Sport Central Open RD1: Zayas and Ruggiero Cause Shocks

The opening day of the Sport Central Open by Underhill Geomatics threw up a couple of surprises, with Edgar Zayas and Jamie Ruggiero taking out seeded players.

Zayas took on No.5 seed Salah Eltorgman in his opening match of the competition, and after going behind early on, he fought back to win. He lost the first game to the Canadian 11-6, but regrouped to take the second 11-9 to level the match at one game apiece. Zayas then carried the momentum into the second half of the tie, winning the third and fourth to secure victory.

The Mexican will be joined in the second round by USA’s Jamie Ruggiero, after he defeated No.8 seed Miled Zarazua in five games. The American found himself 2-1 down, but was able to battle back to send the match into a deciding game, before going on to win the contest in exactly an hour.

Elsewhere on the opening day, top seed Alfredo Avila dropped just one point in his match with Mahmoud Abouelleil, winning 11-0, 11-0, 11-1. Canadians Liam Marrison and Connor Turk made it through on home soil, with Argentina’s Jeremias Azana, England’s Perry Malik and Mexico’s Alejandro Reyes also advancing.

The Sport Central Open by Underhill Geomatics will continue on Friday, November 4 with the quarter finals taking place. The final eight will go head-to-head for places in the semi-finals of the Challenger 5 level competition.

First Round Results: Sport Central Open by Underhill Geomatics
[1] Alfredo Avila (MEX) bt Mahmoud Abouelleil (EGY) 3-0: 11-0, 11-0, 11-1 (19m)
[7] Liam Marrison (CAN) bt Jacob Lin (CAN) 3-2: 11-8, 11-9, 10-12, 9-11, 11-5 (62m)
[6] Jeremias Azana (ARG) bt Maximilien Godbout (CAN) 3-0: 11-4, 11-4, 13-11 (25m)
[3] Connor Turk (CAN) bt Jason Sano Herring (JPN) 3-0: 11-9, 11-9, 11-6 (29m)
[4] Perry Malik (ENG) bt Armando Olguin (MEX) 3-0: 11-5, 11-6, 11-0 (14m)
Edgar Zayas (MEX) bt [5] Salah Eltorgman (CAN) 3-1: 6-11, 11-9, 11-8, 11-9 (51m)
Jamie Ruggiero (USA) bt [8] Miled Zarazua (MEX) 3-2: 11-8, 9-11, 7-11, 11-9, 11-8 (60m)
[2] Alejandro Reyes (MEX) bt Mitchell Kahnert (CAN) 3-0: 11-8, 11-6, 11-8 (40m)

Quarter Final Draw: To Be Played Friday, November 4
[1] Alfredo Avila (MEX) v [7] Liam Marrison (CAN)
[6] Jeremias Azana (ARG) v [3] Connor Turk (CAN)
[4] Perry Malik (ENG) v Edgar Zayas (MEX)
Jamie Ruggiero (USA) v [2] Alejandro Reyes (MEX)