Weekend Roundup: Mekbib and McCue Claim Maiden PSA Titles

World No.117 Daniel Mekbib lifted the first PSA World Tour title of his career after the 25-year-old from Czech Republic defeated top seed Baptiste Masotti in the final of the 2018 Guilfoyle Financial PSA Squash Classic, PSA M5 tournament.

Mekbib, who was seeded third for the tournament, had reached one PSA final previously – back in 2017 at the Open du Gard, but he played above his seeding to reach the final, beating Fernando Magdaleno, Charlie Lee and Reiko Peter en route, with the latter of those victories seeing him prevail in five games.

Masotti had also triumphed in a five-game battle with Emyr Evans in the last four but took the opening game by an 11-9 margin in the final. The momentum quickly shifted though as Mekbib dropped just one point on his way to taking the second and he kept himself in front from that point onwards to complete a 9-11, 11-1, 11-8, 14-12 victory.

There were also title wins for World No.61 Christopher Gordon and World No.103 Michael McCue, who took the honours at the Harneys BVI Squash Championships and Mount Royal University Open, respectively.

Top seed Gordon defeated England’s Adam Murrills in straight games to capture his first PSA title since 2016.

“[It was] a nice win and great week of squash,” said Gordon after lifting the fifth PSA crown of his career.

“It’s unbelievable to put on a PSA tournament of this quality just a few months after the entire country [British Virgin Islands] was decimated by hurricane damage just last September”.

Meanwhile, McCue picked up his first trophy on the PSA World Tour with a 3-0 victory over Englishman Kyle Finch.

Thrilled to win my first PSA title today in Calgary! Really tough few days physically but had just enough left to convert the opportunity.

— Mike McCue (@mccuemike) February 25, 2018

Results – 2018 Guilfoyle Financial PSA Squash Classic

Final
[3] Daniel Mekbib (CZE) bt [1] Baptiste Masotti (FRA) 3-1: 9-11, 11-1, 11-8, 14-12 (62m)

Semi-Finals
[1] Baptiste Masotti (FRA) bt [6] Emyr Evans (WAL) 3-2: 11-4, 11-5, 12-14, 12-14, 11-5
[3] Daniel Mekbib (CZE) bt [8] Reiko Peter (SUI) 3-2: 13-11, 9-11, 8-11, 12-10, 11-7

Quarter-Finals
[1] Baptiste Masotti (FRA) bt [7] Tristan Eysele (RSA) 3-1: 11-7, 11-7, 9-11, 11-7
[6] Emyr Evans (WAL) bt [4] David Baillargeon (CAN) 3-1: 12-10, 11-6, 5-11, 11-6
[3] Daniel Mekbib (CZE) bt [5] Charlie Lee (ENG) 3-0: 12-10, 11-8, 11-9
[8] Reiko Peter (SUI) bt Henrik Mustonen (FIN) 3-1: 7-11, 12-10, 12-10, 11-7

First Round
[1] Baptiste Masotti (FRA) bt [Q] Cameron Seth (CAN) 3-1: 11-6, 11-6, 9-11, 11-3 (42m)
[7] Tristan Eysele (RSA) bt [Q] Liam Marrison (CAN) 3-0: 11-5, 11-9, 11-6 (28m)
[6] Emyr Evans (WAL) bt [WC] Sam Burley (CAN) 3-0: 11-9, 11-5, 11-4 (26m)
[4] David Baillargeon (CAN) bt [Q] Albert Shoihet (CAN) 3-0: 11-5, 11-3, 11-2 (22m)
[3] Daniel Mekbib (CZE) bt [Q] Fernando Magdaleno (MEX) 3-0: 11-3, 11-3, 11-5 (25m)
[5] Charlie Lee (ENG) bt Kale Wilson (TRI) 3-0: 11-3, 11-5, 11-1 (21m)
[8] Reiko Peter (SUI) bt David Cromwell (USA) 3-0: 11-3, 11-4, 11-2 (26m)
Henrik Mustonen (FIN) bt [2] Robertino Pezzota (ARG) 3-2: 9-11, 11-6, 11-4, 7-11, 11-9 (61m)

Results – 2018 Harneys BVI Squash Championships

Final
[1] Christopher Gordon (USA) bt [2] Adam Murrills (ENG) 3-0: 11-5, 11-6, 11-3 (41m)

Semi-Finals
[1] Christopher Gordon (USA) bt [3] Lewis Doughty (ENG) 3-0: 11-4, 11-3, 11-5 (38m)
[2] Adam Murrills (ENG) bt [4] Tom Walsh (ENG) 3-1: 11-4, 9-11, 11-5, 11-3 (47m)

Quarter-Finals
[1] Christopher Gordon (USA) bt Nick Sutcliffe (ENG) 3-0: 11-6, 11-5, 11-4 (34m)
[3] Lewis Doughty (ENG) bt [5] Cameron Stafford (CAY) 3-1: 5-11, 11-7, 11-7, 12-10 (47m)
[4] Tom Walsh (ENG) bt [8] Antonio de la Torre (GUA) 3-0: 11-9, 11-7, 11-9 (41m)
[2] Adam Murrills (ENG) bt Jason Hua (USA) 3-0: 11-5, 11-4, 11-5 (35m)

First Round
[1] Christopher Gordon (USA) bt [Q] Neville Sorrentino (IVB) 3-0: 11-5, 11-8, 11-5
Nick Sutcliffe (ENG) bt [7] Joe Chapman (IVB) 3-2: 11-8, 8-11, 11-6, 13-15, 11-4
[5] Cameron Stafford (CAY) bt Tiber Worth (USA) 3-2: 11-9, 10-12, 10-12, 11-6, 11-6
[3] Lewis Doughty (ENG) bt [Q] Winston Findlay (IVB) 3-0: 11-7, 11-5, 11-8
[4] Tom Walsh (ENG) bt [Q] Anthony Rogal (ENG) 3-0: 11-6, 11-3, 11-1
[8] Antonio de la Torre (GUA) bt [WC] Jonathan Addo (IVB) 3-0: 11-2, 11-0, 11-5
Jason Hua (USA) bt [6] Armando Olguin (MEX) 3-1: 11-8, 11-8, 7-11, 11-8
[2] Adam Murrills (ENG) bt [Q] Michael Adamson (IVB) 3-0: 11-4, 11-5, 11-4

Results – 2018 Mount Royal University Open

Final
[2] Michael McCue (CAN) bt [3] Kyle Finch (ENG) 3-0: 11-8, 12-10, 11-5 (48m)

Semi-Finals
[2] Michael McCue (CAN) bt [4] Charlie Johnson (ENG) 3-0: 11-9, 11-8, 11-7 (54m)
[3] Kyle Finch (ENG) bt [Q] Aditya Jagtap (IND) 3-1: 11-8, 11-9, 10-12, 11-7 (59m)

Quarter-Finals
[2] Michael McCue (CAN) bt [7] Edgar Zayas (MEX) 3-2: 10-12, 8-11, 11-6, 11-3, 11-5 (75m)
[4] Charlie Johnson (ENG) bt [6] Vincent Droesbeke (FRA) 3-1: 11-8, 5-11, 12-10, 11-8 (56m)
[3] Kyle Finch (ENG) bt Adrian Leanza (USA) 3-0: 11-5, 11-7, 11-7 (32m)
[Q] Aditya Jagtap (IND) bt [1] Eric Galvez (MEX) 3-2: 12-10, 5-11, 9-11, 11-7, 11-8 (75m)

First Round
[2] Michael McCue (CAN) bt Jon Geekie (SCO) 3-0: 11-2, 11-8, 11-3 (22m)
[7] Edgar Zayas (MEX) bt [Q] Marco Toriz-Caddo (MEX) 3-1: 11-4, 11-4, 9-11, 7-3 ret. (35m)
[6] Vincent Droesbeke (FRA) bt [Q] Ahmed Hosny (EGY) 3-0: 11-6, 11-8, 11-7 (34m)
[4] Charlie Johnson (ENG) bt [Q] Moustafa Hamada (EGY) 3-1: 11-1, 9-11, 11-4 ret. (28m)
[3] Kyle Finch (ENG) bt Brock Janzer (CAN) 3-0: 11-1, 11-5, 11-3 (24m)
Adrian Leanza (USA) bt [8] Tess Jutte (NED) 3-0: 11-3, 11-8, 11-1 (27m)
[Q] Aditya Jagtap (IND) bt [5] Mark Broekman (ENG) 3-1: 7-11, 11-4, 11-5, 11-5 (39m)
[1] Eric Galvez (MEX) bt [WC] Abdelrahman Dweek (CAN) 3-0: 11-4, 11-5, 11-4 (21m)