Corinthians A lead the way in Scarborough Table Tennis League top flight

Last year’s runner-ups will hope to go one better this season, but will face a challenge from both last year’s winners Premier Club Eagles, and newly-formed Premier Club Falcons.

Eagles feature a revamped line-up which includes Scarborough’s promising junior player, Phoebe O’Brien.

The stand-out tie of the fixtures so far has been Premier Club Eagles’ 7-3 defeat of Corinthians, which included O’Brien inflicting a shock 3-2 win over Glenn Hodgson, as each of the Eagles side took two wins apiece against an experienced line-up.

Division 1 threw up a quite astonishing age gap, with 12-year-old Phoebe O’Brien facing Mike Fenby of Corinthians.

Mike started playing table tennis at Phoebe’s age, and at 81 is still enjoying the game. On their first meeting this season youth beat experience, with O’Brien winning 3 sets to 1.

The Nippy Taxis Division 2 looks to be a more open contest.

After three matches Premier Club Wolves lead the way, with one win and two draws.

Wolves’ star youngster, Seb Richards, has made a fine start with five individual wins from six matches and will likely feature towards the top of the divisional averages.

Whitby Resolution sit in second place.

With talented veterans, Barry Davies and John Hanson, leading the team, they’ll look to challenge for the title.

Currently in third place, the experienced Picadore side should also mount a challenge.

Resolution’s match with Wolves has been the most eye-catching match thus far. In a five-all draw, John Hanson triumphed in all of his matches, but Davies fell to an impressive performance by Richards: 10-12, 11-2, 19-17, 3-11, 7-11.

In Motor Vehicle Repairs Division 3, Whitby’s second team, Endeavour, lead the way with three wins from three.

Kevin Barleycorn has an unbeaten record, while Charlie Sedman sits on an 83% win record which included an impressive treble in the match with Premier Club Penguins.

Premier Club Scorpions are in second place, and feature three promising youngsters, Liam Timmins, Jamie Curran and Hieu Dam, who are beginning to build on last season’s performances.

Scorpions’ 5-5 draw with The Badgers has been the tie of the division so far, with Badgers’ captain, Brian Goodliffe, drawing on all of his experience to complete an unbeaten performance.

Throughout the season, teams from all three divisions will take place in a handicap cup.

Each team’s ranking counts towards a points deficit or advantage, meaning that lower ranked teams have a good chance of beating their higher ranked counterparts.

With the first round completed, a number of Division 1 sides outfits have already fallen by the wayside, with the most notable result Corinthians A’s narrow defeat to The Badgers.

The quarter-final draw will feature three teams from Division 1, three from Division 2, and two from Division 3.