(by Steve Hopkins, photo MLTT)
Major League Table Tennis moved on to Compass Arena in Willowbrook, Illinois, for Week 2 of Season 4. The Chicago Wind was at home in the Windy City, but it was the Bay Area Blasters that blasted their way through the competition – winning matches against the Portland Paddlers, New York Slice, and the host Chicago Wind.. The weekend belonged to Bay Area, which left town as the league’s only unbeaten team, but the Golden Game still produced plenty of drama, including one finale decided by a single point and another that flipped a match outright.
Friday: Portland Paddlers vs. New York Slice
Portland opened its weekend in Willowbrook with a convincing performance. Hampus Nordberg got the Paddlers started with a 2-1 win over Wenzhang Tao, pulling away 11-3 in the third, and Yerin Kim followed by taking two of three from Mendy Wang. New York struck back in doubles, where Kaden Xu and Koki Niwa swept Sid Naresh and Nikhil Kumar without much trouble. Jens Lundqvist steadied things for Portland with a 3-0 win over Mohamed El Beialy, and Min Hyeok Kim edged Niwa 2-1, taking a tight 11-10 second game, to send the Paddlers into the Golden Game up 9-6. Portland ran away with the finale 21-9, with Nordberg leading the way, collecting the six bonus points for a 15-6 win.
Friday: Bay Area Blasters vs. Chicago Wind
Chicago got the better of the early exchanges Friday evening, but Bay Area owned the back half of the match. Robert Gardos won the opener for the Wind, dropping a tight first game to Taehyun Kim before taking the next two. Lily Zhang evened things up with a 2-1 win over Mo Zhang, bouncing back from a lopsided 11-2 second game to close it out 11-7. Chicago’s Sean Zhang and Jeongwoo Park then came from a game down to beat Baek Kwang-il and Taehyun Kim in doubles, but that was the last bright spot for the Wind. Chihwei Yeh swept Emmanuel Lebesson in three razor-thin games, two of them decided 11-10, and Jinbao Ma followed with a 3-0 win over Park to send the Blasters into the Golden Game ahead 10-5. Taehyun Kim got some revenge in the Golden Game – making a nice run as the Bay Area took the Golden Game 21-15 for a 16-5 win.
Saturday: Portland Paddlers vs. Bay Area Blasters
Portland came into Saturday’s early match riding high, but Bay Area made it two wins in two tries. Taehyun Kim and Lily Zhang each won their singles 2-1 over Min Hyeok Kim and Yerin Kim, with both Blasters closing strong in the third game, Zhang taking hers 11-3. Baek Kwang-il and Taehyun Kim then swept Sid Naresh and Nikhil Kumar in doubles, though every game was close. Jens Lundqvist gave the Paddlers something to cheer about, rallying from a game down to beat Chihwei Yeh 2-1, finishing with an 11-10 third. Hampus Nordberg looked set to add another after taking his first game 11-3 off Jinbao Ma, but Ma answered by winning the next two, and Bay Area headed into the Golden Game up 10-5. Bay Area also won the Golden Game 21-13 for a 16-5 victory.
Saturday: New York Slice vs. Chicago Wind
Both teams came into Saturday evening looking for their first win of the weekend, and it was Chicago that found it. Robert Gardos set the tone with a 3-0 sweep of Wenzhang Tao, and Mo Zhang won the first two games against Mendy Wang before Wang salvaged the third. The doubles was the closest match of the night: Kaden Xu and Koki Niwa took the second game 11-10 to force a decider, but Gardos and Jeongwoo Park won the third 11-8. Yiran Wu opened her match against Sean Zhang with an 11-4 game, but Zhang took the next two, and although Niwa beat Emmanuel Lebesson 2-1, Chicago went into the Golden Game leading 10-5. New York made a real push in the finale, with Niwa, Wu and Xu keeping the Slice narrowly ahead through the early rotations, but Gardos and Mo Zhang each had strong runs to swing it back, and the Wind closed out the Golden Game 21-14 for a 16-5 win.
Sunday: New York Slice vs. Bay Area Blasters
The scoreline says 16-5, but Sunday’s opener was the most dramatic finish of the weekend with a Golden Game 21-20 victory sealing the win. Koki Niwa gave New York an early lead with a 2-1 win over Jinbao Ma, taking the deciding game 11-10. Lily Zhang answered with a 3-0 sweep of Mendy Wang, and Bay Area’s Baek Kwang-il and Taehyun Kim won the doubles in three over Niwa and Kaden Xu. The last two singles went the distance, with Elsayed Lashin beating Wenzhang Tao 2-1 and Taehyun Kim taking the first two games from Mohamed El Beialy before El Beialy grabbed the third, leaving the Blasters ahead 10-5 going into the Golden Game. That’s when the Slice came alive. Niwa opened with 3 straight and New York cut into the lead – but Bay Area got to 21 first, winning the Golden Game 21-20 and the match 16-5 to stay perfect on the weekend.
Sunday: Portland Paddlers vs. Chicago Wind
The weekend’s final match was the only one of the six where the Golden Game changed the result. Chicago started fast, as Robert Gardos swept Jens Lundqvist, dropping just two points in the first game, and Mo Zhang recovered from an 11-10 opening loss to beat Yerin Kim 2-1. Portland then won the last three matches of the singles and doubles portion. Nikhil Kumar and Hampus Nordberg came from a game down to beat Isaac Vila and Jeongwoo Park, winning the third 11-3. Nordberg came back out to edge Sean Zhang 2-1, and Min Hyeok Kim swept Park to give the Paddlers an 8-7 lead going into the Golden Game. Chicago wasted no time taking back the lead. Ultimately the wind turned the score around, narrowly winning the Golden Game 21-19 and winning the match with the 13-8 comeback victory.
When the weekend in Willowbrook wrapped up, the Bay Area Blasters had gone 3-0 in their season debut. Chicago bounced back from a Friday loss to finish 2-1 and even its season record at 3-3, Portland went 1-2, and New York left 0-3 despite pushing Bay Area to the final point of Sunday’s Golden Game. MLTT’s Season 4 continues in the East when the next match is played in Westchester, New York (Oct 9-11).
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