Current National Champion Tom Jarvis is set to make his debut for Brighton against Ormesby on Saturday, just days after signing for the south-coast side. He returns to the league after almost a decade to bolster Brighton’s ambitions of challenging for a top spot in the Premier Division.

It will set up a tantalising encounter as Jarvis, England number three, is likely to face England team-mate and England number five David McBeath. 

World-ranked 160, and based in Sweden, he will line up alongside Finnish ace Alex Naumi and David Andersson.

Speaking ahead of the tie Jarvis said: “David’s one of my good friends in Sweden and he’s been playing for Brighton, and I’ve known (club founder) Tim Holtam for a long time and it’s a really interesting club.

“I spoke to Tim and he told me about the ambition they have to win this year and how me playing would help them.

“I thought it would be nice to go back and play in England, I’ve been away for so long, so I thought ‘let’s do it’.” 

He’s sure to face a tough challenge, with Ormesby yet to lose a tie this year. They sit top of the table, having dropped just three sets in their opening matches. 

Elsewhere BATTS have a packed weekend ahead of them as they line up against both Drumchapel Glasgow and Ormeau.

They head to Scotland on Saturday to face Drumchapel Glasgow who are still searching for their first win of the season.

They will be welcomed by Danny Bajwa, Chris Wheeler and Xinliang Sun. Wheeler is back in action after some time away from the league, and “looking forward to getting back out in front of home support”. 

Chris Doran, Josh Bennett and Joe Ferguson will play for the travelling side. They will be hoping to keep their unbeaten run alive, having won both their matches so far this year.

The same BATTS trio will then be up early on Sunday as they then head to Belfast for a match against Ormeau. Cliff Carder from BATTS summed up how they are feeling ahead of both match: “We’ve had some great clashes with these guys and are looking forward to more of the same. It should be an exciting weekend, with some excellent table tennis guaranteed.”

Ormeau’s squad of Damien Provost, Daniel Berzosa and James Skelton also have a double-weekend scheduled. They face Fusion at 14:00 on Saturday before BATTS’ visit on Sunday.

Gervis Knox, team manager said: “It’s been a long wait to play our first home matches and our home crowd is looking forward to it. Damien and Daniel both come in sharp, playing a Spanish league game on Friday night, their team Universidad de Burgos is currently leading the Spanish Super division.” 

In Saturday’s early fixture, scheduled to start at 12:30, TableTennisDaily will welcome North Ayrshire to the PingPod in Bristol. 

TTD beat Drumchapel Glasgow a couple of weeks ago, to pick up their first Premier Division victory.

Anthony Kent, Team Manager said: “Getting our first win on the board has been a huge boost for us and we’re hoping this acts as a springboard to get another win against North Ayrshire.

“We’re expecting a really tough match against a solid side but we’re going into it full of confidence and are ready for the battle ahead.”

Callum Evans, Umair Mauthoor and Tom Maynard will line up for TTD.

For North Ayrshire coach Chirs Main, this weekend brings an opportunity to move up the league. 

He said: “The team are looking forward to our match away from home v TT Daily, this is their first season in the British Premier League so it’s always exciting playing new players and team at a new venue. Both teams are sitting mid-table and on the same amount of points so it’s important to get the win and move up the table as 2023 comes to an end.”

Hugo Torngren, Martin Johnson & Colin Dalgleish will travel for North Ayrshire. 

You can watch ever fixture live across the weekend on TTE.TV.

Fixtures

Saturday 16th December

TableTennisDaily v North Ayrshire – 12:30

Ormeau v Fusion – 14:00

Ormesby v Brighton TTC 14:00

Drumchapel Glasgow v BATTS 16:30

Sunday 17th December

Ormeau v BATTS – 13:00