Its time for another table tennis update!Regular readers of the Kwalee blog will know that we have started a tradition of monthly Table Tennis Championships in the office. Here is how the tournament went down in February.

Quarter final 1:  David Darling vs. Alexei Lundgard

This month we decided to “seed” David and Richard to keep them from meeting in the first round as they did last month. Therefore David is on one side of the draw and Richard is on the other. One thing never changes though because, as usual, David was the hot favourite going into the February championship. He made extremely light work of his match with Alexei, taking a 21-4, 21-5 victory. The strongest win we’ve seen so far.

Quarter final 2: James Munro vs. Joe Barron

Since the last tournament, both James and Joe have been determined to improve in the hope of beating David. By practicing together regularly they have developed a strong understanding of how each other play the game. This meant that this was the closest Kwalee Table Tennis match so far and the first to go to three games. James made a good start, winning 21-15, but Joe came back at him to take the second game 21-18. Both players were tense in game three, but some mistakes from Joe meant a 21-18 triumph for James, who would go on to face David in the semis.

Quarter final 3: Lizzie Stabler vs. Mark Oxenham

This was another remarkably close match. A tight first game ended with a 22-20 win for Lizzie but she allowed Mark to get back into the match after she began to make mistakes in game two. Mark took the match with wins of 21-11 and 21-15.

Quarter final 4: Nick Verigakis vs. Richard Trinder

Richard comes into the championship as the second favourite, despite going out to David in the first round last time out. As expected, he brushed Nick aside with a 21-13, 21-6 victory, sailing through to the semi finals to face Mark.

Semi final 1: David Darling vs. James Munro

James was relishing the chance to knock David out of the office tournament, but sadly it wasn’t to be on this occasion. He put up a valiant effort and certainly made the Kwalee CEO work hard for the win, but victory was sealed for DD within two games. He won 21-13, 21-14.

[Since the tournament, James has beaten David in a friendly game. Can he repeat this in the next tournament?]

 

Semi final 2: Mark Oxenham vs. Richard Trinder

Richard really stepped up his game in the semis, to take one of the biggest wins we’ve seen so far. It was all over in a flash for Mark! Richard’s fast play and risky shots took him to a 21-4, 21-9 win.

FINAL: David Darling vs. Richard Trinder

Both of our top seeds made it to the final, but for all the skill Richard showed against Mark in the semis, he couldn’t get into his stride against David’s notorious spin serve. DD successfully defended his Kwalee Table Tennis Championship title, with a 21-14, 21-10 win.

Can David be stopped? Will James be able to defeat him in a championship match after beating him in a friendly? Come back for the March Championship to find out!