Faulkner fires to victory at Sport NI Ulster Series Round 2 in Ards
Round 2 of the Sport NI Ulster Series, hosted superbly by Ards TTC, delivered a cracking day of table tennis. Adam Faulkner (Ormeau) lived up to his top seeding, lifting the Open Singles title after a string of high-quality performances.
Open Singles
Faulkner topped his group before edging a thriller against Lee Waring (Civil Service), 3–0, in the quarter-finals. He then defeated Joe Sheard (Craigavon) in a high-level semi-final 3-2 — to book his place in the final.
On the opposite side, No. 2 seed Ben Watson advanced with wins over Vladimir Brzak (Ballymena) in the last 16 and Luke Ferris (Glenburn) in the quarters. Daniel and Tom Irwin (St Anne’s) unfortunately met in the last eight, with Daniel squeezing through to face Watson. After splitting the first two games (11–8 to Daniel, then 11–6 to Ben), Daniel closed it out in four to reach the final.
The showpiece didn’t disappoint. Faulkner sealed the title in straight games, while Daniel Irwin produced the shot of the day — a behind-the-back winner that drew gasps from the crowd. Congratulations Adam!
Open Consolation
Ranjit Singh (Ormeau) used all his experience to overcome Erdem Mehmed (Mourne) in four well-contested games.
Over 40s
All the usual contenders reached the last eight and the margins were fine.
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- Des Flanagan (Omagh) saved match points in game three before edging out Gus Agnew (Kingsland).
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- Rodney McKirgan (St Anne’s) proved too strong for Anthony White (Omagh).
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- Paul Gallagher came from a game down to beat Mark McAlister.
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- Phil Wallace (Ormeau) was pushed to the brink by Roy Coard, getting home 11–9 in the fifth.
In the semi-finals, McKirgan edged out Flanagan, while Wallace showed his class to beat Gallagher in four.
Final: After splitting the opening two games, Phil Wallace pulled away to win in four — a fitting finish to a top-quality event.
40s Consolation: Yurii Pavlov (Omagh) defeated Marvis Kwok (Glenburn) in five.
Over 60s
Des Flanagan completed a strong day by taking the Over 60s title, defeating Gus Agnew in the final to remain atop the rankings. Earlier, the No. 1 seed survived a major scare from Mark Irwin (St Anne’s), squeezing through 11–9 in the decider. Jimmy Sterling (Banbridge) and Ken Patterson (Glenburn) were the losing semi-finalists.
60s Consolation: Michael Graham (Ormeau) edged out Louise McCarron, with David Hamilton and Michael Fry (both Kingsland) the losing semi-finalists.
Thank you
A huge thanks to Ards TTC for hosting and to everyone who supported a brilliant day’s play. Great to see newly-qualified referee Norman McBride (Ballymena) on duty, lending a hand with umpiring.
Roll on Round 3!
