Magriel Cup: UK v USA – the rematch

Get ready for an exciting weekend of intense competition!

This weekend, October 12-13, the UK online team will once again face off against a powerhouse US team in the highly anticipated Magriel Cup. Geoff Hall, the UK’s new online captain, said: “Last year, the UK held a narrow lead on Saturday but ultimately lost in a nail-biting finish by Sunday. But fear not! After our thrilling victory over Germany in a recent friendly match, where the UK displayed tremendous performances and wins, we’re feeling confident about flipping the script and avenging last year’s result against the
US.”

This year, the teams have been expanded to consist of 14 players. Both teams have extremely strong players and have a great depth of high performers throughout the squad. The format will test players’ abilities in various events and provides a very demanding schedule. Points are also awarded for PR performance, so it is essential they bring their A-game. The weekend itinerary is:

Saturday October 12
6pm (BST) 10am (PDT)
Consultation doubles
Seven 11-point matches (2 points for win and 1 point for PR) – total 21 points available

1. Oliver Squire / Alastair Woods v Boris Dekhtyar / Dmitriy Obukhov
2. Chris Bray / Tim Cross v Steve Sax / Paul Swain
3. Gaz Owen / Reece Hodges v Ernest Ho / Marty Storer
4. Pete Heskett / Ken Gibson v Blake Sorem / Chris Trencher
5. Simon Barget / Sara Sathyanandha v Joe Urso / Kit Woolsey
6. Julian Fetterlein / Peter Bennet v Neil Kazaross / Joe Russell
7. Lawrence Powell / Chris Hamilton v Rory Pascar / Bob Wachtel

8.30pm (BST) 12.30pm (PDT)
DMP (One point matches)
Fourteen Best-of-five-DMP Matches (2 points for win) – total 28 points available.

1. Pete Heskett v Steve Sax
2. Reece Hodges v Dmitriy Obukhov
3. Gaz Owen v Chris Trencher
4. Oliver Squire v Marty Storer
5. Tim Cross v Neil Kazaross
6. Simon Barget v Kit Woolsey
7. Julian Fetterlein v Rory Pascar
8. Chris Bray v Joe Russell
9. Alastair Woods v Joe Urso
10. Chris Hamilton v Bob Wachtel
11. Ken Gibson v Ernest Ho
12. Lawrence Powell v Blake Sorem
13. Sara Sathyanandha v Boris Dekhtyar
14. Peter Bennet v Paul Swain

9.45pm (BST) 1.45pm (PDT)
Speedgammon
Fourteen 11-point speedgammon matches (2 points for win and 1 point for PR) – total 42 points available

1. Pete Heskett v Dmitriy Obukhov
2. Reece Hodges v Marty Storer
3. Gaz Owen v Steve Sax
4. Oliver Squire v Kit Woolsey
5. Tim Cross v Chris Trencher
6. Simon Barget v Joe Russell
7. Julian Fetterlein v Neil Kazaross
8. Chris Bray v Bob Wachtel
9. Alastair Woods v Rory Pascar
10. Chris Hamilton v Blake Sorem
11. Ken Gibson v Joe Urso
12. Lawrence Powell v Paul Swain
13. Sara Sathyanandha v Ernest Ho
14. Andrew Selby v Boris Dekhtyar

If any event, particularly the consultation doubles) overruns then we may have to delay the following event start times by 15/30 minutes.

Sunday October 13
7pm (BST) 11am (PDT)
Individual matches – Round 1
Fourteen 11-point matches (2 points for win and 1 point for PR) – total 42 points available:

1. Tim Cross v Dmitriy Obukhov
2. Oliver Squire v Matt Cohn-Geier
3. Gaz Owen v Marty Storer
4. Reece Hodges v Steve Sax
5. Julian Fetterlein v Kit Woolsey
6. Simon Barget v Chris Trencher
7. Pete Heskett v Joe Russell
8. Chris Bray v Neil Kazaross
9. Alastair Woods v Ernest Ho
10. Chris Hamilton v Rory Pascar
11. Ken Gibson v Bob Wachtel
12. Lawrence Powell v Joe Urso
13. Sara Sathyanandha v Paul Swain
14. Andrew Selby v Blake Sorem

9.15pm (BST) 1.15pm (PST)
Individual matches – Round 2

Fourteen 11-point matches (2 points for win and 1 point for PR) – total 42 points available

1. Tim Cross v Matt Cohn-Geier
2. Oliver Squire v Steve Sax
3. Gaz Owen v Dmitriy Obukhov
4. Reece Hodges v Chris Trencher
5. Julian Fetterlein v Marty Storer
6. Simon Barget v Neil Kazaross
7. Pete Heskett v Kit Woolsey
8. Chris Bray v Rory Pascar
9. Alastair Woods v Paul Swain
10. Chris Hamilton v Joe Urso
11. Ken Gibson v Joe Russell
12. Lawrence Powell v Ernest Ho
13. Sara Sathyanandha v Blake Sorem
14. Andrew Selby v Bob Wachtel

There are 91 points available on Saturday and 84 points available on Sunday – 175 points in total. The first team to reach 88 points wins The Magriel Cup.

All matches will be played on the Heroes backgammon website and expert commentary will be provided (details and links to follow soon). There will be a selection of great matches to watch so grab your favourite tipple, close the curtains, switch on your PC, and support the UK team with two evenings of tremendous backgammon and commentary.