The final matchweek of the Optasia Squash Super League regular season is upon us, with three out of the four teams competing tonight all still standing a chance of reaching the Grand Final.
As it stands, defending champions Leamington Royals and St George’s Hill Knights occupy the coveted two spots, but with the former having already played their full quota of matches, can one of the Chichester Centurions or Bristol Buccaneers steal the march on them with a big win tonight?
The two matches on Friday evening will see Crawley Magik look to spoil the party against St George’s Hill Knights, and Bristol Buccaneers host Chichester Centurions in a blockbuster match-up.
Play gets underway from 18:00 from the Crawley Magik vs St George’s Hill Knights clash, while Bristol Buccaneers vs Chichester Centurions takes place from 19:00. All the action will be available to watch LIVE and for FREE on SQUASHTV. Full replays from both matches will also be available on the England Squash YouTube Channel.
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Crawley Magik v St George’s Hill Knights (6pm)
Crawley Magik might not be able to reach the Grand Final themselves, but they will certainly be up for the task of stopping the currently second-placed St George’s Hill Knights from reaching it.
With the match starting an hour before the Bristol Buccaneers v Chichester Centurions encounter, the Knights are unlikely to know the exact permutations for their qualification as the night progresses, but will know that a win over Crawley will all but book their spot in their first Grand Final.
With World No.5 Joel Makin spearheading the team and Club Hero Miles Jenkins also at the helm, the Knights won’t be short of experience heading into this crucial encounter. The pair will be joined by World No.57 Mead, who will be looking to claim her first win of the season for the away side.
For Crawley Magik, three Malik siblings will be looking to earn the team their first win of the season, with World No.26 Curtis taking on Makin, World No.39 Torrie taking on Mead and Club Hero Heston facing off against Jenkins in the first match of the night.
Meanwhile, in the women’s U25 encounter, rising stars Reka Kemecsei and Ambre Allinckx will go head-to-head in what looks to be an extremely exciting encounter.
Line-ups:
Men’s: Curtis Malik vs Joel Makin
Women’s: Torrie Malik vs Alicia Mead
Women’s U25s: Reka Kemecsei vs Ambre Allinckx
Club Hero: Heston Malik vs Miles Jenkins
Bristol Buccaneers v Chichester Centurions (7pm)
In what could prove to be a straight shootout for a spot in the Grand Final, the Bristol Buccaneers and Chichester Centurions have named two blockbuster line-ups which look incredibly well-matched on paper.
Malaysian No.1 Eain Yow Ng takes on Spanish No.1 Iker Pajares in the men’s encounter, with the pair ranked at World No.16 and World No.28 in the current PSA World Rankings.
A long-term rivalry will be renewed in the form of the current England No.1 Georgina Kennedy and former England No.1 Sarah-Jane Perry in the women’s fixture of the night, with the pair close friends off court and having played out numerous exciting ties over the years. Perry’s shotmaking ability will certainly prove a threat for the Buccaneers’ Kennedy in the best-of-three format, despite having announced her retirement from the PSA Squash Tour at the end of the 2024/25 season.
Meanwhile, the women’s U25 fixture will see Singapore’s 19-year-old Wai Iynn Au Yeong take on England teenage star Harriet Broadbridge, while Ameeshenraj Chandaran and Noah Meredith will play out what is bound to be a free-flowing Club Hero leg between two attack-minded players.
Line-Ups:
Men’s: Eain Yow Ng vs Iker Pajares
Women’s: Georgina Kennedy vs Sarah-Jane Perry
Women’s U25s: Wai Iynn Au Yeong vs Harriet Broadbridge
Club Hero: Ameeshenraj Chandaran vs Noah Meredith
