The 19th annual running of the Cippenham Team 2* Open on Sunday proved once again to be very popular with entries having to be closed off around three weeks before the official closing date.

This competition, devised by Cippenham Table Tennis Club, allows for teams of two rather than individual players and, after the preliminary round groups, features a progressive knockout format that produces a final ranking list of all 24 teams.

All the favoured teams from the eight groups won their sections and these teams then played off against one another to secure a place in the quarter-finals. The four losers of these matches then had to play a winner from a similar play-off subjected to the teams which placed second in the preliminary round groups.

Only the “Equipment Junkies”, namely Kevin Fang and Quentin Kwan, lost the potential for a top eight finish when beaten by “Chaos & Giggles” in the form of Steve Joel and Kinga Oryl, the latter team thus joining the originally-fancied other seven teams in the quarter-finals.

With Chris Doran, ranked nine in the England men’s list, spearheading a team called “Toddies 44’s”, their aggregate ranking points generated a top seed billing. However, the format of the competition requires both players to contribute to a team win during the progressive knockout rounds and with Matthew Horrocks not quite able to fulfil this, eighth place was all that could be achieved.

The place at the top of the draw was, as a consequence, taken by “Only came to Sling!”, apparently a phrase used around the Bristol table tennis scene by Lee Phillips and Scott Cooper. They beat “Chaos & Giggles” to secure a place in the semi-final but then found eventual runners-up “RA+NM”, Rayan Ansari and Marcel Ndongala, too hot to handle. That pair had also ended the prospects of last year’s winners, Kidlington TTC, albeit with a change of personnel, one round earlier.

In the bottom half of the draw, the “Perfect Match” of Mircea Neagu and Ewelina Sychta, the 2024 champions, were progressing well against “Toddies” and “Hanging by a thread” in the form of Kyle Murphy and Anatol Gasiowrovski, to reach the final.

“Perfect Match” won the perfect match 2-0 in the final against “RA+NM”. Neagu eclipsed Ansari 11-2, 11-7, 11-7 before Sychta secured the title by defeating Ndongala 11-8, 8-11, 11-9, 12-10.

Doran and Sychta were the only unbeaten players throughout the day while Neagu, to Doran, Ndongala, in the final against Sychta, and Gasiowrovski, also to Sychta, all lost only once.

The tournament was organised as a companion event to the Senior British Clubs League weekend by Graham Trimming and was refereed by Ken Phillips, deputising for Sue Hayes.

Results

1. Perfect Match: Mircea Neagu & Ewelina Sychta
2. RA+MN: Rayan Ansari & Marcel Ndongala
3. Hanging by a Thread: Kyle Murphy & Anatol Gasiowrovski
4. Only came to sling!: Lee Phillips & Scott Cooper
5. Hutsmen Bromance: Mark Collins & Dan Pound
6. Chaos & Giggles: Steve Joel & Kinga Oryl
7. Kidlington TTC: James Rule & Alexander Sheppard
8. Toddies 44’s: Chris Doran & Matthew Horrocks

For nearly 300 action photos from the event, please click here.