IT was a night for the underdog when the finals of the Malvern Table Tennis League handicap competition were played.

Neither of the winners needed to use the handicap they were given and proved that on the night, they were the better teams.

In the main handicap final ,Broadheath Bellters' winning margin was 58 points. The main man behind the win was Brett Brining, who took points off all of his opponents beating Graham Collier 9-11, 11-7, 9-11, 11-6, Mark Griffiths 11-5, 11-4, 10-12, 11-4 and Matt Lang 11-5, 6-11, 11-7, 7-11. He was well supported by John Stalker and David Elliott.

For Poolbrook Juniors, Matt Lang gave his all and would have been pleased to beat the in-form John Stalker 11-5, 11-7, 11-5, 11-8.

A really good team effort by Manor Park Pumas saw off Division One rivals Ledbury Merlins by 74 points in the secondary competition. Pumas took charge right at the start of the evening and Dave Hallam, Nick Price and Jon Dyke gradually squeezed Merlins out of the match.

The only successes Merlins had were when Nigel Foreshew took points off both Nick 11-9, 11-8, 11-9, 11-13 and Dave 11-7, 11-8, 13-11, 11-7.

Both finals were played in an excellent spirit and kept a good crowd entertained.

The committee would like to express its thanks for the help given by Dave Backhurst and the Civil Service S&S Club.

RESULTS: Broadheath Bellters (55) 419, Poolbrook Juniors 361; Ledbury Merlins 375, Manor Park Pumas (50) 449.