MLTT Week 4 Recap: Chicago Wind Steady at Home, New York Slice Make Their Mark – Butterfly Online

October 26, 2025

(by Steve Hopkins, photo MLTT)

The Fourth Major League Table Tennis (MLTT) event was played in Bensenville, Illinois this weekend.  Four teams battled over three days: Chicago Wind, Portland Paddlers, Princeton Revolution, and the expansion New York Slice.

Friday: Slice vs. Revolution

The New York Slice entered the Golden Game with a 9-6 advantage that came from Koki Niwa winning 2 of 3 over Benedek Olah, Choi Haeeun saving one of three against Jiangshan Guo, Kaden Xu and Jishan Liang logging one of three against Koyo Kanamitsu and Jinxing Wang, Jishan Liang taking 2 of 3 against Mathieu De Saintilan, and Yiran Wu winning all three against Jinxin Wang.  This same pattern largely repeated itself in the Golden Game with the Slice winning 21-14, giving them the overall match win with a 15-6 score.

Friday: Wind vs. Paddlers

Chicago Wind opened their weekend with a nail-biter against the Portland Paddlers. The two squads split singles with the Wind taking the first two Gardos and Mo Zhang each won 2 of 3) and the Paddlers winning the last two (Kumar took 2 of 3 and Nordberg won 3-0).  Nikhil Kumar and Sid Naresh won Doubles 3-0 as well, so the Paddlers were up 10-5 going into the 6-point Golden Game.  The Golden Game was tight 21-19 in Portlandâ€s favor, so the Paddlers logged what looked like a dominant 16-5 win, even though they could have easily lost the Golden Game (and the match) with just 2 points turning out differently.

Saturday: Slice vs. Paddlers

The Slice continued their great run with a 15-6 win over the Paddlers.  The Slice won three of the four singles matches (and lost one singles match and doubles).  They took a 9-6 lead into the Golden Game, and dominated 21-15.

Saturday: Wind vs. Revolution

Saturday night saw Chicago bounce back against the Princeton Revolution. The two squads split the first two singles (Gardos won 3-0 for the Wind, then Jianshan Guo won 3-0 for the Revolution).  The Revolution won 2 of 3 in Doubles.  Zhang then won 3-0 for the Wind to put them up two, and then Olah took 2 of 3 making the score 8-7 (advantage Wind) going in to the Golden Game.  The Wind dominated in the final exchange (21-15) giving them a 14-7 win.

Sunday: Revolution v. Paddlers

The matchup between the Paddlers and the Revolution was all-Portland on Sunday.  Portland swept the singles, and salvaged 1 of 3 in Doubles.  This gave them an 11-4 advantage – with the victory already decided before the Golden Game.  The final exchange was just as dominant for the Paddlers, winning 21-9.  The final score was a 17-4 statement win for Portland.

Sunday: Slice vs. Wind

The weekend finale featured the 2-0 New York Slice against the hosts.  The Slice won four of the five initial matches, with Emmanuel Lebesson the only Chicago Wind player to log a win.  However, in MLTT, the Golden Game keeps each team alive so long as they can stay within 6 points – and that was the case here as the Wind managed to preserve a 6-9 deficit to give them a chance.  The Wind began strong with Mo Zhang, extended their lead with Sean Zhang, saw a dominant performance by Emmanuel Lebesson, and then sealed the victory with Gardos and Cazacu.  The Wind win 21-13, and manage a tight, come-from-behind win 12-9.

MLTT fans will next turn their attention towards Pleasantville, New York where the Week 5 event will take place November 7-9.  Tickets are on sale to see the Princeton Revolution, Los Angeles Spinners, Texas Smash, and New York Slice.

 

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