Follow updates here throughout the day as WTT Star Contender London kicks off at the iconic Copper Box Arena.
How to follow
Every match on every table is streamed on the WTT YouTube channel, with a host of English players on day one as qualifying gets underway.
With some of the best players in the world in the main draw starting on Thursday, there is everything to play for!
We will also provide regular updates every day Instagram And Facebook.
Photos by Michael Loveder.
2 p.m.: Max Radiven saved five game points against France’s Remi Betelu as their first game went to 14-12 in favor of the Frenchman (WR 167) – Radiven had a game point at 11-10. Betelu showed his class in the next two matches, which he won 11-3 and 11-6.
1:35 p.m.: Jakub Piwowar took on one of the world’s best defenders in Germany’s Ruwen Filus, who is now ranked 418th, but much higher. It was a tough task and Piwowar failed to get enough points as he was defeated 3-0 (11-5, 11-2, 11-8), although he did save three match points.
1:30 PM: Abraham Sellado went up against South Korea’s Ho Jeongmun (WR 424), underestimating the difference of more than 600 in the rankings. Sellado only trailed after the first point of the first game and three straight points from 5-5 helped him make it 11-9. Ho hit back 11-6 in the second, but the third was the crucial match as Sellado had five game points and also saved a few before Ho won the match 18-16. The fourth was 11-6 for Ho, although Sellado saved three match points.
1:00 PM: Ella Pashley (WR 908) recorded her first win at this level in her debut appearance, taking the show court by beating Denmark’s WR 525 Mille Stoffregen 3-0 (11-9, 11-5, 11-3).
12.45 pm: Kacper Piwowar gave a good impression of himself after initial nerves against Ho Kwan Kit (WR 166) from Hong Kong. The first game was lost 11-2, but he held the same position for the entire second game and lost 13-11 – he had no game points. Ho closed the match 11-6 in the third.
12.30 pm: David McBeath recorded an emphatic victory over Luxembourg’s Mael Van Dessel to advance to the second qualifying round. McBeath (WR 986) conceded just 11 points as he defeated the world number 360 3-0 (11-5, 11-4, 11-2).
12.05 pm: Anna Green’s hopes were ended by Romania’s Elena Zaharia (WR 197), although Green (WR 808), the first English woman in action today, fought back after losing the first 11-3 to level the match with an almost as emphatic 11-4 scoreline. Zaharia defeated the third 11-9 and closed the score 11-7 in the fourth.
11.45: Felix Thomis won the battle of the English lefties with an incredible score of 17-15 in the fifth. Thomis had every match point as he fought back from an 8-2 deficit in the decider to win 3-2 (13-11, 7-11, 12-10, 3-11, 17-15) – the match lasting almost 44 minutes.
11.20: Andrew Baggaley said they were close margins in his defeat to Croatia’s Filip Zeljko (WR 197), as the world number 461 was defeated 3-0 (11-9, 11-8, 13-11).
11am: Competing in his hometown, Larry Trumpauskas won a match against Malaysia’s Wong Qi Shen (WR 217) to level his match at 1-1 before his opponent stepped up the heat to win 3-1 (11-5, 7-11, 11-5, 11-2).
10.55 am: Great comeback from Germany’s Mia Griesel to beat Hong Kong’s Kong Tsz Lam 3-2 (13-15, 12-14, 11-7, 11-7, 11-4).
10.30 am: One match in the first ever WTT event in London and the first player to score a win was . . . The English Joseph Hunter.
Unranked Hunter took on Nigeria’s Abdulbasit Abdulfatai (WR 201) and, after losing the first two points of the match, went on an astonishing run, losing only once in the entire match. He trailed 3–2, but won the next nine points and then won the first five of game two, and eight of the first nine, as he took the score 11–5.
In the third, Abdulfatai took a 9-5 lead, but Hunter stormed back to lead 10-9. He missed that match point, and a subsequent one, before saving a game point. Two more match points came and went before Hunter crossed the line 16-14 – a decent result in his first match at this level.
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