THE THRILL OF VICTORY…AND THE AGONY OF DEFEAT: BROWARD EVENT IN REVIEW
The Grande Dame of US table tennis clubs, the Broward Table Tennis Club, was the site of the East Division’s 5th week of competition. It did not disappoint.
January 11, 2024. In the 1970’s, the now-iconic opening sequence of ABC’s Wide World of Sports would immediately get viewers’ hearts racing with the dramatic score and Jim McKay’s epic voice declaring “Spanning the globe, to bring you the constant variety of sport. The thrill of victory…and the agony of defeat…the human drama of athletic competition.” If you’re too young to know what we’re talking about, do yourself a favor and see how the OG’s of sports broadcasting did it back in the day, it was a pure shot of adrenaline that is unmatched by any other intro to this day: ABC’s Wide World of Sports Intro 1974.
The teams of the East Division of MLTT have been jostling for position for the first half of the season, and while there had emerged favorites and dark horses, it wasn’t until this recently-concluded weekend that certain things became clear. After three days of emotional, glorious and gut-wrenching competition, we can now say that the roles in the race for the playoffs have crystallized. This means that while some teams experienced the thrill of victory, others suffered the agony of defeat in a manner much more visceral than in previous events, when more of a “we’ll get them next month” emotional cushion was available (reminder: rewatch all the action on MLTT’s Youtube Videos page here).
Posing for a group photo with the Broward TTC owner Carlos Zeller, it was all smiles before the last day of competition.
Carolina Gold Rush (results: 2-1 record, from +27 vs 2nd place Florida to +42)
The rich get richer. Despite a surprising opening day Golden Game upset at the hands of a very fired up and ascendant Chicago team, Coach Alex Yang’s impressive squad just continues to roll. Consistency, Consistency, Consistency is the calling card of the Gold Rush, both in availability and ability. The brushed off that Friday loss and systematically destroyed both Florida and Princeton with little drama. #1 Enzo Angles just continues his relentless excellence. Doubles partner #4 Hong Lin’s game showed no signs of cracking either, as their doubles pairing remains the class of the East. If Romain Lorentz, Cobra Kai Zhang or Jeremy “Captain Canada” Hazin partied it up over the holidays, it did not show in their games. That can’t be said of the usually stupendous Bastien Dupont, as he was noticeably a tad off from his usual level…but it didn’t cost Carolina much as they padded their stranglehold on the top playoff spot to the point where if it was ever in doubt previously, it sure isn’t now. Chk-chk!!! That’s the sound of the Majorponghead LOCK OF THE WEEK: The Gold Rush are going to the playoffs as the #1 seed out of the East.
Also zero drama in the Team MVP award, it obviously goes to Enzo Angles who must also be the presumptivet favorite to win MLTT’s first end-of-season MVP Award (and $5k award!). Enzo’s production was once again simply unreal, as quantified by his Fantasy League stats: 70 points from singles, 35 points in doubles, and 44 points from the GG. His fantasy total of 149 was head and shoulders above the rest, with only Princeton’s Ievgen Pryschepa even in the same zip code with 123 (only two other players surpassed the 100 point mark, Florida’s Marc Duran with 104, and Chicago’s #6 Alexandru Cazacu with 101). To translate fantasy into reality, this means that Enzo won 7 of 9 singles games, 7 of 9 doubles games, and 11 points in the GG. Can you hear the “MVP! MVP!” chants raining down upon you, Enzo? That’s the entire staff at Majorponghead headquarters gathered in the office cafeteria chanting for you to win the MLTT MVP award!
Princeton Revolution (results: 2-1 record, from -21 vs 2nd place Florida to -13)
Empirically not as impressive a performance as Carolina, but easily arguable that Coach Mathias Habesohn’s team produced a minor masterpiece as they came into Broward missing two mission-critical players (Jinxin Wang and #3 Koyo Kanamitsu) and a very under-the-weather Mathieu de Saintilan, and pulled off edge-of-your seat victories over Florida and Chicago (21-18 and 21-19 respectively in the GG’s). Princeton’s top gun Jishan Liang came out guns blazing, his all-out consequences-and-possible-eye-injuries-be-damned style on full display during 2-1 wins over Florida’s Duran and Chicago’s Provost, blasting thundering forehands and more and more often, surprise backhands past opponents too quickly for them to react. De Saintilan gave this team a big boost (after a big dose of OTC cold medicine) with his MPH’s UPSET OF THE WEEK 2-1 victory over Florida’s #5 Daniel Gorak. The modern defender put on a spectacular show despite obviously struggling with his energy level, varying his tactics and spin to flummox Gorak, who is normally superb against defense. The aforementioned #18 Ievgen Pryschepa once again did his thoroughbred workhorse act, racking up wins in singles, doubles and GG with almost machinelike consistency. Alexander Chen was at his best against Florida, delivering a clutch 2-1 win over Onaolapo. Free Agent Nishant Lebaka, returning for his second tour of duty with the Revolution, absolutely shined when he gave his adopted family a crucial point vs Chicago against Pinto, and then exorcised some Tan family ghosts by prevailing over Emily to win the closest GG of the weekend (21-19). Lebaka has certainly cemented his position as the #1 free agent in MLTT, having undergone the gauntlet of MLTT pressure now twice.
Strategically, the Revolution essentially sold out on their matchups vs Florida and Chicago, which left them vulnerable on Sunday against Carolina. They fought to the bitter end but could not prevent the somewhat inevitable stomping they took, which removed a little shine off of what was otherwise a crucial weekend. Not only did they fend off the worst case scenario of a fatal performance spiraling them out of playoff contention, but they actually ended up, against all odds, chomping into the Crocs’ lead.
MVP Award: this one was a tough call. De Saintilan’s inspirational performance against Florida was reminiscent of MJ’s Flu Game. Pryschepa played his best to date, he has been getting better with each passing event and Broward was great even by his own standards. But as Master Yoda once said, no…there is another. And that another is none other than Angela Guan. The classic defender, after suffering crushing heartbreaks earlier in the season, has redoubled her training efforts and with the support of her coach and teammates, raised her level closer and closer to that of when she was national collegiate champion for Cal Berkeley. She was a veritable model of unaperturbed consistency during all her doubles matches, even sprinkling in a few high percentage attacks along with seemingly never missing a cut shot. She and Jishan nearly defeated Gorak/Ekholm (losing 2-1 after being up 8-4 in the decider), then pulled off a fantastic and important 2-1 win over Cazacu/Tan. She was the key figure in the Golden Game victory over Florida, outplaying her nemesis Ekholm for the winning point (which sent many barriers flying), as well as against Chicago when she shockingly took 3 of 4 points from Timothy Wang in a crucial swing stage.
Princeton’s pregame warmups often involve Coach Mathias Habesohn taking off his coaching hat and donning his Butterfly Rifones…as you can see, the man still got it.
Florida Crocs (results: 1-2 record, from -27 vs Carolina to -42, +21 vs Princeton to +13)
The Croc collars are getting a little tight. The hometown team pulled out all stops to amp up their hometown advantage, filling the venue with rabid supporters banging noise sticks and even bringing a mascot. Combined with the more intimate surroundings of the Broward TTC venue, as opposed to the somewhat more cavernous big arenas of the usual tour stop, this made for an incredible atmosphere. Emcee supreme Adam Bobrow (hit Adam’s subscribe button, Pongheads) was fantastic and whipped the crowd up into a veritable frenzy, cheering on their hometown heroes….alas against Carolina and even a compromised Princeton lineup, it was to no avail as the Crocs suffered difficult losses. But with their backs to the wall, Coach Frank Arias rallied his troops on Sunday in front of a Standing Room Only crowd. In a battle against Chicago’s heavy hitting Cazacu, #5 Daniel Gorak reasserted himself convincingly with a 2-1 victory, and then with partner #11 Matilda Ekholm, brought out the brooms for a critical 3-0 sweep. #15 Ojo Onaolapo managed to steal a game from Pinto, as did Mishel Levinski in dramatic, golden point fashion. Similarly, Marc Duran just managed to frustrate #14 Damien Provost’s desperate attempt to run the table on him, eking out a game to give Florida the 1-point advantage and perhaps a bit of momentum going into the golden game that ended like this:
As you can see and hear, the atmosphere was incredible. Having so many fans not only made for a raucous (albeit 100% pro-Crocs) environment, but it was also great to see so many young fans seeking autographs and the graciousness and generosity of all MLTT athletes in giving the fans their time.
Not just a mascot…also an Ojo fan.
MVP Award: although in the past this has been a somewhat perfunctory exercise in awarding it to Gorak, this week the Croc’s main man just didn’t play up to his own high standards. Marc Duran takes the honors on the basis of his overall excellence in the all-important Golden Games. Duran won an eye-popping total of 16 GG points, more than his next-closest rival Cazacu (14), and markedly more than big names such as Enzo (11), Provost (12), and Pryschepa (12). The fiery Spaniard is living proof that the GG is a bare-knuckle fist fight, not a marathon…his raw emotion serves him well and he plays his best when many of his opponents underperform due to the excruciating pressure.
“I just want to….PUMP YOU UP!”
Alexander Cazacu striking his classic powerlifting pose after a crucial golden sweep against Carolina’s Lorentz.
Chicago Wind (results: 1-2 record, from -13 vs Florida to -26, -4 vs Princeton to -13)
Coming into Broward, it was evident that Coach Eric Owens’ Chicago squad had turned the switch and the entire vibe surrounding the team had completely reversed itself since their terrible, awful, not-good hometown weekend in which they went 0-3. Obviously blessed with as much talent as any other team in the league (look no further than their singles record, essentially the same as that of Carolina and Princeton), Chicago had then refocused itself on the GG and lo! and behold, seen better results. They were every bit in the hunt for the playoffs as 2nd place Princeton, and with the Revolution fielding a compromised roster, they were certainly primed to make a strong leapfrogging move this weekend. This all seemed right on track after they pulled off the stunning upset victory on Friday afternoon over the previously impervious Gold Rush, coming back from an initial 0-3 start to the GG to snatch a 21-18 GG and 12-9 match win. Damien Provost got the team started with a tornado-like golden sweep of Enzo, and Timothy Wang continued his ascendancy with strong points against Hazin. Thunder Dan Liu, settling on the penhold grip for good now, also continued his return to form with thunderous results against Hong Lin (MLTT’s first penholder vs penholder matchup, as astutely noted by announcers Evan Lepler and Matt Hetherington), as Coach Owens pulled off a masterful tactical maneuver by placing Emily Tan against Dupont. Tan rewarded his faith by winning a crucial point with a bold backhand open, to even it up at 18-18, setting the stage for Thunder Dan to overpower Lin to close it out 21-18, handing Carolina its first loss since seemingly the beginning of recorded time. On Friday night, especially after Princeton took out Florida, Chicago was right in the mix and seemed poised to make it a 3-team race for the 2nd playoff spot. But that all fell apart in stunning fashion over the next two days. On Saturday, as we’ve previously described, Chicago suffered an incredibly difficult loss after going toe-to-toe with Princeton in singles/doubles. Then on Sunday, as we’ve previously described, the raucous hometown crowd carried their beloved Crocs over the finish line over the Wind. With these two losses, a 26-point gap between them and a playoff spot, and only 2 events left on the calendar, things are now dire.
Provost seemed to acknowledge the situation as such in his post-match self-flagellation, the pain and frustration etched on his face as he beat himself up over his inability to sweep Duran, despite earning two high balls to put away at 9-9 and 9-10. He felt that if he could have cut the match score from 9-6 to 8-7, the more favorable starting deficit for Chicago could have launched them to another GG victory such as the one they pulled off on Friday against Carolina. What was etched across Provost’s face other than The Agony of Defeat? As many MLTT athletes have echoed, Provost ended his tragic soliloquy by quietly stating “The Golden Game is a fantastic thing. The most important fact is that it is absolutely so fantastic to watch, just fantastic drama for the spectators. But for the players….” (his voice trails off)…”this…this is torture.”
Celebrity Row! Just a few of the league luminaries taking in the MLTT action from the stands. Can you guess which player was feeling under the weather this weekend?
Even in defeat, Provost stated that this was an absolute win for the league and the sport of table tennis in the US. The energy of the crowd, the raucous in-game chants, the nuclear reaction when hometown Florida finally won…all of this was not only to be experienced in person, but certainly much of it was felt by the multitude of viewers online. In fact, MLTT drama is so riveting that it’s normal to see players from other teams in the stands, or multiple iPads and iPhones streaming the action during team dinners (this is when we say MLTT players can work remotely). The image of a player’s head peeking through the black separator curtains to watch the Golden Game instead of warming up is now so common, it’s set to become a meme before the next article.
MVP Award: Alexandru Cazacu. Only the 4th player to crack 100 fantasy points at Broward, Cazacu was especially potent in the Golden Game, where he posted 14 total points won, second only to Duran. His resounding victory over Princeton’s modern defender supreme, De Saintilan, was a master class in power attack versus defense. Whenever Caz had the choice to drop shot or turn up the power, he chose the latter. He chose powerfully.
Concluding Thoughts on the East Division Playoff Race
We’re calling this as we see it. The Carolina Gold Rush have locked up the top seed in the East. The 42-point cushion they’ve built up on the Florida Crocs is, for all intents and purposes, insurmountable. The race for the 2nd playoff spot is now down to a two team race, Florida and the Princeton Revolution. Florida sits in the pole position at +13 and are the favorites to hold onto the coveted spot. Princeton, however, should like its chances as they just pulled off a W over a fully-loaded Crocs team while fielding their B-squad. GG randomness nothwithstanding, just think what they can do with their A team in the final two events? Finally, the Chicago Wind are sadly the season’s first casualty…a deficit of 26 points is certainly not too much mathematically to overcome in two events, but Broward weekend was akin to what professional golfers on tour call “moving day,” and normally if you move in the wrong direction on moving day, that’s a sure sign that you’re trending down and on the way out.
Next tour stop will be the West Division in Portland, OR on January 26-28th. Rumor has it that all four West Division teams will be at full strength so it should be LIT!! Tickets for the event at the Portland Expo Center are already available here. Until then, keep pongin’, Pongheads!
