AFTER winning all five of his matches in the Jersey’s Senior Top 12 tournament, Chris Wheeler entered the Channel Islands Top 12 tournament as the number one seed and duly stormed to victory over all of the Sarnian opponents in his path.
The showcase event pits the top six from Jersey, against Guernsey’s top six in a bid to find the senior CI champion for the year.
Scottish-born Wheeler, who relocated to Jersey last summer, has already displayed the pedigree that earned him spots for his country at both junior and senior level.
Not to be outdone, Leon Pierre, Jersey’s second seed, was in fine fettle himself.
The Islander’s sole defeat in the Jersey qualifier was against Wheeler, and Pierre went undefeated against all six Sarnians to claim the runners-up spot and seal a Jersey one-two, ahead of Guernsey table tennis stalwarts and siblings Lawrence and Josh Stacey.
Wheeler was once again in scintillating form on enemy soil, coasting past all six opponents without requiring a deciding game in any of the matches.
Wins against Lawrence Stacey [3-0]; Josh Stacy [3-1]; Phil Ogier [3-1]; Oscar Cleal [3-1]; Jamie Ferbrache [3-0] and Matthew Stubbington [3-1] were all crucial, with Pierre also winning out his six matches, hoping for a potential slip up from Wheeler.
Over the course of 11 matches, the Scot won 33 games, dropping just seven in the process.
Meanwhile, Pierre also handled his Sarnian counterparts with relative ease.
He required a deciding game against Lawrence Stacey [3-2] but Josh Stacey [3-0]; Ogier [3-1]; Cleal [3-0]; Ferbrache [3-0] and Stubbington [3-1] were all unable to lay a glove on the talented Jerseyman.
With increased exposure to high-level table tennis, the former Island Games team gold winner has been excelling for Liverpool University in the Premier Division of the BUCS University League.
Meanwhile, Chris Morshead, who finished fifth overall, enjoyed four wins out of six in Guernsey, all 3-0 wins, while both losses came in deciding games.
Elsewhere, Jersey Table Tennis was celebrating more success further afield from two of their shining stars.
At Clermont Ferrand in France, teenager Hannah Silcock claimed the bronze in the third round of the Criterium Federal in the Junior A event, alongside a ninth-place in the Women’s A event.
The Islander fell to Alexia Nodin in three sets, who would go on to win the event.
In Milton Keynes, Jordan Wykes laid claim to the Match Point MK Seniors tournament, with a brilliant 3-1 victory over the up-and-coming talent Max Raviden in the final.
