Florida Crocs won all three matches in their Major League Table Tennis season debut at Westchester Table Tennis Center, completing a 3-0 Week Three weekend through three Golden Game victories over Texas Smash, Atlanta Blazers and New York Slice. Florida beat Texas 14-7, came from behind to defeat Atlanta 12-9 and recovered again to edge New York 12-9, with the last of those finishes decided 21-20 in the Golden Game.
The results gave Florida the only perfect record among the four teams in action during the third week of Season 4. Texas finished 2-1, Atlanta went 1-2 and New York left the weekend 0-3, extending its season record to 0-6. Florida’s Golden Game winning margins narrowed across its three matches: five points against Texas, three against Atlanta and one against New York. That sequence illustrates both the Crocs’ consistency in the deciding format and the increasing pressure of their final fixture.
Florida hold off Texas in opening match
Florida began against Texas with every one of the opening five matches finishing 2-1 in games, according to the weekend report. Jishan Liang gave the Crocs an early win over Hiromitsu Kasahara, while Amy Wang responded after Andrea Todorovic had taken the first two games of their meeting.
Liang then joined Angel Naranjo in doubles to beat Senura Silva and Kasahara in two games, putting Florida 6-3 ahead. Texas narrowed the gap through wins for Nandan Naresh and David McBeath, the latter beating Marc Duran, leaving Florida with only an 8-7 lead before the Golden Game.
Florida made the decisive phase clearer than the preceding score suggested. Naranjo produced a 5-3 spell against McBeath and the Crocs won the Golden Game 21-16. The six bonus points for that finish delivered a 14-7 overall result. It was Florida’s most comfortable Golden Game of the weekend, although the team had entered it with only a one-point match advantage.
Comebacks secure wins over Atlanta and New York
The following match required a more substantial recovery. Atlanta led Florida 9-6 going into the Golden Game after Quadri Aruna beat Asuka Sakai, Woojin Kim swept Daniel Gorak and Kayama Yu came from a game down to defeat Liang. Florida’s earlier points had come through Todorovic’s win over Jessica Reyes-Lai and a doubles success for Liang and Naranjo against Yu and Jiwei Xia.
Atlanta extended its advantage to 12-9 during the Golden Game, but Florida reversed the position. Liang answered Yu’s 6-2 stretch against Naranjo by beating Xia 8-3, moving the Crocs in front. Todorovic then finished with a 4-3 segment against Reyes-Lai as Florida won the deciding game 21-18 and the match 12-9.
The New York contest was tighter still. Liang opened by taking the first two games against Kaden Xu, but New York took control elsewhere. He Li beat Todorovic after losing the opening game, while Koki Niwa and Yiran Wu came from behind in doubles against Liang and Naranjo. Mohamed El Beialy and Niwa then won their first two games against Duran and Sakai respectively, putting New York 9-6 ahead before the Golden Game.
Florida had therefore faced the same three-point deficit as it had against Atlanta, but this time it won by the smallest possible reported margin. He Li opened the Golden Game with a 4-2 stretch against Todorovic, while Liang and Sakai each split their sections 4-4. Gorak’s 5-3 return against El Beialy and Duran’s 6-2 run against Wu brought Florida back. The Crocs then completed a 21-20 Golden Game win for a 12-9 result.
What the three finishes show
Florida’s record was built less on uninterrupted control than on its ability to manage the final format. The Crocs trailed heading into two of their three Golden Games, by three points in each case, yet won both. Their 21-16, 21-18 and 21-20 deciding-game scores also show a five-point spread between their widest and narrowest finishes.
That does not establish how the Crocs will fare over the rest of the season, but it gives their opening record added competitive weight. They did not simply collect three wins: they repeatedly converted close matches when the bonus-point Golden Game was required. The next Major League Table Tennis weekend is scheduled for 30 October to 1 November at ULH Event Center in Houston, Texas.