{joomplu:1733}
Peter Cohen reports:
Conventional sporting wisdom has always dictated that semi-finals are the best tournament games - that is until last night’s Superleague Grand Final, where the Studs and WHOREFC combined to tear up the rulebook to produce one of the all-time action-packed classics.
With spectators battling for position off court the Fives on court was simply stunning throughout this clash. Studs’ captain Spencer Chapman and WHOREFC mastermind Will Skjott had their squads fired up from the start as they tore into each other at the first rotation. Nick Bunyan and Mike Skjott laid an early marker for WHOREFC in defeating Gareth Hoskins and Spencer Chapman 15-11, but the Studs bounced back – Nick Shaw and Jeremy Hindle taking Ed Hewens and Simon Baring down 15-10.
If the players were feeling the pressure of going into the second rotation at 1-1, they didn’t show it. Shaw and Chapman were outstanding in keeping Bunyan and Baring to 9 (the biggest margin of the night), meaning that WHOREFC’s Hewens and Skjott had to win their game against Hoskins and Hindle to keep a realistic hand on the trophy. In an unbelievable game, with both teams on 14-14, Hewens held his nerve to give his side serve and then close out to bring the overall match level at 2-2.
The Studs went into the final rotation with a slight advantage – a draw would see them win if WHOREFC could not overturn a 7-point scoring deficit. The Studs’ Hoskins and Shaw survived a Hewens and Bunyan fightback to take a 3-2 lead with a 15-12 score, meaning that Baring and Skjott needed to not only win their match, but by 10 clear points. Hindle and Chapman fought for every mark, taking 11 to WHOREFCs 15, resulting in an overall match score of 3-3 (81-76), to the Studs. thus securing the Championship.
The Studs’ Spencer Chapman was ecstatic at lifting the title, but paused to comment “Awesome, just awesome. The lads were brilliant, they’ve been brilliant all season. It was tooth and nail all evening, credit to WHOREFC and to Will (Skjott), tonight’s match was immense and they played full part in that”.
Will Skjott was full of praise for the Studs but seemed to rue what might have been “One of the great performances tonight, by both sides. Can’t fault my team they played out of their skin, but the Studs were equal to us and in the end it could not have been closer. Next year we’ll be back, and hopefully we’ll see a different result.”
John Reynolds, who also presented the trophies, was amongst the spectators transfixed by the encounter “Incredible game, the standard was fantastic – it was beautiful to watch, what a spectacle”.
The result sees Gareth Hoskins win the MVP Race to take home the MVP trophy with a massive 287 points scored, overtaking Kerry White who finishes not only as highest ranked female, but also second overall. Mike Skjott deserves a mention for extending his incredible win streak to 15 - unprecendented in almost any competition.