(By Steve Hopkins, photo MLTT)
Major League Table Tennis brought its high-octane format to the Pacific Northwest this weekend, with Week 3 action at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland. The hometown Portland Paddlers hosted three other teams – the Los Angeles Spinners, Chicago Wind, and defending champion Carolina Gold Rush. The weekend was packed with action, with the Golden Game deciding all but one of the matches.
Friday Afternoon – Carolina Gold Rush vs. Chicago Wind:
The early match on Friday saw a dominant 18-3 win by the Chicago Wind. Jeongwoo Park logged the first 3, blanking Enzo Angles. Mo Zhang kept things rolling for the Wind winning 2 of 3 against Chen Sun. Doubles went to the Gold Rush with Enzo Angles and Kai Zhang taking 2 of 3 over Jeongwoo Park and Sean Zhang. Then Robert Gardos won 3 straight over Eugene Want to extend the Wind’s lead to 9-3, and Emmanuel Lebesson effectively closed the door with another 3-0 sweep over Mohamed Shouman. They entered the Golden game up 12-3, and dominated the Golden Game for a final victory of 18-3.
Friday Evening – Portland vs. Los Angeles Spinners:
The first day closed with a primetime clash between host Portland Paddlers and the Los Angeles Spinners. LA took the early lead with Lubomir Pistej taking 2 of 3 over Hampus Nordberg. The Paddlers’ Kotomi Omoda then evened the score by winning 2 against Matilda Ekholm. LA dominated doubles winning all three to take the 6-3 lead. However, the Paddlers ralled to win all 6 in the final two matches with Kan Dong-Soo and Min Hyeok Kim each maximizing the score for the home team. This gave Portland a 9-6 advantage heading to the final sprint to 21. Portland won the Golden Game 21-12 extending their win to 15-6.
Saturday Afternoon – Carolina Gold Rush vs. Los Angeles Spinners:
In one of the tightest matches of Week 3, the Carolina Gold Rush defeated Los Angeles 12-9. Carolina only bested their opponents in 2 of the 6 matchups. Enzo Angles beat Kou Lei 2-1, and Eugene Wang defeated Lubomir Pistej 2-1. Each of the other matches went to the Spinners with Matilda Ekholm taking 2 of 3 over Chen Sun, and Pistej/Sareen taking 2 of 3 in Doubles, and Alexandre Robinot winning all 3 in his match against Mohamed Shouman. The result was a 9-6 advantage for the Spinners. However, with the final phase counting for 6 points, this was tight enough to be decided in the Golden game. That game went 21-14 in favor of the Gold Rush – giving them the 12-9 win.
Saturday Evening – Portland vs. Chicago Wind:
Portland was featured again in the late match on Saturday – this time against Chicago Wind. This match was a one-sided win, with the Paddlers leading 10-5 going in to the Golden Game. The Wind’s lone win was Jeongwoo 2-1 over Min Hyeok Kim. All of the other matches went to Portlant with Kotomi Omoda winning 3-0, Kumar/Nordberg winning 2-1, Kang Dong-Soo winning 2-1, and Hampus Nordberg winning 2-1. In the Golden Game, Portland won 21-12 for a cumulative points total of 16-5.
Sunday Morning – Chicago Wind vs. Los Angeles Spinners:
The early match on Sunday was between the Wind and Spinners, the two losers from the Saturday matches. This was another tight match with the two squads nearly tied entering the Golden Game (Chicago 8 – Los Angeles 7). The Wind won the first two matches with Jeongwoo Park taking 2 of 3 over Kou Lei and Mo Zhang sweeping all three against Matilda Ekholm. The Spinners first win came in doubles with Pistej and Sareen winning all three over Gardos and Tran. The final two matches were split with Wind’s Robert Gardos taking 2 of 3 over Robinot, and then Spinners Lubomir Pistej took 2 of 3 over Lebesson. With the Wind up 8-7, they entered the Golden Game which ended in a very close 21-19 score (with Matilda Ekholm closing the door by winning the final two points). Spinners win 13-8.
Final Sunday Match – Portland vs. Carolina Gold Rush:
Sunday’s marquee matchup pitted host Portland against the reigning MLTT champion Gold Rush. Despite how well Carolina had been playing, this match was not close. The Paddlers dominated from the start when Kang Dong-Soo won all three against Wei Wang. Kotomi Omoda kept the momentum by winning 2 of 3 against Chen Sun. Sid Naresh and Nikhil Kumar then extended the lead by taking 2 of 3 over Angles and Kai Zhang. And Portland won both of the last matches as well with Min Hyeok Kim winning all three over Eugene Wang, and Hampus Nordberg taking 2 of 3 over Enzo Angles. After this total dominance, Portland was up 12-3 and had already won. But they did not let up in the Golden Game, winning 21-15 and extending their final score to 18-3.
See You In Illinois:
Portland Paddlers went 3–0 at home, giving them a total of 5-1 for the season – first place in the MLTT standings. The next MLTT event is in Bensenville, Illinois.
