ROSTERS REVEALED FOR WESTERN DIVISION WEEK 2 TEXAS SHOWDOWN
Kayla Goodwin (USA) headlines a list of 9 new faces and free agents that we will see at the Showdown in Katy, Texas (Merrell center), tickets are on sale now!
October 22, 2023. With less than a week before Major League Table Tennis’ Western Division takes the stage in the Merrell Center in Katy, Texas (Oct 27-29, get your tickets here), the rosters have been set by the coaches and we almost cannot believe what we’re seeing. Largely due to Team USA commitments to participate in the Pan American Games, bench players and free agents are being called upon in staggering numbers. Unlike the relatively stable rosters of the Eastern Division team, this coming weekend will be CHAOS AT THE OK CORRAL with no fewer than NINE players making their MLTT debuts. Week 1 of the Western Division was already pretty wild, the large scale roster changes about to take place will undoubtedly add yet another level of unpredictability to the mix. Let’s take a quick look at who’s in, and who’s out.
Portland Padders’ Coach Christian Lillieroos (with fellow MLTT Coach Eric Owens of the Chicago Wind), in hairier days gone by
Portland Paddlers. Out (2): Tyrese Knight, Rachel Sung. In: Daniel Tran, Kayla Goodwin
The Portland Paddlers suffer 2 defections. Team USA’s Rachel Sung is heading down to Santiago, Chile for the Pan Am Games but in her place Coach Christian Lillieroos has shrewdly chosen another lefty attacker in the aforementioned (aforepictured?) free agent Kayla Goodwin. We got a good look at Kayla during the East Coast Combine at Princeton Pong, and we were impressed. She’s young but aggressive, unflappable and swings a big forehand…making her a solid replacement partner to go along with the mighty Kou Lei in doubles, should that be their strategy (umm…it should). Crowd favorite Tyrese Knight will also be absent due to the Pan Am Games, but in his place the young and ascendant Daniel Tran will make his MLTT debut. The lefty wunderkind would be an interesting backup choice for a doubles pairing if Kou Lei’s ankle injury rears its ugly head, but from what we’ve heard, the Mighty One is good to go.
Olajide Omatayo (NGR) and Ondrej Lapcik (CZE) both make their debuts for the Seattle Spinners this weekend
Seattle Spinners. Out (2): Paul Zhenyu Qi, Johan Hagberg. In: Olajide Omotayo, Ondrej Lapcik
Coach Luba Sadovska comes down to Texas packing some heat. Although she will miss the services of Paul Qi and Johan Hagberg, Ondrej Lapcik seems to be a more-than-adequate replacement and let’s be honest - Ola Omotayo is going to be a nice upgrade. The 2019 African continental champion will need to adapt quickly to MLTT’s quicker and more pressure packed format, including the crucible known as the Golden Game, but we can’t imagine a better situation for him to do it…nothing better than a bench full of fired up (translation: LOUD) youngsters to get you locked in. We’re excited to watch Omotayo make his first appearance on the MLTT stage because the man can flat out play.
Majorponghead joined in the online celebration that erupted last week when MLTT announced Senura Silva (SRL) was claimed off the Free Agent list and signed to a full player’s contract with the Bay Area Blasters. He joins Alexis Douin (FRA) and free agent Angie Tan (USA) making their MLTT debuts.
Bay Area Blasters. Out (3): Ma Jinbao, Lily Zhang, Tianrui Zhang. In: Senura Silva, Alexis Douin, Angie Tan.
For reasons we are not allowed to disclose, last week Coach Maggie Tian had to replace Tianrui Zhang permanently, which came as a big shock to the whole MLTT community. But subsequently, in the least surprising move of the season, she selected the universally adored Senura Silva off the FA list. Silva, who had distinguished himself with his fantastic performance for the Princeton Revolution in week one, had not only made himself the most coveted free agent but also the likely replacement for any team which needed a permanent replacement. He didn’t stay on the shelf for long, and now that he’s making that short (by Texas standards) 3+ hour drive from collegiate TT powerhouse Texas Wesleyan to the Merrell Center for week 2 of the Western Division, he’s actually not missing a beat and it’s almost as if he was drafted in the first place.
While the addition of Silva is a bright spot, the loss of Zhang is difficult. Also missing will be Ma Jinbao and Lily Zhang, and to be blunt, they will be impossible to replace. We’ll eagerly await to see what Alexis Douin and Angie Tan are able to do, but it’s certainly not an ideal situation on paper for Bay Area. Good thing is, the matches aren’t played on paper.
Emily Wang (USA), Bruno Ventura do Anjos (BRA) and Aaron Zexuan Wang (CAN) are the three new faces we’ll see suit up for home team Texas Smash (Adam Bobrow will also be there, but as emcee/Master of Ceremonies)
Texas Smash. Out (3): Amy Wang, Hiromitsu Kasahara, Nandan Naresh. In: Bruno Ventura dos Anjos, Emily Wang, Aaron Zexuan Wang.
When the tour makes its stop in your home state, you obviously want to show out for your fans. But Coach Jorge Bitzigeio’s squad finds itself in a similar spot as Bay Area, losing three mainstay players from its week 1 roster. Veteran Bruno Ventura dos Anjos will bring his beautiful game and his never-say-die attitude to the Lone Star state, while former US collegiate champion Emily Wang sees her first action of the season with Amy Wang off to Santiago hopefully bringing back a medal or three for the USA. Sadly, one of our favorite players Nandan Naresh will also be unavailable, and we confess that we have little scouting on his replacement Canadian Aaron Zexuan Wang except a few grainy videos that show him playing an attacking two-winged style for the University of Toronto a few years back. Texas’ #1 David McBeath played better and better as the first weekend progressed, eventually becoming that alpha #1 player Texas needs him to be and showing that he’s rounding into form following his surgery. But make no mistake, he will need to carry an even bigger load this coming weekend if Texas is to hold their own. Darryl Tsao and Yoan Rebetez will also need to level up their play. The good news for Texas is that both of these young guns have already proven they can handle the heat of the Golden Game, and that should give Texas some optimism going in. Let’s go, Texas…remember the Alamo!
Thank you to the reader who anonymously sent us this graphic after we totally nailed the Western Division week one predictions (not) and had Coach Christian Lillieroos dancing on our graves for all the world to see.
Normally this is the part of the article where we sign off by making bold predictions about how the teams will fare. We won’t be doing that anymore, as our prediction business has made us look more foolish than an unsuspecting Adam Bobrow victim, unaware that the sky snake is coming for them and their dignity. We appreciated all the fan emails not letting us forget that we had picked both the Florida Crocs and Portland to finish last. Special shout out to the reader who sent us the graphic above, a creative re-imagining of our logo. Thank you. We have been properly humbled and in the future we will be very VERY judicious with our prognostications. Just please…no more Papyrus font, we are begging you. Unless your name is James Cameron and you were taking a break from editing Avatar 3 by watching MLTT and then reading our blog. That said, we’ll just go on the record as saying Bay Area and Texas are going to have a tough time with their makeshift rosters with 3 new players (including one FA) each. Portland shouldn’t miss a beat, we expect Kayla Goodwin to do a pretty decent Rachel Sung impression…and Seattle might even find themselves improved thanks to the Olajide Omotayo Factor.
If anyone wants to let us hear it, we’re at majorponghead@gmail.com. Keep pongin’, pongheads!
