(by Steve Hopkins, photo MLTT)
Week 6 of Major League Table Tennis visited Duluth, Georgia where the Princeton Revolution dominated the competition and the hometown Blazers held their own. This week, it was the Atlanta Blazers without far to travel, but they had to contend with the Princeton Revolution who are second in the East Division, the Chicago Wind, and the Bay Area Blasters.
Friday Afternoon – Bay Area Blasters vs. Princeton Revolution
Week 6 opened with a dominating performance by the Princeton Revolution logging 11 points (of 15) in the initial phase. Seungmin Cho, Wang/Cho, and Koyo Kanamitsu all won their matches. The two wins for the Blasters were Lily Zhang who took 2 of 3 over Jiangshan Guo and Elsayed Lashin who took two of three from Benedek Olah. Despite the dominant start, the Golden Game was extremely close with Princeton winning 21-20. Of course, the winner of the Golden Game gets 6 points, so that made the total a very lobsided 17-4 overall.
Friday Evening – Atlanta Blazers vs. Chicago Wind
The hometown Blazers faced off against Chicago in a primetime clash, and it did not go in the Blazers’ favor. Atlanta won only two of the five first phase matches with Kayama Yu and Fent/Yu playing well. But the Wind saw wins from Mo Zhang, Emmanuel Lebesson, and Robert Gardos – giving them a 9-6 lead at the end of that phase. Momentum continued in the Golden Game with the Wind logging a dominant 21-7 win. Wind win the match 15-6.
Saturday Afternoon – Bay Area Blasters vs. Chicago Wind
Saturday’s first match saw the Blasters rebound with a tight 13-8 win. The Blasters’ Jinbao Ma, Elsayed Lashin, and Lily Zhang all won their matches. The Wind’s Gardos and Gardos/Tran won their matches. The Wind actually led 8-7 entering the Golden Game, but the Blasters dominated the second phase (21-14) giving the Blasters the 13-8 win.
Saturday Evening – Princeton Revolution vs. Atlanta Blazers
Saturday’s marquee matchup featured the hometown squad against the top seed. The two teams traded blows through the first phase with Princeton emerging with a narrow 8-7 lead. Cho, Guo, and Kanamitsu all won for the Revolution with Chandra and Yu/Xia winning for Atlanta. Princeton dominated the Golden Game (21-7) to give them a combined score of 14-7.
Sunday Morning – Princeton Revolution vs. Chicago Wind
Princeton was pounded on Sunday morning. At the end of the opening phase, it was 11-4 in favor of the Wind, and the Golden Game didn’t matter. As it turns out, the Revolution won the Golden Game – but still lost 11-10. Gardos, Zhang, Park/Zhang, and Park all won their matches. The lone win by the Revolution was Benedek Olah 2-1 over Emmanuel Lebesson.
Sunday Afternoon – Atlanta Blazers vs. Bay Area Blasters
The weekend closed with a come-from-behind victory by Atlanta. Trailing 9-6 at the end of the first phase, they narrowly won the Golden Game 21-19 to give them the 12-9 match victory. The Blazers’ Oshima and Chandra logged their two wins in the first phase. Lashin, Kim/Kwang-il, and Lily Zhang each won for the Blasters.
Standings
The Princeton Revolution and Chicago Wind each went 2-1. The Atlanta Blazers finished 1-2, defending their home turf. The Bay Area Blasters ended 0-3. At the moment, Princeton is in second in the East behind the New York Slice. The Chicago Wind are firmly in third in the West behind Portland and Texas.
Next up: MLTT heads to San Antonio for Week 7. That area of Texas has had a November heat wave with record-breaking temperatures – things can only heat up further as MLTT comes to town next weekend.
