Challenger Tour Round-Up: Marrison & Buckley Win Maiden Tour Titles

Life Time Mississauga Cafe de Khan Challenger 2024 presented by Jilani Place 

Top seed Liam Marrison fought back from 2-1 down to win the Life Time Mississauga Cafe de Khan Challenger presented by Jilani Place, clinching his maiden PSA Tour title in the process. 

The 23-year-old Canadian had eased into the final without dropping a game, but found a stubborn opponent standing in his way, in the form of Egyptian No.3 seed Mohamed Nabil. 

The Alexandrian native, who now lives in New York, was appearing in his first Challenger Tour final, and took games one and three 11-7, 11-9, with Marrison winning the second 11-8. 

With home support on his side, the top seed ensured there would at least be a decider by winning game four 11-8, and he proved too strong for his opponent when it mattered most, cruising through game five for the loss of only four points. 

Result: 
[1] Liam Marrison (CAN) bt [3] Mohamed Nabil (USA) 3-2: 7-11, 11-8, 9-11, 11-8, 11-4 (49m) 

The University Of Warwick Open 2024 

Ireland’s Sam Buckley also secured his first ever Challenger Tour crown, beating England’s Sam Osborne-Wylde in the University of Warwick Open final. 

Fifth seed Osborne-Wylde had recorded impressive wins over the fourth and second seeds in the previous two rounds, reaching his first final at this level, but he quickly found himself staring down the barrel of defeat, as Buckley won game one 11-8 and then raced through the second for the loss of just two points. 

The Irish No.1 then had a straight-games victory within his sights as game three headed for a tiebreak, but the young Englishman battled through to take it 14-12 and keep his hopes alive. 

Ultimately, though, that would merely delay Buckley’s crowning moment, as the 23-year-old closed out game four 11-7 to get his hands on the trophy. 

Result: 
[1] Sam Buckley (IRL) bt [5] Samuel Osborne-Wylde (ENG) 3-1: 11-8, 11-2, 12-14, 11-7 (61m)