Barry Carson wins epic Handicap Tournament Final
The final of the 2024 club Handicap Tournament was played out on Saturday 13th July with the only two unbeaten players facing each other. Barry Carson (handicap +2) played James Rowson (handicap -2) in a 5-game classic, which proved the accuracy of the SquashLevels-generated handicaps by producing a match that went right down to the wire.
The first game was level pegging until, with the score on 12-10, James pulled away to win 15-10. The second game was closer with James winning 15-12 – but he always led and looked confident at 2 games up. In the break, Barry took advice from a family member and this seemed to inspire him and he raced away to 12-0 lead. Although James started to claw his way back, Barry took the game 15-9. Both players were moving really well and anticipating where the other player was going to hit the ball, leading to some extended rallies, thrilling the small but enthusiastic audience. In the 4th game Barry inched ahead until a final burst of 5 points in a row gave him the game 15-8, taking the match score to two games each.
Both players were tiring now, but if anything Barry seemed slightly more tired and was taking deep breaths in the interval to get his wind back before the final deciding game. Nevertheless, Barry raced away to an 8-0 lead before James dug deep and started to pull back, causing a nail-biting finish. Barry led 13-8 and then 14-11, before James took the next two points to make it 14-13. But the next rally went to Barry and he had completed a memorable victory coming back from two games down.
The Henley Squash Club Handicap Tournament uses handicaps generated by the SquashLevels system, designed to make every match as close as possible, giving every player an equal (in theory) chance of winning the whole tournament and allowing players of all abilities to play each other – players who may never come across each other in regular League matches or in the inter-club teams. The draw is completely random, with one round being drawn at a time with approximately one month between rounds – sort of F.A. Cup fashion!
After the conclusion of the final, the players were congratulated by Tournament organiser, Duncan Nightingale, who presented the Henley Squash Championship cup to Barry. Barry commented “It took a lot out of me… James played an amazing game…I had a bit of luck… but it was one of the best games I’ve played.” James Rowson generously conceded “anyone who can come back from two games down like that deserves the win.” James is now ‘in the mix’ for winning the Plate competition – for players who have only lost one match throughout the tournament – but that result needs to await the completion of other final round matches. As does the winner of the groups for players with only two and three losses during the tournament.
The full draw of the Handicap Tournament may be seen here.
