Picking the winner on finals night at the Noosa Table Tennis Club has always been a tricky affair. Form can often go out the window.
Bill Brown was freely tipped to take out honours in A grade. But there was a problem. Bill was carrying some weight in his saddle. Bill, a self-confessed failure at doubles, was handicapped from the start. Would he win enough doubles matches on the night. The answer came in the form of Steve Gardner. Steve won all three doubles while Bill could only win one. However Bill avoided any cognitive dissonance by rationalizing that singles is the main game. And on that account, he was a winner, at least in his own mind. Unfortunately for Bill the trophy had gone to Steve.
In the Wannabes final, Moses Kim, being undefeated throughout 11 weeks of the rounds, was the red hot favourite to take the title. However under the spotlight of finals night Moses faltered. It was David Perriman who won his three singles including an upset win against Moses. But it was not enough for David to win on the night. It was again a case of he who wins his three doubles stands tall. Bernhard Trauer clinched the title by winning two singles and all three doubles.
The B grade final came down to the wire. The fate of two players, Alan Franks and 13 year old George Scott, depended on the outcome of the final doubles match of the night. Alan and George found themselves on opposite sides of the table. If George won he would take out the title. If Alan won he would force George into a count back to decide the winner. Alan won the doubles and claimed victory by the narrowest of margins, winning 14 games to 8 against George’s 14-11 in the count back.
