Brighton – who will be hungry to complete a league and cup double – take the number 1 seeded position, while Ormesby take the second spot. BATTS will occupy the third seed position and Ormeau fourth.
The event, which takes place on 1-2 June, is a progressive knockout format – the quarter-final winners go through to the semi-finals, while the losing teams go on to compete for positions 5 to 8. After the semi-finals, the losers play off for third and fourth positions and the winners go into the final to determine who lifts the trophy. Once all the play-offs are complete, a final finishing order from 1 to 8 is known.
In each team match, there are up to seven individual matches – six singles and one doubles – the doubles match is the third one to be played. The matches will be played to a result – ie the first team to win four matches. Each team consists of four players, three of whom will compete in the singles. Any two players can play in the doubles.
Quarter Final draw:
1. Brighton (S1) vs NATTC (S5)
2. BATTS (S3) vs Fusion (S6)
3. Ormeau (S4) vs Drumchapel (S8)
4. Ormesby (S2) vs Nottingham TTC (S7)
North Ayrshire TTC’s founder, Billy Main expressed his delight at being given the opportunity to host the competition.
“North Ayrshire Table Tennis Club are delighted in being awarded the second ever SBL Premier Cup.
“Bringing the top eight teams together from all over the UK will make it a special event for table tennis on the West coast of Scotland.
“We’ll be hoping home advantage and a home crowd will inspire us to victory.”
BATTS won the inaugural event last year on home turf having defeated this year’s SBL Premier Division champions, Brighton, in a tense final. Fusion ended up taking home the bronze medal. Read the report from last year here.
All matches will be available to watch on TTE.TV, with more details on scheduling available closer to the event.
More information on the SBL Cup is available here – SBL Premier Cup – Table Tennis England