St George’s Hill Knights will face defending champions Leamington Royals in the 2025/26 Optasia Squash Super League Grand Final after a gripping final gameweek of the season ended in dramatic circumstances.
After the St George’s Knights and the Bristol Buccaneers clinched the extra points in respective 2-2 draws against Crawley Magik and Chichester Centurions, the final league table saw three teams – Leamington Royals, Chichester Centurions and the Bristol Buccaneers – inseparable on both points won throughout the season (11 in total), and total outright wins throughout the season (1 win, 2 draws and 1 loss apiece).
To whittle down which of the three teams were to join the Knights in the Grand Final, total games countback (total games won minus total games lost) of each individual team throughout the season was then calculated, which saw the Buccaneers edged out [Leamington Royals +3, Chichester Centurions +3, Bristol Buccaneers +2].
From there, points countback was applied between the Royals and Centurions (total individual points won minus total points lost throughout the season), which saw the Royals claim the coveted second spot in the table [Leamington Royals +28, Chichester Centurions -16].
Full replays from Buccaneers vs Centurions are available to watch for FREE on the England Squash YouTube Channel.
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Crawley Magik v St George’s Hill Knights
St George’s Hill Knights secured top spot in the Optasia Squash Super League table after fighting back from two legs down to secure the bonus point from a *2-2 draw on points countback throughout the night.
Crawley Magik got off to a lightning start with Heston Malik coming through a thriller with Miles Jenkins by an 11-10, 10-11, 11-7 scoreline, before older sister Torrie saw off the Knights’ Alicia Mead 11-4, 11-8.
With the Knights in trouble, and a spot in the Grand Final by no means secured at this point, it came down to Ambre Allinckx and Joel Makin to deliver for their team when they needed it most.
Switzerland’s Allinckx firstly dispatched England’s rising star Reka Kemecsei in straight games, before World No.5 Joel Makin proved why he is one of the world’s best with a clutch 11-3, 9-11, 11-6 victory over World No.28 Iker Pajares.
After winning on points countback, the Royals’ extra point took them to a tally of 13 for the season, with two wins and two draws to their name.
Results:
Heston Malik [CM] bt Miles Jenkins [SGK] 2-1: 11-10, 10-11, 11-7
Ambre Allinckx [SGK] bt Reka Kemecsei [CM] 2-0: 11-5, 11-5
Torrie Malik [CM] bt Alicia Mead [SGK] 2-0: 11-4, 11-8
Joel Makin [SGK] bt Curtis Malik [CM] 2-1: 11-3, 9-11, 11-6
Bristol Buccaneers v Chichester Centurions
Bristol Buccaneers and Chichester Centurions played out one of the ties of the season, with both teams scrapping for every point in their search for an elusive spot in the Grand Final.
However, it was both teams’ non-stop efforts which eventually saw neither qualify in the top two in the table, as the teams shared the spoils with a 2-2 draw – with the Buccaneers clinching the extra point on games countback on the night.
Malaysia’s Ameeshenraj Chandaran delivered an entertaining win to kickstart the evening’s play, seeing off Noah Meredith 11-5, 11-5 with a superb attack-minded display.
The Centurions fired back, though, in the form of 16-year-old Harriet Broadbridge, who showed great guts to fight back from a game behind to defeat Wai Iynn Au Yeong in front of a raucous Buccaneers crowd.
The see-saw nature of the contest continued as close friends Georgina Kennedy and Sarah-Jane Perry took to the court in the third match of the evening. Perry – who retired from the PSA Tour at the end of the 2024/25 season – more than played her part in an entertaining contest against England No.1 and World No.10 Kennedy, but it was the latter who ultimately proved too strong, moving through to an 11-6, 11-5 win after 15 minutes of play.
A win for the Buccaneers in the final match of the night would have seen them qualify for the Grand Final, but Spain’s Iker Pajares was on hand to spoil the party, delivering an inch-perfect performance to get the better of Malaysian No.1 Eain Yow Ng by an 11-7, 11-7 scoreline.
Results:
Ameeshenraj Chandaran [BB] bt Noah Meredith [CC] 2-0: 11-5, 11-5 (24m)
Harriet Broadbridge [CC] bt Wai Iynn Au Yeong [BB] 2-1: 3-11, 11-6, 11-9 (29m)
Georgina Kennedy [BB] bt Sarah-Jane Perry [CC] 2-0: 11-6, 11-5 (15m)
Iker Pajares [CC] bt Eain Yow Ng [BB] 2-0: 11-7, 11-7
