pattaya super cup 2011 tournament

So finally got to play in a tournament overseas. I was very scared and excited when I turned up after a scary experience with transport.

Getting to the indoor stadium was quite a logistical nightmare since the stadium is on the outskirts of the town. My final conclusion was to rent a motorbike for 24 hours at 150 baht, and 60 baht in petrol - so all up going out there and back twice on day and day 2 cost 210 baht to get there. The entry fee for two team events was 250 baht so all up the cost to play was under about $15. Having said that they are pretty tough on losers. Day one we both lost a singles game each which knocked us out right away for any more matches!

Day 2 I won a match and my partner lost a match so we got to play a doubles which we lost and then the day was over. So I paid $15 for 2 singles and 1 doubles. Not too bad really.

They are also very strict on teams wearing the same colour. I almost would have been disqualified if I didn't have a dark shirt in my bag.

The arena is huge and airconditioned. It is the biggest tournament I have seen and the highest level of players collected in one place I have ever seen. I watched numerous matches in awe at the level of play. Most the players looked under 20 and they all played the same two wing loop attack game with a big forehand preference. From the kids I watched to the teenagers they all put on an amazing show to watch with lots of big counter looping rallies I have never witnessed before.

Comparing this to the Australian open in terms of standard is about the only thing I could do. The Australian open I would say has a lot more versatility in styles compared to this. I would also say this Thailand event had a lot more players of a very high level than I would ever find in an Australian event under one roof. I was literally loving watching almost any table.

I will add more under this heading as I add more video footage and think of more to say about it.