Larry Trumpauskas and Mari Baldwin are the Junior National Cup champions.

Trumpauskas beat Josh Bruce and Ben Piggott to the title on a three-way countback, while Baldwin won eight out of nine matches to take the gold ahead of Sienna Jetha and Anna Green – who edged out Saskia Key for bronze.

The event at BATTS TTC in Harlow had a full complement of girls, with Rebecca Savage having replaced the unwell Anaya Patel on the even of the tournament, but there were only nine boys as Ralph Pattison withdrew injured.

The competition is played on a round-robin basis over two days.

Boys

None of the boys ended day one with a perfect record, but Josh Bruce was out in front thanks to four victories from five matches – the defeat coming in the first round to defending champion Louis Price, by a close 3-1 (15-17, 14-12, 11-7, 12-10) scoreline.

Bruce went on to beat Ben Piggott, Rohan Dani, James Hamblett and Olly Cornish, while Price was defeated 3-1 (11-9, 3-11, 11-9, 13-11) by Hamblett in round two and 3-1 (11-9, 9-11, 11-9, 15-13) by Joseph Hunter in round five. Price also needed five to overcome Larry Trumpauskas.

Piggott lost 3-1 (5-11, 11-3, 11-7, 16-14) to Trumpauskas and needed five to beat Cornish and Dani – in the latter, he came from 2-0 down in round one to win 3-2 (5-11, 11-13, 11-5, 12-10, 11-7).

There were some other close matches – Tom Rayner getting past Hamblett 14-12 in the fifth in round one and Trumpauskas beating Rayner 11-7 in a decider. Rayner also lost 13-11 in the fifth to Hunter.

All of which left Bruce top of the table after day one, followed by Price and Piggott, though Trumpauskas and Hunter had played a match fewer because of Pattison’s absence.

Round six proved to be a crucial round as Trumpauskas defeated his Fusion club-mate Bruce 3-1 (11-4, 7-11, 11-6, 11-4), while Piggott overcame Hunter from 2-0 down – the score in that one 3-2 (9-11, 11-13, 11-7, 11-8, 11-9).

Round seven then saw Trumpauskas stave off a comeback by Hamblett to win 3-2 (11-7, 11-5, 6-11, 9-11, 11-5), while Price – who had sat out round six – staged in touch by beating Rayner 3-0, and it was also 3-0 for Bruce against Hunter.

Piggott had his ‘rest’ in round seven and then came back to the table with a 3-1 win over Ormesby club-mate Rayner in round eight. Price beat Dani, Trumpauskas defeated Cornish and it was Bruce’s turn to miss a match.

All of which meant Trumpauskas led the way on 13 points, with Bruce, Price and Piggott all on 12.

Dani’s 3-1 (11-6, 7-11, 11-5, 11-6) defeat of Trumpauskas muddied the waters. Piggott pulled himself level with Trumpauskas, and his 3-1 (11-8, 6-11, 11-9, 11-6) win over Price also ended the latter’s chances. With Bruce beating Rayner in four, it meant a three-way tie at the top.

In the event, the abacus was not needed – Trumpauskas had actually beaten both of the other two earlier in the competition. Bruce’s victory over Piggott in the second round gave him silver, with Piggott taking bronze.

Girls

All the girls won at least one match on the first day, with Mari Baldwin leading the way with a perfect record and not dropping a game all day, though there was a sprinkling of close ones.

Sienna Jetha and Saskia Key were in the other medal positions, having lost one match apiece – Key to Baldwin in round four and Jetha to Key by a close 3-2 (8-11, 11-7, 8-11, 11-6, 12-10) scoreline in round one.

Rebecca Savage had a cracking match against Evie Pace in the first round, winning it 3-2 (11-8, 8-11, 14-12, 12-14, 11-9), while Anna Green came from behind to beat Megan Jones 3-2 (4-11, 4-11, 11-4, 11-9, 11-6) in the first round.

Jones had her own comeback in round two, defeating Isabelle Lacorte 11-7 in the fifth, and Key beat Maliha Baig from 2-0 down in the same round.

Round three saw Jetha beat Jones in the fifth and Pace defeat Lacorte in a decider, while Green had to dig deep in round four to see off Savage 3-2 (5-11, 11-4, 8-11, 15-13, 11-2).

There were also two super matches in the last round of the day – Key beat Pace 17-15 in the fifth, having come from 2-0 down, and Savage overcame Jones 14-12 in a decider, having earlier been 2-0 up.

Top seed Baldwin started day two with two more 3-0 victories to stand on the threshold of winning the gold.

Key kept her hopes alive with a 3-2 win from 2-0 down against Pashley in the first round of the day – the scoreline 3-2 (10-12, 7-11, 11-8, 11-3, 12-10) – while Jetha also won, against Savage.

Baldwin’s second win of the day was against Jetha by a close 12-10, 12-10, 11-8 margin, and Key stayed in touch by beating Lacorte in three.

Baldwin’s 3-1 (4-11, 12-0, 12-10, 11-7) defeat to Baig in round eight left the door ajar for Jetha, who beat Pace in three, while Green’s fine 3-2 (8-11, 11-9, 11-13, 11-7, 11-4) win over Key meant the medals were still up for grabs going into the final round.

Baldwin made sure there was not a second blip as she defeated Savage 3-0 (5, 12, 7) to take the gold, while Jetha had to fight to secure her medal, eventually overcoming Pashley 3-2 (11-3, 6-11, 11-9, 7-11, 11-5).

Green beat Lacorte in three (5, 5, 9) to move on to 15 points, but it was still in Key’s hands as victory over Megan Jones would see her claim silver – she would have gone above Jetha by virtue of head-to-head record.

But Jones prevailed 3-2 (8-11, 11-8, 15-13, 7-11, 11-8), meaning Key missed out on a medal altogether – Green taking bronze courtesy of that victory over Key in round eight.

Finishing positions

Boys: 1 Larry Trumpauskas, 2 Josh Bruce, 3 Ben Piggott, 4 Louis Price, 5 Joseph Hunter, 6 James Hamblett, 7 Rohan Dani, 8 Tom Rayner, 9 Olly Cornish.

Girls: 1 Mari Baldwin, 2 Sienna Jetha, 3 Anna Green, 4 Saskia Key, 5 Maliha Baig, 6 Ella Pashley, 7 Rebecca Savage, 8 Megan Jones, 9 Isabelle Lacorte, 10 Evie Pace.