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John Magnall a 16-year old student at Burnley Grammar School won the Burnley Express Cup handicap competition at Burnley Table Tennis centre on Wednesday, beating Roger Mason in the final.
Receiving 10 points, John, who plays for Burnley CC "B" team, produced superbly controlled attacking play to beat Jean Marshall (r16), John White (r9), Brian Marsden (r1), Bernard Cain (r5), Joe Higgins (r6) and then Mason (r7).
In the semi-final and final it was one-way traffic as young Magnall thumped winner after winner past a bewildered Joe Higgins, who succumbed in the semi-final at 21-12, 21-12 after seeming to be in with a chance at 10-all in the second game but falling away badly in the face of Magnall's vicious hitting.
The final was again Magnall all the way as he ran out an easy winner against Mason in two straight games 21-18, 21-17.
Mason's semi-final against Peter Cragg was also a two straight games victory as Mason made full use of his tremendous reach to counter Cragg's angled drives and take the set at 21-15, 21-15.
Pick of the losing quarter finalists was Burnley Table Tennis Club's Bernard Cain (r5) who is still trying to emulate the feat of his father, also named Bernard, who was the first-ever winner of the Burnley Express trophy in 1933. Cain removed the favourite to win the tournament, Jack Keogh (r10) in the third round, but then fell yet another victim to young Magnall