(by Steve Hopkins)
Major League Table Tennis returns for its fourth season in two weeks. The September 11-13 weekend will see action in Duluth, Georgia at the Gas South Convention Center. Chicago Wind, Atlanta Blazers, Princeton Revolution, and Los Angeles Spinners will all be in action.
Action opens out West just two weeks later at Compass Arena in Willowbrook, Illinois (September 25-27). Illinois will feature defending champions Portland Paddlers, the New York Slice, the Bay Area Blasters, and Chicago Wind.
MLTT sponsorship revenue is up and Graton Resort & Casino is now a part of an ever-growing list of corporate partners. Perhaps even more impressive – almost thirty Olympians suited up as players a year ago, and the quality of play continues to grow.
The MLTT Format remains four singles and one doubles, with games played first-to-eleven (without winning by two), followed by the Golden Game — a race to 21 where all five players on a roster rotate in every four points, worth six bonus points to the winning team. This will be the second year with “open-serve doubles”, where players can serve from anywhere to anywhere on the table, doing away with the old diagonal requirement.
The Portland Paddlers may be the favorite on paper again, last year a regular season with a 16-2 record before a tournament run that ended with a surprising season championship.
Who will win the East where Carolina Gold Rush have been near the top every year? Enzo Angles and Chen Sun are the core back for the Gold Rush, while the Atlanta Blazers will counter with Yuya Oshima and Rachel Sung. Maybe one of the other teams will make a big jump and become a surprise.
In the West, Portland is the favorite, but the Bay Area Blasters with Lily Zhang and Jinbao Ma will be hoping to catch the leaders. New players are in the mix this year, and every team starts with a chance.
The 15-week regular season runs through early April, with tickets on sale now at mltt.com. The MLTT has grown every year – Season 4 will be the best yet.
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