The penultimate weekend of the Senior British Clubs Leagues 2025/26 Premier Division is on the horizon with everything to play for as the teams meet once again at Fusion this Saturday – Valentine’s Day.

Ormesby head the table and will once again be led by David McBeath and backed up by Portugal’s unbeaten Enio Mendes, who impressed last time out as BATTS hosted the second weekend of the season. Ormesby will look to maintain their two-point lead over closest competitors Brighton, who are sat in second place on 22 points, as the clubs each have two fixtures on this one-day third weekend.

The top two met last time out and, in fact, Ormesby do not face any of their fellow top-three sides this time. However, they are set to face the impressive Fusion side who are sat in fourth, who are represented by all players who practise on a regular basis at the club. Before that, the North East side will have to get past Drumchapel Glasgow to ensure they keep their noses in front, which is no easy task as Drumchapel Glasgow are represented by a host of talented players, including seven-time English national champion Paul Drinkhall, who made his return to the BCL Premier Division for the first time in 10 years last time out and was impressive in winning all his singles fixtures, helping the Scottish side secure their first victory of the season. 

Drumchapel Glasgow will be hoping for an inspired performance from Drinkhall if they are to be successful against the leaders, with two huge battles on the cards, against both England team-mate McBeath and Mendes. Xinliang Sun could also be instrumental if the Scotland side are to defeat Ormesby, having defeated Ben Piggott to claim the BUCS individuals finals 2024, and having defeated Louis Price from 2-0 down earlier this season when the teams met in North Ayrshire.

It doesn’t get much easier for Drumchapel Glasgow, as round 10 will see them face second-placed Brighton, which again promises to be a superb match up as Brighton will have the services of the impressive defensive player Ihor Zavadskyi, Sweden’s David Andersson, Welsh Senior No 1 Callum Evans and Felix Thomis, who reached the second round of qualifying at the WTT Star Contender London. 

Brighton are only two points behind the leaders and will be hoping to keep their title charge hopes alive, where a victory this season would see them secure a historic three-peat, having won the division for the past two seasons. As mentioned above, the south coast side take on Drumchapel in the afternoon session of weekend 3, after they start their matchday with a tie against Ormeau. 

Ormeau found no luck last time out, losing three consecutive matches by a scoreline of 4-3, before meeting the league leaders in their most recent fixture. Last time out Oriol Monzo was impressive in winning six from eight matches, however he is unlikely to feature this time out. This is because of the exciting announcement made by Ormeau earlier this week, unveiling their new signing Par Gerell, who is set to make his debut in London. 

Gerell, a Swedish table tennis legend, renowned for his serve and known by many as the best server in the world, previously had a highest world ranking of 27, and with 12 Swedish national titles, a World Championships bronze medal, European Championships silver medal and with 15+ years experience competing in the top flight in France, is definitely a fantastic addition to the Ormeau ranks.

He could also be joined by Owen Cathcart, who is registered to feature for the side, and was due to complete last time out, having to withdraw through injury. Cathcart has been quiet on the British scene for some time, however is undeniably one of the strongest British young players on the circuit, training in Sweden and competing in the German Bundesliga and featured in the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games. Ormeau also have the services of England international Sophie Earley, and top Irish players Paul McCreery and youngster Paedar Sheridan to call upon. 

Ormeau will meet eBaTT in round 10 at 14:30 this Saturday, in a fixture between both of the 2025/26 newcomers. Last time out Ormeau took the points thanks to a 4-3 victory, where the doubles was pivotal, Monzo and McCreery combining to come out on top 3-2. eBaTT were impressive in all of their fixtures in BATTS, fighting hard in every battle they faced, finding themselves on the losing end of many five set fixtures. The additions of Poland’s Patryk Dziuba, Ismaila Akindya and Nahom Asgedom had an instant effect on the club, who will be hoping to launch their relegation survival push this weekend. 

First up for the North London based club will be hosts from weekend one, North Ayrshire TTC. With eBaTT’s squad depth invested in significantly and still being able to call upon the services of Simon Belik or Patryk Dziuba, the man to put an end to McBeath’s unbeaten run, which you can relive by watching the video below, whilst being supported by a number of UK-based top players, they will be hoping that they can reverse the 5-2 scoreline they suffered when the clubs first met. 

North Ayrshire TTC debutant and professional player Lode Hulshof from the Netherlands was only able to claim one victory from eight last time out, showing the strength throughout the division; but his side led by homegrown star Martin Johnson, who pushed Paul Drinkhall all the way to five sets last time out (watch the highlights below), will be hoping that they can add to their tally of points, after suffering two 4-3 defeats in the same day on weekend 2. This will be a tough ask taking on an eBaTT side fighting for their lives, followed by third-placed BATTS, who will be hoping to keep the pressure on the leaders. 

BATTS, the hosts last time out and the side which entered weekend two unbeaten in first place, recovered well to take two wins from a possible four, after Saturday losses to Brighton and Ormesby. Could the impressive Frenchman, Alexis Douin, return to give the Essex side a boost, as he still maintains his unbeaten in the UK record?

BATTS also have former senior Mixed Doubles national champion, now turned move star, Josh Bennett, available for selection. Fresh from his feature in Hollywood blockbuster Marty Supreme, he was able to add victories over Conor Nugent and Sophie Earley to help his side come out on top 4-3 against Ormeau. You can hear from Josh Bennett about his role in the movie, when we caught up with him at BATTS on the second weekend of BCL Premier action here.

BATTS take on the hosts on their home patch in round 9, as they face South London-based Fusion. BATTS came out on top when the sides first met on weekend one, thanks to Isaac Kingham exacting revenge on Larry Trumpauskas coming out on top 3-2, in a repeat of the U21 National Championships final.

Fusion will be hoping to leapfrog BATTS if they can win both their fixtures this weekend, where they will count on inspiration from the home crowd advantage, which could help their squad, as all six players who have featured so far this season all practise at the club on a regular basis. Taking on league leaders Ormesby in round 10 will be an uphill battle, but the London side which features father and son duo Lorestas and Larry Trumpauskas will be hopeful. The younger Trumpauskas will be looking for revenge against McBeath; where experience overcame youth on weekend one, depsite Trumpauskas having a number of match points. 

The penultimate weekend is set to be one of the highlights of the season, with the strength of the division constantly evolving with a number of both UK-based and foreign stars set to light up the venue at Fusion Table Tennis Club, with entry totally free to watch, this weekend is not one to miss. Relive the best bits of the season so far, on the Table Tennis England YouTube channel now.

If you are unable to get down to London to support your favourite stars, tune into the Table Tennis England live stream from 10am on Saturday to watch how the action unfolds, and be sure to check out the British Clubs Leagues website to find the latest results, player averages and take a look into the other strands of the British Clubs Leagues competition.