Liverpool CC Open: Stewart Secures Second Win Of Season

The Liverpool Cricket Club Open came to its conclusion on Saturday evening, with Scotland’s Rory Stewart claiming his second title of the season following a victory over England’s Joe Lee.

Stewart came into the Challenger 5 level tournament at Liverpool Cricket Club as the No.2 seed, and would go through the entire event dropping just a single game across four rounds.

The Scot started with a contest with Egypt’s Ibrahim Elkabbani, who had taken out the top seed during his run at the Val de Reuil Normandie last week. He needed two tie-breaks and four games, but Stewart was able to come through that match to make the quarter finals.

Later the same day, he then defeated New Zealand’s Temwa Chileshe, one of four unseeded players to break into the last eight of the competition, in straight games. Stewart then overcame Ben Smith, another unseeded player, in the semi-finals to move into the final of the competition.

In Saturday’s final, the Scot came up against No.8 seed Joe Lee, who had previously knocked out both the top seed and No.4 seed en route to the final. However, after a lengthy first game, it became a straightforward victory for the Scotsman, who claimed his second title of the 2021-2022 PSA World Tour season.

Results: Liverpool Cricket Club Open
Final
[2] Rory Stewart (SCO) bt [8] Joe Lee (ENG) 3-0: 11-9, 11-7, 11-3 (50m)

Semi-Finals
[8] Joe Lee (ENG) bt [1] Spencer Lovejoy (USA) 3-2: 11-9, 9-11, 5-11, 12-10, 11-6 (85m)
[2] Rory Stewart (SCO) bt Ben Smith (ENG) 3-0: 11-6, 11-2, 11-5 (26m)

Quarter Finals
[1] Spencer Lovejoy (USA) bt Peter Creed (WAL) 3-2: 14-12, 3-11, 11-9, 12-14, 11-4 (75m)
[8] Joe Lee (ENG) bt [4] Sam Todd (ENG) 3-2: 6-11, 12-14, 11-9, 11-3, 11-2 (59m)
Ben Smith (ENG) bt Emyr Evans (WAL) 3-1: 11-7, 6-11, 13-11, 11-6 (57m)
[2] Rory Stewart (SCO) bt Temwa Chileshe (NZL) 3-0: 11-4, 11-3, 11-5 (33m)

Round One
[1] Spencer Lovejoy (USA) bt Viktor Byrtus (CZE) 3-0: 11-6, 12-10, 11-8 (39m)
Peter Creed (WAL) bt [5] Robert Downer (ENG) 3-1: 11-4, 11-9, 2-11, 11-8 (59m)
[8] Joe Lee (ENG) bt Curtis Malik (ENG) 3-0: 11-8, 11-4, 11-5 (42m)
[4] Sam Todd (ENG) bt [WC] Connor Sheen (ENG) 3-1: 7-11, 11-4, 11-4, 11-5 (28m)
Emyr Evans (WAL) bt [3] Ben Coleman (ENG) 3-0: 12-10, 11-4, 11-4 (47m)
Ben Smith (ENG) bt [7] Lwamba Chileshe (NZL) 3-1: 10-12, 11-5, 11-5, 11-6 (46m)
Temwa Chileshe (NZL) bt [6] Richie Fallows (ENG) 3-1: 12-10, 6-11, 15-13, 11-1 (51m)
[2] Rory Stewart (SCO) bt Ibrahim Elkabbani (EGY) 3-1: 12-10, 11-3, 4-11, 12-10 (55m)