjy came through a five set dual with Alex Prosser, and was then joined by Chris Griffiths who beat Stefan Jeczalik by the same score line. It was young Ashley Perry who was attracting the attention matching up to Cameron Thomas, taking the match with the biggest upset of the day.
The semi-final line-up was Ashley Perry against Chris Griffiths and Connor Edwards against Benjy Gregory. Chris ended Ashley’s run with a 3-1 victory, but it was the other match that everyone had their eyes on. With Connor looping well from both wings and Benjy chopping away, it made for a great spectacle that entertained the spectators. It was Connor who came through in the end winning a very tightly fought 5th set.
The Final was another great match with both boys hitting top form. It was Chris who took the first set, only for Connor to square it all up winning the second. Chris then took the 3rd to take a 2-1 lead, Connor then responded brilliantly to take the 4th and then went on to take the 5th set and deservedly the Pontypridd Band 1 Title.
The Pairs Team Handicap Event was contested by 8 teams, with each team playing for their final position. Number 1 seeds Benjy Gregory and Alex Prosser progressed to the final with good wins over Ponty duo Kyle Adams and Jon Bisp and then the inform Ashley Perry and Beth Roberts. In the other half of the draw it was 2nd seeds Connor Edwards and Stefan Jeczalik who progressed through, with a win over experienced duo Rob Hatherly and Mark Morgans in the quarters, followed by a hard fought victory over Ferndale pairing Chris Griffiths and Liam Winder.
The final was once again a very tight affair with Stefan coming through a five set battle against Alex Prosser, which meant Benjy had to beat Connor to keep the tie alive. This again was a great match that went the full 5 sets, unfortunately for Benjy, it was once again victory for Connor to give himself and Stefan the Team Title. Final standings are below.
Beginners/Improvers Final Standings:
1. Callum Evans – Tonyrefail TTk
2. Dylan Lewis – Ferndale TTk
3. Jonathan Bisp – Pontypridd CC
4. Kyle Adams – Pontypridd CC
5. Jaymz Tutton – Ferndale TTk
6. Soffi Jenkins– Tonyrefail TTk
7. Charlotte Slye – Ferndale TTk
8. Callum Westcott – Ferndale TTk
9. Ben Griffiths – Pontypridd CC
10. James Dean– Tonyrefail TTk
11. Ben Evans– Tonyrefail TTk
12. Peter Briscombe – Pontypridd CC
13. Callum Griffiths – Pontypridd CC
14. Jack Parry – Tonypandy CC
15. Connor Priest – Pontypridd CC
16. George Slater – Pontypridd CC
- Liam Govier couldn’t play the second Stage but was in the 3rd group (positions 9-12)
Team Pairs Handicap Final Standings:
1. Connor Edwards/Stefan Jeczalik
2. Benjy Gregory/Alex Prosser
3. Chris Griffiths/Liam Winder
4. Ashley Perry/Beth Roberts
5. Laura Edwards/Ryan Oyler
6. Rob Hatherly/Mark Morgans
7. Kyle Adams/Jonathan Bisp
8. Steven Fawkes/Sam Griffiths
