BOP Superchamps Winners Crowned

The annual battle for the right to represent the Bay at the Superchamps national finals took place around the district over the weekend of 10-12 August.  Club teams of 5-7 players in each grade fight it out to get to go to the big dance in September to try to become National Champs.  Some incredibly close matches and ties meant for some intense atmospheres around the clubs.

The B Women came down to a final between Geyser & Te Puke.  The youth of Geyser prevailing, but it took a gutsy comeback from Renee Dudson (Geyser) who was 1-2 down and clawed her way back to win 14-12 in the 5th in a crucial third match.

In the B Grade men it also came down to a final between closely matched Devoy & Whakatane.  A crucial second match between Joe Smythe (Devoy) and Wayne Evans (Whakatane) went all the way to the wire, with Joe saving 5 match balls before taking his first opportunity to win the fifth 14-12.  In the end it proved the difference with Devoy sneaking home 3-2.

In Edgecumbe the D Grade Ladies couldn't have been much closer.  At the of the round robin three teams were tied.  Devoy emerged by only 9 points after matches and games were tied in a tense countback.

The battle at Tokoroa saw the biggest upset with bottom seed Te Puke winning the D Grade men's title.  The underdogs took out top seeds Devoy in the first round, then never looked back.  Despite losing their last tie, they surprised everyone to earn their spot at Nationals.

The teams now start intensive training as well as fund raising to head off to the below clubs for their chance to grab a national title.