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The Carolina Gold Rush want to defend their East Division crown. The Princeton Revolution are looking to overthrow them.
Only one of those Major League Table Tennis (MLTT) teams can achieve its goal, but who will it be? We likely won’t know for certain until Season 3 wraps up, but one team will take a massive step there in Week 13. In a scenario in which these two squads finish their regular seasons with the same winning percentage, the team with the most head-to-head points will earn the tiebreaker. And on Friday at 4:30 p.m. EST, Princeton and Carolina will play their final head-to-head match of Season 3 before the playoffs start.
These two teams last faced off in a Week 12 matchup that ended with a five-point victory for Princeton. Carolina needs to score at least 14 points on Friday to take that tiebreaker for itself, but Princeton will keep it otherwise. And in an East Division where the top three teams are separated by just 42 points, that tiebreaker could mean the difference between a spot in Championship Weekend and an early exit.
What follows Friday’s tense, playoff-heavy opener to Week 13? A heartwarming reunion at 7:30 p.m. EST. That’s when Los Angeles Spinners star Matilda Ekholm (SPINDEX: 2583) will take the court against the Florida Crocs, the team whose jersey she wore in Season 2. Ekholm has been on good terms with Crocs coach Frank Arias since her departure, and the two sides were happy to see each other again when they played one another for the first time in Week 7. And ahead of their second battle this season, it will be nice for Crocs fans to see their former star once again.
This won’t be a relaxing weekend under the sunshine for the Spinners, though. Their postseason hopes and dreams are on the line. If they can score at least 39 points this weekend, they will survive at least one more week and eliminate the Texas Smash from playoff contention. If not, they’ll become the first team to leave this year’s race to Championship Weekend.
That’s a lot of pressure, and not just for the Spinners. Each of these four teams has a chance to put themselves in a much stronger position heading into this year’s postseason. Some are hoping to separate themselves from the pack. Others just want to stay alive. And for all of these teams, their postseason dreams will be put to the test during Week 13.
Here are the six players each team has entrusted their playoff hopes to this weekend:
Week 1 Female of the Week winner Peiyu Zhu (2570) will miss the Crocs’ Week 13 matches due to visa delays. She’ll be replaced by free agent Tashiya Piyadasa (2388), who will wear her third different jersey in three consecutive match weeks.
That’s Florida’s only change heading into Week 13. Angel Naranjo (2616) and Asuka Sakai (2739) will return after missing Week 10 in Willowbrook, Ill. And as always, Marc Duran (2697), Daniel Gorak (2672) and Chihwei Yeh (2660) will lead the Crocs in their final homestand of Season 3.
Jinxin Wang (2737) was scheduled to make the trip to Hollywood, Fla., but he was scratched from Princeton’s lineup due to illness. Free agent Jonatan McDonald (2612) will take Wang’s place on Princeton’s active roster.
Aside from Wang’s absence, Princeton will bring the same lineup they brought to Pleasanton, Calif., during Week 12. Benedek Olah (2724), Seungmin Cho (2789) and Koyo Kanamitsu (2719) will join Princeton’s two-woman tandem of Jiangshan Guo (2547) and Hsien Tzu Cheng (2556).
This is the most complete Carolina’s active roster has looked all season. Enzo Angles (2795), Edward Ly (2713), Eugene Wang (2785), Chen Sun (2575) and Wei Wang (2683) made the trip to Hollywood, Fla., and will be available to compete in a week that could determine their final standing.
With that said, the Gold Rush will miss Mohamed Shouman (2655), who will be replaced by free agent Carlos Hernandez (2602).
There are no notable changes in the Spinners’ active roster ahead of Week 16. They’ll compete with Ľubomír Pištej (2717), Matilda Ekholm, Aditya Sareen (2656), Alexandre Robinot (2729), Kou Lei (2782) and Marcos Madrid (2651).
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