OOAK Table Tennis Forum

A quick tournament report - no trophies, but quite a lot of fun.

Somewhat longer version of my Westchester May Open experience:

* Did OK-ish on Saturday (U2000, and O40 U2000, B player in both), but did not get far in SE brackets. At least got out of the groups
* Sunday was tougher, was a C player in U1900 and U2050, played my rating and did not get out.
* Had 3 matches that went 5 games, won two of them, once coming back from a 0:2 hole, so that's a plus in my book.
* Did run into `notfound123`, but did not get to play him in an event. All because of that loss in 5 to a club mate (and it was at deuce in 5th, so pretty bummed about that). We did get to warm up a bit, and his FH is way better than mine (not a surprise, given that he's a solid 2000+ player).
* I haven't played a tournament since Fall of 2021, and it showed: it was harder to play unfamiliar players and make quick adjustments. Physical stamina was OK, but mentally it was hard to focus at times.
* Only had one decent upset, mostly because my opponent did not seem to have much experience against pips, and attacked indiscriminately. Did not challenge or inconvenience enough more seasoned folks.
* Too many unforced errors on BH close to the table (I think...). Contemplating trying sponged LP again, we'll see...

_________________
USATT: 1807 | League: 1887

Hey, always good to see you. As I mentioned I thought your bh rubber was pretty good (very nasty). One small mistake and the ball was out or hit the net. Sponged stuff is too bouncy... but your call, of course.

The events were super fun. I managed to upset a 2150 guy (surprisingly it was a 3:0). Besides this the rest of my matches were 1600-1900 folks (all wins) and three losses to 2150-2200 players. Reminds me to go cash my O40 U2000 check

_________________
Attackers: "All pips players are cheaters who can't loop, move, or read spin"
Me: I beg your pardon?

no video? )

Somehow I also thought you played regular U2000, but apparently not. Part of the urge to look at sponged was from watching ~2200 Polish woman (Agnieszka Matuszchak ?) on Sunday - she mostly blocked with sponged Dtecs and attacked on FH, closer to the table. Plus everyone says sponge is better for chopping too . 80% chance I'm not going to change, but some 'experiments' should be fun.

A ~2100 chopper stopped by at the club yesterday, it was a pleasure watching her BH chops. She's doing internship in the area during the summer, so might be able to see her play again.

@pilgrim - sorry, no videos I'm aware of.

_________________
USATT: 1807 | League: 1887

I was mean video from notfound123

Went back to Westchester in June, and did not do as well as hoped (but had fun). Nothing dramatic, just got exposed in few areas.

* Did not do too well against people who try to attack everything (and don't make stupid mistakes against pips). Presumably because I gave them easy balls to attack in the first place...
* Got in trouble with short serves to my FH in the winnable match against 2050 player, and thus lost in 5. Bummer. Need better returns there
* Got a chance to watch several competent choppers in 2200-2500 range, which was useful. The big question is whether I can still move well enough to support this play style. An old dilemma for me - play close to the table with disruptive spin and placement, or try to chop more further out. I'm more effective with #1, but want to do more of #2

_________________
USATT: 1807 | League: 1887

Hi pgpg, likely be in your area in last two weeks of Oct, prolly be at Boston TTC hanging out with Leo and whoever eats pizza there...

I lost 4 levels plus of tourney level over the last few years, but am correcting that, 2024 will show a big rise I expect.

I am glad you are experiencing a journey and have good points and interest.

_________________
Goof-off chopping bat
Gambler All Rosewood
Aurus Soft / Gambler GXL .6 sponge

Status - Out of Business Janitor/Babysitter

Had another tournament at a nearby club, Westford TTC (well, 45 minute drive does count as 'nearby' IMHO). Totally exhausted right this moment, after playing 10(?) matches in 5 1/2 hours.

Signed up only for U2000 and Open (it was spaced better through the day, same price as U2200, so why not.) Did finish 2nd in U2000, which was nice , and even managed to advance out of Open group (that's not Westchester level of the field).

Tournament was run really well, perhaps too well , as everything started on time and I had almost no breaks between matches - doing well in SE round will do that for you. Stamina did become an issue at some point, but I think I finished more or less where I hoped to. Did not lose to anyone below me, beat ~1800 and 1920, took a game off 2300 player, and was even somewhat respectable against 2400 guy (I don't read too much into that, though).

Edit: things I did reasonably well today, I think:
* Not losing my cool or panicking when getting behind in the game or even a match.
* Figuring out the weakness or things to exploit with my opponents: 1800 guy, a lefty, did not have a backhand, so that's where I went; another LP opponent insisted on giving me the same long backspin/sidespin serve to my BH, which was reasonably easy to push/chop all over the table, while I kept winning points with long no spin serve to his BH .

What was subpar:
* could not handle high spinny loops to my FH far from the table in U2000 final. Had trouble blocking or fishing them.
* ran out of juice and could not run/move too much in the end.

_________________
USATT: 1807 | League: 1887

What's your current setup?


Will you consider using sponge?

My setup is in my signature/profile, or whatever it's called:

Butterfly Defense Alpha
Hurricane Neo 3
Cloud & Fog III OX

I do have several other combos with sponge sitting in the closet, and I take them to the club for a game or two once in a while, when I feel curious - just did it recently with VKM+Curl P4 (0.7 mm), Barricade +Air UpUpUp (0.7), and VKMO+Curl P1r(1mm). I think just like with any change, it takes some time to adjust, but I think it's my BH that suffers the most when I change blade+pips, and so I stick with the familiar. Pips are getting beat up, though, so I need to get a new sheet soon.

_________________
USATT: 1807 | League: 1887

Gained quite a few points from my last tournament, so now I think rating is where it should be .

Game feels more confident, in the club at least, looks like I'm making fewer unforced errors, taking games and matches of folks I struggled with recently. FH pushes definitely got more reliable with H3 Neo. Perhaps started to move a bit better, may be these trips to the gym are finally paying off (doing some personal training since last December).

Mostly serving BH now - picked up this little trick few weeks ago by watching ~2400 chopper: when serving BH, start with a handle's butt more or less pointing at the opponent. I think it really helps to get more spin and keep serves shorter.

My pips side is getting really beaten up - fortunately just got a new sheet of Cloud&Fog in the mail today, so let's see how different new sheet is...

_________________
USATT: 1807 | League: 1887

How long does a sheet of cloud and fog last for you? Outside of a very, very few LP most of mine last longer than my EJ sobriety stents...

This one saw at least a year of regular use (2-3 times per week), probably more. Now it lost at least 3 pips in random spots (and loss rate went up recently, it seems), and a small chunk at the edge, so I think it's time to replace it. Not bad for a ~10$ LP, that's how much I paid this time on Aliexpress.

_________________
USATT: 1807 | League: 1887

Put on a new sheet of Cloud & Fog and took it to the club. Worked perfectly in warmup/practice, it almost felt like BH became more reliable on close to the table shots... But then promptly lost a match to someone I usually beat (yeah, I know, small sample...).

Sat down, and then when it was time to play, my paddle was nowhere to be found! I don't think anyone swiped it on purpose (that would be really troubling...), my best guess is one of the players who left at that time (and there was really only one, I think...) picked it up by mistake. Fingers crossed - I hope I get it back, Butterfly Defense Alpha is kind of hard to find these days.

Played a couple of close matches with a spare paddle I had in my bag (Nittaku shake defense + Dtecs OX + Nittaku something smooth). Did OK, but had to adjust a bit.

_________________
USATT: 1807 | League: 1887

Got good news about my missing paddle over the weekend: someone indeed picked it up by mistake, and now one of club coaches has it, so I will reunite with it on Tuesday .

That saves me some trouble of trying to figure out replacement - I played for a bit with Defplay Senso/Dtecs/AK-47, but it felt faster on BH, and chops were a bit too high and long. Nittaku Shake Defense with Dtecs felt 'dull', and I was about to try Matsushita Special Pro...

_________________
USATT: 1807 | League: 1887