UWE Bristol Open: Devred and Thomson Victorious

Scotland’s Alison Thomson and Welshman Elliott Morris Devred were the victors at the University of the West of England Bristol Open this weekend.

Devred came into the Challenger 3 level event as the No.5 seed in the men’s competition, and started off his week in Bristol with a straight games victory over South Africa’s Ruan Olivier.

He then defeated No.3 seed Finnlay Withington in the quarter finals, coming from behind after losing the opening game of their contest. Devred then took the biggest scalp of the tournament, overcoming top seed James Peach in straight games in the last four.

That set up a meeting with England’s Stuart MacGregor in the final, with the Englishman having also caused a couple of upsets to reach Sunday’s climax. From the off, though, Devred showed his class, winning the first two games comfortably. The third went to a tie-break, but the Welshman claimed it 12-10 to secure his first title on Tour since 2019.

In the women’s event, Scotland’s Alison Thomson came into the tournament as the No.4 seed, and like Devred, she would go on to defeat two of the top three seeds en route to the title. 

Her week started with a win over Portuguese No.1 Sofia Aveiro Pita, before she then got the better of England’s Kiera Marshall in a tight four games in the quarter finals. In the last four, Thomson downed top seed Anna Kimberley in four to make it through to the final of the Challenger 3 level competition.

In the final, Thomson took on No.3 seed Asia Harris and the Englishwoman took first blood, winning the opening game 11-8. Thomson fought back, though, to win both the second and third games comfortably. The Scot the carried that momentum into the fourth, a game she clinched 11-9 to win her first Tour title since 2021.

Results: University of the West of England Bristol Open
Men’s Final
[5] Elliott Morris Devred (WAL) bt [7] Stuart Macgregor (ENG) 3-0: 11-5, 11-3, 12-10 (38m)

Women’s Final
[4] Alison Thomson (SCO) bt [3] Asia Harris (ENG) 3-1: 8-11, 11-5, 11-4, 11-9 (43m)

Men’s Semi-Finals
[5] Elliott Morris Devred (WAL) bt [1] James Peach (ENG) 3-0: 11-8, 11-4, 11-6 (40m)
[7] Stuart Macgregor (ENG) bt [8] Sam Buckley (IRL) 3-2: 5-11, 8-11, 11-8, 11-3, 11-5 (70m)

Women’s Semi-Finals
[4] Alison Thomson (SCO) bt [1] Anna Kimberley (ENG) 3-1: 11-6, 13-11, 7-11, 11-5 (51m)
[3] Asia Harris (ENG) bt [2] Yasshmita Jadishkumar (MAS) 3-0: 12-10, 13-11, 11-7 (20m)

Men’s Quarter Finals
[1] James Peach (ENG) bt [6] Miles Jenkins (ENG) 3-1: 6-11, 11-8, 11-5, 11-9 (49m)
[5] Elliott Morris Devred (WAL) bt [3] Finnlay Withington (ENG) 3-1: 8-11, 11-3, 11-7, 11-5 (40m)
[7] Stuart MacGregor (ENG) bt [4] Perry Malik (ENG) 3-1: 12-10, 4-11, 11-7, 11-7 (59m)
[8] Sam Buckley (IRL) bt Miguel Mathis (SUI) 3-0: 12-10, 11-9, 11-3 (32m)

Women’s Quarter Finals
[1] Anna Kimberley (ENG) bt [8] Lowri Roberts (WAL) 3-1: 5-11, 11-7, 11-9, 11-7 (39m)
[4] Alison Thomson (SCO) bt [5] Kiera Marshall (ENG) 3-1: 11-8, 11-6, 8-11, 11-5 (39m)
[3] Asia Harris (ENG) bt Katie Wells (ENG) 3-1: 9-11, 14-12, 11-6, 11-8 (40m)
[2] Yasshmita Jadishkumar (MAS) bt [7] Polly Clark (ENG) 3-2: 11-8, 5-11, 9-11, 11-8, 11-6 (35m)

Men’s First Round
[1] James Peach (ENG) bt Elijah Thomas (NZL) 3-0: 11-1, 11-4, 11-3 (26m)
[6] Miles Jenkins (ENG) bt Sean Conroy (IRL) 3-2: 11-7, 8-11, 8-11, 11-6, 16-14 (59m)
[5] Elliott Morris Devred (WAL) bt Ruan Olivier (RSA) 3-0: 11-1, 11-9, 11-5 (24m)
[3] Finnlay Withington (ENG) bt [WC] Jack Mitterer (ENG) 3-0: 11-9, 11-7, 11-5 (27m)
[4] Perry Malik (ENG) bt Will Salter (ENG) 3-1: 11-6, 11-5, 6-11, 11-7 (39m)
[7] Stuart MacGregor (ENG) bt Abdelrahman Abdelkhalek (EGY) 3-0: 11-8, 11-5, 11-6 (45m)
[8] Sam Buckley (IRL) bt Joel Arscott (NZL) 3-1: 11-7, 11-8, 10-12, 11-7 (62m)
Miguel Mathis (SUI) bt [2] Temwa Chileshe (NZL) 3-0: 11-2, 11-3, 11-2 (12m)

Women’s First Round
[1] Anna Kimberley (ENG) bt [WC] Hannah McGugan (IRL) 3-0: 11-5, 11-1, 11-8 (19m)
[8] Lowri Roberts (WAL) bt Erin Classen (AUS) 3-1: 19-17, 9-11, 11-1, 11-5 (36m)
[5] Kiera Marshall (ENG) bt Amelie Haworth (ENG) 3-0: 11-5, 11-6, 11-1 (19m)
[4] Alison Thomson (SCO) bt Sofia Aveiro Pita (POR) 3-0: 11-4, 11-5, 11-4 (20m)
[3] Asia Harris (ENG) bt Juliette Permentier (NED) 3-0: 11-6, 11-5, 11-8 (22m)
Katie Wells (ENG) bt [6] Emilia Korhonen (FIN) 3-1: 11-6, 11-3, 8-11, 11-7 (29m)
[7] Polly Clark (ENG) bt Hana Ismail (EGY) 3-1: 11-6, 8-11, 11-5, 11-5 (32m)
[2] Yasshmita Jadishkumar (MAS) bt Ellie Jones (SCO) 3-0: 12-10, 11-9, 11-9 (21m)