W/C 13/04/26
This was the final week of the Handicap League, and now the top eight teams will compete in a knock-out phase to determine the overall cup winners.
Note: Figure in [ ] indicate the players Handicap.
Handicap League POT ONE:
Molyneux Associates A (Garry Reed, Tony Sweet and Glyn Price) were the clear winners of this pot and even dismantled Woodland Fort B 9 nil in their final match of the phase.
Woodland Fort A secured the runners-up spot by beating Shopfitting by SWS E 5-4 after requiring two ‘Golden Points’ after two games were tied. Abel Hernandez [+16] won 46-45 over Keith James [+20] and Norman Hall [+20] the same score over Chris Tucker [+13].
Molyneux Associates E won 6-3 over the bottom team Astor C. All of Astor’s points came from Toby Spencer standing-in.
Handicap League POT TWO:
Molyneux Associates D inflicted the only defeat in the handicap league rounds on visitors Shopfitting by SWS B by 5-4. Peter Andrews [ +27] led the way for Molyneux with a maximum. There were many close matches, which is a testament to the handicap system designed by members of the Committee.
Molyneux Associates C slipped to second spot in the pot after their first loss of the phase to their B club mates 6-3. The match saw some extreme smashing and hard hitting from both teams in a frantic match
Handicap League POT THREE:
Shopfitting by SWS A secured a 7-2 victory over Lee Mill with Ann Warren [+22] and Mark Chapman [+19] both beating Mike Briggs [+3] 44-43 and 45-31 respectively.
Astor B move into the knock-out phase after a 7-2 win over Fitness At Home, who were themselves looking to progress into the next phase.
With Astor A losing 4-5 to Molyneux Associates F, Fitness At Home miss out as they had not won as many matches as Astor. The closest match saw Astor’s Richard Searle [+24] just beat Shaun Hughes [+25] 25-22, 23-25 (48-47).
Shopfitting by SWS C almost won their first match but fell short losing 4-5 to Horrabridge.
Teams Progressing to the Knock-out Phase:
Pot 1: Molyneux Associates A, Woodland Fort A and Crafthole A
Pot2: Shopfitting by SWS B and Molyneux Associates C
Pot 3: Shopfitting by SWS A, Astor B and Astor A
W/C 06/04/26
Week 6 of 7 in the Handicap League just before the teams split into the knockout phase.
Note: Figure in [ ] indicate the players Handicap.
Handicap League POT ONE:
Molyneux Associates A (Div 1), look likely to win this Pot after an 8-1 victory over Astor C (Div 3). Paul Eaton [+36] managed to win Astor’s only point after the match ended at 46 points-a-piece and with one extra golden point available, served and won the match 47-46.
Crafthole A (Div 1) secured a 6-3 win over Woodland Fort B and hold second place at the moment but with other teams having a game in hand, might not qualify for the Knock-out phase.
Meanwhile Woodland Fort A (Div 2) look likely to proceed to the Knock-out phase after helping themselves to an 8-1 win over Molyneux Associates E (Div 3) with Alan Spencer [+27] obtaining Molyneux’s only point beating Abel Hernandez [+16] 50-47.
Handicap League POT TWO:
Shopfitting by SWS B (Div 1) won 8-2 over Woodland Fort C (Div 3) and look like winning this Pot. Credit goes to Fort’s Mike Willis [+27] who stunned Colin Mitchell [3] winning 25-10, 25-13 (50-23). Willis was also unlucky losing by a single point to Dan Kayes [3] (25-23, 22-25 (47-48).
Despite Molyneux Associates B beating Shopfitting by SWS D 8-1 all matches were played with some unbelievable attacking and defending by all players. SWS’s Rob Barnes [11] required a golden point to beat Ben Stanbury [+8] 23-25, 26-23, (49-48).
Crafthole B (Div 2) scrapped a 5-4 win over Shopfitting by SWS F (Div 2) but the score could have been far better if it wasn’t for Alper Eroglu [+14] standing in and claiming a maximum for SWS.
Molyneux Associates C (Div 2) also look like progressing after a 6-3 win over their D club mates form Div 3. Once again, it was Toby Spencer [+11] who claimed a maximum for his team despite giving away large handicaps.
Handicap League POT THREE:
Shopfitting by SWS A (Div1) require only a solitary point in their final match to progress but this week saw them only just win 5-4 over (Div 3) Fitness At Home with no single player obtaining a maximum.
Lee Mill (Div 2) managed a much needed 7-2 win against a two-player team from Molyneux Associates F (Div 3). There were plenty of fast and furious rallies with the lads from Molyneux going for every point.
Astor A (Div 2) could just about progress to the knock-out phase after a good evening that looked to be going wrong when 1-3 down against Horrabridge (Div 3). They eventually rallied to a 6-3 victory with some hard-hitting rallies with Astor’s Steve Harvey [+16] getting the benefit of some nets and edges.
W/C 30/03/26
Week 5 of 7 in the Handicap League just before the teams split into the knockout phase.
Note: Figure in [ ] indicate the players Handicap.
Handicap League POT ONE:
It is very tight at the top of this Pot with 5 points separating 6 teams, however after playing a game more Shopfitting by SWS E (Div 2) lead Crafthole A (Div 1) by a single point after they beat Woodland Fort B 6-3. The closest saw Fort’s Shaun Hughes beat Keith James 25-23, 24-25 (49-48).
Crafthole A secured an 8-1 win over Astor C (Div 3) who picked up their first point of the phase thanks to Paul Eaton [36] beating Mike Cookson [8] 49-44.
Molyneux Associates A (Div 1), now in third spot, had a scare when Woodland Fort A (Div 2) raced to a 2-nil lead thanks to Brian Luscombe [17] and Abel Hernandez [16] beating their opponents Glynn Price [2] and Garry Reed [3] 50-44 and 50-43 respectively. Nevertheless, Molyneux rallied to win the match 6-3.
Handicap League POT TWO:
Shopfitting by SWS B (Div 1) had to field Chris Dodd [30] (Div3) as a stand-in and he did manage a solitary point helping his team to a 5-4 victory over their F team mates. The toughest match saw Dan Kayes [3] secure the win for his team beating Trevor Mole [16] 25-18, 20-25 (45-43).
Molyneux Associates C (Div 2) are still looking hopeful to reach the knockout phase after defeating Woodland Fort C (Div 3) 6-3, and now lay in second spot thanks to another maximum from Toby Spencer [11].
A great evening by all was had when Crafthole B (Div 2) hosted Molyneux Associates B (Div 1) with the matches encountering good banter between the side with Molyneux just edging a 5-4 win after many close matches. The closest, saw Molyneux’s John Steuart [5] just winning 49-48 over Paul Ager [19] after the match swung in favour of both players numerous times.
Handicap League POT THREE:
Shopfitting by SWS A whitewashed their C team mates after Johnny Hill [3] retired unwell after losing to Sam Rose [3] 50-31. The best recovery of the evening also went to Rose who found himself 16-24 down only to draw level at 24-a-piece against John Sherlock [13] and then for Sherlock to get the last point of the end. Rose went on the just win the next end 25-22 and win the point for his team 49-47.
Fitness At Home are pushing hard to reach the Knock-out phase and after a 7-2 win over Molyneux Associates F the have a good chance in securing their place thanks to a maximum from Adam Forshaw [25].
Horrabridge (Div 3) had a fantastic evening winning 5-4 over Lee Mill (Div 2). The closest encounter saw Wendy Roberts [25] of Lee Mill beat John Cook [28] 25-20, 21-25 (46-45).
Astor A and Astor B (both Div 2) played out another 5-4 match in this division. It was left to the younger members of the teams to battle out the closest match of the evening with Alper Eroglu [14] of the B team just beating Lucas Deves [24] by a solitary point 47-46.
W/C 23/03/26
It was the fourth week (of seven) and the teams are just over half way through the Handicap phase of the season before the knockout phase.
Note: Figure in [ ] indicate the players Handicap.
Handicap League POT ONE:
Astor C (Div 3) are still fighting for their first point of this phase but lost to (Div 2) Shopfitting by SWS E despite their large handicaps.
Woodland Fort B, who are looking to progress to the knockout phase have benefitted from Toby Spencer [11] playing for them as a stand in but were on the receiving end of another Spencer maximum, this time playing for Molyneux Associates E who won 6-3. Abiola Obanla [24] also gained a worthy maximum and just pipped Fort’s Shaun Hughes [17] 25-18, 19-25 (44-43).
Woodland Fort A (Div 2) travelled to Crafthole A (Div 1) and were happy to come away with a 5-4 win thanks to a maximum from Abel Hernandez [16], although when he played Shirley Luckhurst [5] he narrowly won 19-25, 25-18 (44-43).
Due to GCSE exams, the young lads of Shopfitting by SWS G have withdrawn from the Phase and all scores have been voided.
Handicap League POT TWO:
Shopfitting by SWS B (Dan Kayes a maximum) and Molyneux Associates B, both from Div One met with SWS winning 6-3 with Molyneux winning two very close matches. The first being by one point when Ben Stanbury [8] just beating Colin Mitchell [3] by a solitary point. The other saw John Steuart [5] beat Jan Walaszkowski [3] by two points 39-37. Walaszkowski won the first end 25-14 but struggled in the second end losing 12-25.
There was a close match when Div 1 Shopfitting by SWS D just defeated Div 2 Woodland Fort C 5-4 with no single player claiming a maximum. Improving Lucas Deves of Fort [24] played well to just beat Rob Barnes [11] 25-24, 25-24 (50-48).
The handicap system once again ensured many close games, with Molyneux Associates D eventually winning 6-3 against visitors Crafthole B. All three Molyneux players, Alan Davis, Peter Andrews and guest Chris Dodd grabbed a brace, as did Paul Ager for Crafthole.
Molyneux Associates C are looking hopeful to reach the knockout phase after defeating Shopfitting by SWS F 7-2 with Brian Luscombe [17] gaining both of SWS’s points.
Handicap League POT THREE:
With four matches being won within just two points Astor B just beat Lee Mill 5-4 with Astor’s Alper Eroglu [14] winning two of his matches against Mark Chapman [19] 49-47 and Richard Smaridge [11] 43-42. Eroglu went on to gain his maximum.
Another 5-4 victory saw Fitness At Home beat Horrabridge (both of Div 3) 5-4 but it was Horrabridge Isabel Puente [20] with a maximum who was the stand-out player. Do doubt her handicap will be reduced next season!
The third 5-4 victory in this pot went to Molyneux Associates F (div 3) over Shopfitting by SWS C (div 1) but SWS’s Johnny Hill came away with all a maximum for his team. John Palmer [13] of SWS just managed to beat Fraser Scott [31] 48-47 but Scott did then go on to beat John Sherlock [13] 46-45.
Sam Rose [3] took a maximum for Shopfitting by SWS A (div 1) and helped them to secure a 6-3 win over Astor A (div 2).
W/C 16/03/26
It was the third week (of seven) for the Handicap League this week and is proving to be popular and enjoyable by most players appreciating the ability to play other players on what should be a “level playing field”.
Note: Figure in [ ] indicate the players Handicap.
Handicap League POT ONE:
Despite Astor C (Div 3) having the largest handicaps of all players they are still without a point after three weeks, this time losing 9 nil to Woodland Fort B (Div 2) with Keiran McGarry [+36] just losing to Forts Graham Cooksley [+13] 44-50.
Shopfitting by SWS E (Div 2) with a combined age of 219 years played one of the youngest new player Albie Doyle of Molyneux Associates E (Div 3) with Doyle [+33] just beating Les Cole [+17] by a solitary point (25-23, 24-25) 49-48. SWS did however win 6-3.
Molyneux Associates A (Div 1 winners) had a reasonable 7-2 victory over Crafthole A (Div 1) with Iain Oxenham [+6] and Shiley Luckhurst [+5] winning Crafthole’s points beating Garry Reed [+3].
One league point now separates Woodland Fort A (Div 2) and Shopfitting by SWS G (Div 3) after SWS just managed to beat two player Fort 5-4 with no single player winning a maximum.
Handicap League POT TWO:
Shopfitting by SWS B lead pot two by a single point at present after they defeated Molyneux Associates C 6-3 with all of Molyneux players picking up a point.
A great encounter saw Shopfitting by SWS F (Div 2) beat Molyneux Associates B (Div 1) 7-2 with some outstanding attacking and defending from all players.
Crafthole B (Div 2) seemed slightly aggrieved that the handicap set for Isa Puente, after winning all her matches. Puente was standing in for visitors Shopfitting by SWS D (Div 1) but all handicaps are set by scrutinising players averages throughout the league season. However, all of Crafthole’s players managed a single point in their 3-6 loss. The very first match of the evening was the closest with SWS’s Steve Foster [+9] just beating Martin Wilcox [+19] by a solitary point (23-25, 25-24) 48-49.
Two Div 3 teams met and with the handicaps applied Woodland Fort C just won 5-4 over Molyneux Associates D. Two of the matches were won by the solitary point proving the handicaps are about right, as Forts Mike Willis [+27] beat stand-in Chris Dodd [+30] (18-25, 25-17) 43-42 but Dodd got revenge beating Richard Searle [+24] (25-20, 21-25) 46-45.
Handicap League POT THREE:
Shopfitting by SWS A (Div 1) had the edge over Molyneux Associates F (Div 3) winning 8-2 with no less than four of their matches being won within 4 points and only one loss 48-47 with Dominic Goss [+33] beating Mike Briggs [+3].
Astor A (Div 2) rallied to win 5-4 over Shopfitting by SWS C (Div 2) with the best match seeing Astor’s young Lucas Deves [+24] just lose out by a single point 46-46 over stand-in player Johnny Hill [+3].
The Lee Mill ladies Ann Warren [+22] and Wendy Roberts [+25] failed to register a match point and left it to Mark Chapman [+19] to secure their three points against Fitness at Home, John Dodd [+28], Adam Forshaw [+25] and Chris Dodd [+30].
The match between Horrabridge (Div 3) and Astor B (Div 2) had to be rearranged for the following week.
W/C 09/03/26
POT ONE:
Molyneux Associates A (Div 1) beat their Div 3 E club mates 5-4, once again proving the handicapping is quite effective in making a level playing field for all players. The closest match saw Thomas Housden (+31) just beat Garry Reed (+3) 44-43.
Woodland Fort A (Div 2) had no problem in whitewashing Astor C (Div 3) despite a great effort by Paul Eaton (+36)
Woodland Fort B (Div 2) are the early leaders in the division thanks to an 8-1 victory over Div 3 Shopfitting by SWS G. Nell Shivane (+28) saved the whitewash just beating Shaun Hughes (+17) (Total 49-47).
Crafthole A (Div 1) secured a 7-2 victory against Div 2 Shopfitting by SWS E with Iain Oxenham (+6) losing both matches against Chris Tucker (13) 34-50 and Keith James (+20) 38-44.
A rearranged match from last week saw Shopfitting by SWS E of Div 2 put up a good fight against Molyneux Associates A of Div 1 going down 3-6. Glyn Price (+2) of Molyneux found the handicap slightly too much and lost to Chris Tucker (+13) 45-49 and Tony Powlesland (+22) 47-48.
POT TWO:
Despite Molyneux Associates B defeating their D club mates 7-2, the score could have been a lot close with two matches being one by a single point. Steve Hill (B team) had to give Alan Davis 19 points but managed to cross the line winning 47-46. Davis then had the same handicap when facing Ben Stanbury and needed one more point to win the set but lost five points in a row to tie the match. Under the rules of the handicap, Davis then had one extra serve to determine the overall winner and after a long rally just lost out to Stanbury 44-43.
Shopfitting by SWS B (Div 1) had little problem in beating Crafthole B (Div 2) 8-1. Crafthole’s Paul Ager (+(19) saving the whitewash beating Dan Kayes (+2) 47-41.
Trevor Mole (+16) of Div 2 Shopfitting by SWS F required the additional extra serve to defeat Mike Willis (+27) of Div 3 Woodland Fort C to win the match 41-40. Willis did manage to get his team’s solitary point beating Mel Birwe (+16) 50-45.
Molyneux Associates C (winners of Div 2) whitewashed Shopfitting by SWS D, but SWS’s Rob Barnes (+11) only lost out by a single point against Yaz Azizi (+11) 25-18, 17-25 (total 42-43).
POT THREE:
Lee Mill struggled with the late withdrawal of Richard Smaridge and it was left to Ann Warren to pick up the only wins of the evening against Astor A in an 7-2 loss. Astor’s Lucas Deves (+24) won by a single point 45-44 over Mark Chapman (+19).
Horrabridge defeated the visiting Molyneux Associates F 8-1 with Shaun Hughes saving the whitewash 25-15, 24-25 (total 49-40) over Crispin Jordan after starting from scratch as both their handicap were identical.
There was a close match when Shopfitting by SWS A (Div 1) just won 5-4 against Astor B (Div 2). The closest match saw SWS’s Sam Rose (+3) just beat Alper Eroglu (+14) 25-23, 24-25 (total 49-48).
Fitness at Home (div 3), Mike Chapple (+30), John Dodd (+28) and Chris Dodd (+30) secured a 7-2 victory over Shopfitting by SWS C (Div 1) as their handicaps just proved too much for John Palmer (+13), Steve Garlick (+6) and John Sherlock (+13).
W/C 02/03/26
This week the oldest league in the World, the Plymouth & District Table Tennis Club started phase 4 of the season which is a league handicap team event with all players getting their own individual handicaps. This will lead into a Knock-out Cup competition. All matches are two games to 25 points with both games added up to make a total.
POT ONE:
Woodland Fort A had a late player withdrawal and lost 6-3 to their B club mates. B Teams Graham Cooksley won all his matches with reasonable ease but the match between Glenn Delaney (B team) and Norman Hall ended in a draw 47-47 with Hall winning the additional extra point to determine the winner.
Two Div One sides met with the honours going to Shopfitting by SWS B over their D club mates 7-3. The closest match saw D team Bryn Ford (+13) beat Colin Mitchell (+3) by one point. The match was tied at 49 each and therefore Ford had to right to one extra serve to determine the winner.
Molyneux Associates E with father and son Alan and Toby Spencer travelled to Crafthole A and came away with a 5-4 win after receiving some very high handicaps. Players from both sides managed to register victories with 5 of the sets being alternative wins for each player.
POT TWO:
Div 3 Woodland Fort C managed a 5-4 win over Div 1 Molyneux Associates C with Fort’s Mike Willis handicap just too much for Molyneux as he completed a great maximum.
Molyneux Associates C were just too good in defeating Crafthole B. Close encounters saw Crafthole’s Anthony Shapland defeated Ian Reed by 3 points and then subsequently lost to Toby Spencer by the same margin. Thanks to Alan Spencer who guested for Crafthole and played really well to defeat Yaz Azizi by 8 points, albeit with a 16-point handicap.
Molyneux Associates B of Div 1 struggled against Woodland Fort C of div three, but as expected by the many of the competition, the handicaps became a true leveller. Mike Willis (3) of Fort was the stand out player, blocking and returning most of Molyneux efforts.
Another 5-4 score line saw Shopfitting by SWS F beat Molyneux Associates D with 5 set being won within 4 points of each other. Trevor Mole (+16) claimed a maximum for SWS.
POT THREE:
Astor A just beat Fitness At Home 5-4 with two matches won by the solitary point and both in favour of Astor. Steve Harvey (+16) beat Mike Chapple (+30) 48-47 and Lucas Deves (+24) beat John Dodd (+28) 46-45.
Another close match saw Div Three Molyneux Associates F beat Div Two Astor B 5-4 but Astor’s Alper Eroglu was the man of the match after claiming an easy-going maximum.
Div Two Lee Mill forgot they finished bottom of the previous phase and won 6-3 over Div One Shopfitting by SWS C. SWS’s Steve Garlick (+6) was unlucky to lose two of his matches by a single point but Johnny Hill took all of his teams sets.
Shopfitting by SWS A of Div One had some close games with Div Three Horrabridge but won 6-3 thanks to Sam Rose securing a maximum.
Shopfitting by SWS G whitewashed Astor C despite the handicap system trying to level the “playing field” for all players.
