Cardiff Open 2026

The Veterans event got underway with a bang in the afternoon, with many of the competitors already warmed up from the morning’s action and eager to carry that form into the second event of the day. With a strong field assembled, the knockout stages produced some high-quality matches. The semi-finals saw Brian Jeanes overcome James Fenton 3-1 (11-5, 11-3, 5-11, 11-4), while Rick Beattie booked his place in the final with a 3-1 victory over Vincent Dion (11-9, 11-6, 8-11, 11-5). Both matches were keenly contested, reflecting the strength and experience on display throughout the event. The final pitted Jeanes against Beattie in what promised to be a closely fought encounter. Despite Jeanes’ impressive run to the final, it was Beattie who rose to the occasion, producing a great performance to claim a surprise victory and lift the title 3-0 (11-4, 12-10, 11-6), bringing an entertaining day of competition to a fitting conclusion. The Plate event provided plenty of drama of its own. Swansea’s Manie Tang showed tremendous resilience in the semi-finals, edging past Conor McMichael in a thrilling 3-2 contest that went right down to the wire (3-11, 11-6, 8-11, 11-8, 11-9). On the other side of the draw, Cardiff’s Stephen Davies progressed with a composed 3-1 victory over Gillian Richardson (6-11, 11-7, 11-9, 11-3), setting up an intriguing final. In the final, however, Tang proved a class apart. Building on the confidence gained from his hard-fought semi-final success, he delivered a dominant display to defeat Davies 3-0 (11-6, 11-9, 11-5) and claim the Plate title, capping off an excellent afternoon’s work for the Swansea player.

The Cadet Event produced a fascinating conclusion, with two players from the same group progressing all the way to the final. Joshua Marston and Toby Young both navigated the knockout stages with confidence, setting up a repeat of their earlier group-stage encounter. In the semi-finals, Birmingham’s Joshua Marston defeated Cam Gears’ Alfie Giles 3-0 (13-11, 13-11, 11-8) to secure his place in the final. On the other side of the draw, Toby Young overcame Cardiff University Junior Club’s Toby Francis-Li 3-1 (11-9, 8-11, 12-10, 11-6) to book his spot in the championship match. The final saw the two group rivals meet once again, with Joshua Marston repeating his earlier success against Young to claim the Cadet gold medal (13-11, 9-11, 11-3, 11-4). Toby Young, representing Rhondda, produced an excellent performance throughout the day and finished with a well-deserved silver medal. The Plate Event featured an all-Cardiff University Junior Club final, highlighting the strength and depth of the club’s developing players. Joseph Conway emerged victorious against Justin Chen 3-0 (11-6, 11-8, 11-6) to secure the Plate gold medal, while Chen took home the silver medal after an impressive run to the final. With a high standard of play throughout the competition and several promising young players making their mark, the Cadet Event was another excellent showcase of emerging talent at the Cardiff Open 2026.

The Junior event proved to be one of the most exciting categories of the day, with several competitors carrying impressive form from the morning’s Senior event, where they had already claimed notable victories over experienced and highly ranked opponents. Their confidence was evident throughout the afternoon, producing a series of high-quality matches. Group C emerged as the standout group of the competition, proving to be exceptionally competitive from the outset. Such was its strength that three of the tournament’s four medal winners came from it, underlining just how difficult the route to the knockout stages was for those drawn there. Despite finishing third in the group, Jenson Denton-Smith responded superbly in the Plate competition. Putting his group-stage disappointment behind him, he produced a string of composed performances before sealing a commanding 3-0 victory (11-3, 11-4, 11-4) over Cardiff University’s Alex Lau in the final to claim the Plate title. The main event produced several standout performances. Bristol’s William Richards caused one of the upsets of the day by defeating top seed Lily Walters 3-0 (11-8, 11-7, 11-6) in the quarter-finals before overcoming Joshua Marston (11-5, 11-8, 11-3) to reach the final. In the other semi-final, Ryan Fenton defeated Oliver Harvey 3-1 (10-12, 11-8, 11-6, 12-10) to set up a second meeting of the day with Richards. Having already beaten Richards in the group stages, Fenton was made to work much harder in the final. Richards produced an outstanding performance, but Fenton held his nerve in a thrilling five-game contest to secure a 3-2 victory (11-7, 7-11, 11-8, 8-11, 11-9) and the Junior title. The competition showcased the outstanding depth of junior talent in Welsh table tennis, with many players demonstrating they are already capable of challenging—and defeating—established senior opponents.

The Senior Event was one of the largest senior competitions of the season, attracting 38 players who were divided across 10 groups. With several groups requiring countback to determine the final standings, the event proved to be fiercely contested from the very first round. In the main event, Chris Bush continued his dominant form on the Welsh circuit this season. Producing a series of commanding performances throughout both the group stage and knockout rounds, he progressed confidently through the draw to claim the gold medal beating Daniel Fenton 3-0 in the final (11-8, 11-7, 11-9) While Bush’s route to the title was relatively straightforward, the opposite half of the draw provided plenty of drama for spectators. Standout performances from Cardiff’s Daniel Fenton and Bryan Fernandes, Rhondda’s Dylan Williams, and Bristol’s William Richards saw all four players progress to the quarter-final stage after impressive displays throughout the day. The quarter-finals featured two highly anticipated encounters, with Dylan Williams taking on Daniel Fenton and Bryan Fernandes facing William Richards, producing some of the most exciting and closely contested matches of the tournament. The semi final went to the wire, with Daniel Fenton narrowly overcoming William Richards in the 5th set (11-13, 11-7, 3-11, 11-8, 13-11) to progress. This proved to be an outstanding semi final with many spectators drawn to the action. In the Plate Event, Edward Birt defeated Chris Maiden 3-0 (11-4, 11-9, 11-8) to book his place in the plate final, while Adrian Jones overcame Sandy Abeysinghe 3-0 (14-12, 12-10, 11-6) to book his place in the plate final. The Plate final saw Adrian Jones continue his strong form, claiming victory aginst Birt (11-4, 11-8, 11-7) to secure the Plate gold medal.

The Cardiff Open 2026 featured nine players in the U11 event, split into two groups. With newly appointed Primary School Development Officer Cerys Evans in attendance, the pressure was on for the young players to demonstrate their potential as they begin their journey towards possible selection to represent Wales at the International Primary Schools Event next April in X. In Group A, Timmy Muil topped the standings, with Aadiya Pulluri finishing in second place. The pair produced one of the matches of the group stage, with Timmy prevailing 3-0 despite all three sets going to deuce in a fiercely contested encounter. Group B was equally competitive, with Rushdan Sharrif emerging as group winner after overcoming some strong opposition. Reuben Francis-Li secured second place to book his spot in the knockout stages. The semi-finals saw Timmy Muil defeat Reuben Francis-Li 3-1 (7-11, 11-1, 11-6, 11-4) while Aadiya Pulluri overcame Rushdan Sharrif 3-2 (7-11, 11-6, 8-11, 11-7, 11-2), setting up a rematch of their thrilling group-stage meeting. In the final, Aadiya Pulluri reversed the earlier result against Timmy, edging a closely fought contest 3-1 (11-6, 8-11, 12-10, 16-14) to claim the U11 title and gold medal. In the Plate competition, Finlay Chatterjee, Cardiff University Junior Club’s newest protégé, defeated the experienced Ezgi Dion in the final (11-7, 11-9, 11-2) to secure the Plate gold medal.