Legends invitational continues great rivalries
A veteran player managed to win the last Legends Invitational table tennis tournament of 2018 in Pretoria.
Earlier this month October it was once again time for the Legends Invitational hosted by Play Table Tennis at Pretoria Country Club.
The seventh instalment had the toughest qualifying criteria to date, and only 24 players made the cut.
The preliminary rounds consisted of eight pools of three players, and these produced few surprises. The top twelve seeds all made it through to the round of sixteen unscathed. There were a few minor upsets in the first two rounds of knockouts, but again, the top seeds prevailed.
When the semi-finals arrived, everyone knew that it was anyone’s game, with fairly equal head-to-head records to date. Whoever played well on the night would take it.
In the first of the two semi-finals, veteran Koos Kunneke showed what good preparation it was playing in the GNTTB Super League, defeating top-ranked and top-seeded Marius Morkel in straight games, and sending a clear message to the other semi-finalists.
In the second, Kobus Heyns suffered with a shoulder injury he picked up earlier in the night, and couldn’t quite match the prowess of the much younger and second-seeded Ruan Kahts, losing it in straight games as well.
Down to the final, and the stage was set for an epic. The two finalists did not disappoint in producing a spectacle. Toe-to-toe they went, matching each other all the way until two games all they went into the final set. Some spectacular table tennis followed, neither player giving an inch.
In the end there could be only one winner, and it was Kunneke who finally got the upper hand, winning the final set with a marginal score of 11-9.
Although the win was worth well over 700 ranking points it wasn’t enough for Kunneke to unseat Marius Morkel at the top of the rankings. With another Super Series ahead this might soon change if he should keep his current form.
Kunneke was full of praise for the quality of the competition, adding that it served as perfect preparation for the SATTB Veterans Championship happening in Potchefstroom later in October.
The next Legends Invitational will take place at the beginning of February 2019, after the next round of nine legs of the second Super Series has been completed.
To get involved with grassroots and amateur table tennis at all levels, have a look at www.playtabletennis.co.za for more information.
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