Twenty-year-old Luke Burridge brought off the shock of the day in the Braintree Table Tennis League individual events when he knocked out reigning champion Paul Davison.

Davison, winner for the last two years and a record eight times in all, looked to have regained control of the quarter-final when he pulled back to two games each after losing the first two.

But Burridge stuck to his guns, especially his big gun, an incredibly fast forehand smash, and emerged victorious at 11-8 after a fluctuating fifth game.

Burridge, the No 7 seed, will be one of three new names in the open singles semi-finals to be played on finals night at Earls Colne Recreation Centre on Friday (7pm).

He will be joined by Gary Young, the No 2 seed, and Aron Jordan, seeded at No 8, together with Alistair Hill, who reached the semi-final in 2023.

Both Young and Jordan – who face each other in the semi-finals – had relatively easy passages to the last four, Young dealing with veteran campaigner Ken Lewis and Jordan’s patient probing game nullifying the spirited promise of Alesha Ellis-Austin.

Hill on the other hand had a humdinger of a match against No 5 seed Adam Cuthbert, coming from behind to win a tight battle 11-9 in the fifth game.

Davison & Young, the top seeds, made their way through to the final of the men’s doubles where they will face the Sudbury pair of Lewis & Karl Baldwin.

In the semi-finals, they accounted for Robin Armstrong & Adam Cuthbert while Lewis & Baldwin came past James & Oliver Hicks

Davison and Young will be facing each other in the veterans’ singles final after semi-final wins over Lewis and James Hicks respectively.

Alesha Ellis-Austin, new to the league this year, is the new ladies’ singles champion after a victory over the holder Louise Hartshorn in an event played to a finish at the weekend.

Ellis-Austin will still be seen twice on finals night. She & Rev Matthews will face Natalie Dodd & Adam Cuthbert in the final of the mixed doubles and she is also in the final of the restricted singles after a victory over Richard Fifield in the semi-finals.

Her opponent will be Matthew Brown, beaten in the league this season only by Natalie Dodd, who did not enter that event.

And there is the prospect of a youngest ever winner of the junior boys’ singles where top seed 10-year-old Ethan Collins lines up against 16-year-old James Howard.