There were some crucial victories achieved by the title chasing hopefuls in both the top-flight and Division 3 of the Doric Insurance sponsored leagues this week.

Defending champions Lions A had not led the Division all season, but had the opportunity to do so this week in a clash against league leaders Whistlers A and they duly converted. A strong 7-3 win for the Lions outfit meant that the prior league leaders had been defeated for the second consecutive fixture, their only losses all season. Whilst the Lions side are top by a single point, the advantage does still remain with the Whistlers side, as they have a match in hand on their title rivals and with a victory in their game in hand, also would hold a marginal advantage within the games ratio difference, which could end up being decisive come the end of the season. The victory in question for the Lions side came due to a strong team performance, but in particular that of former Island Men's Singles champion and Island Cricket star Josh Butler. Butler had experienced his worst evening of the season in this fixture back in November, but he made amends emphatically this time out. He was in complete control during comfortable straight sets singles wins over Josh Stacey, Matthew Casey and Joseph Bourgaize. The victory against Stacey being the standout one, as it was just Stacey's 4th singles loss of the season so far and saw Butler play the game tactically brilliantly, not allowing his hard-hitting opponent to dominate with his strong topspin strokes. Liam Robilliard added to this with a strong evening which saw him defeat Bourgaize in straight sets before he came back importantly from a 2-1 deficit to Casey to win in 5 sets and secure the victory on the night for the Lions side. Matt Stubbington defeated Bourgaize in 4 sets before dispatching Casey in straight sets in the final match of the night. Stacey beat Robilliard and Stubbington in straight sets and he also teamed well with Casey where they beat Butler and Robilliard in straight sets in the doubles encounter.

Lions B are now just 2 points off 2nd spot and they did well to battle past a 4th placed Lions C side 7-3. Ben Foss was fresh off his victory in the Capelles Open Singles just 2 nights reserved and he led the way with an unbeaten evening. He started with straight sets wins over Jez Powell and Charlotte Casey before combining well with Jamie Ferbrache to overcome Phil Ogier and Casey in 5 sets in the doubles rubber. His final victory was however the hardest as it saw him with it all to do when trailing Ogier 2-0. Foss stayed calm and managed to earn a super comeback, comfortably winning the concluding 5th end 11-2. Ferbrache picked up a singles win of his own over Casey, whilst it was Nye Matthew that got the side over the line. He too defeated Casey, in 4 sets, but left his best performance for against Powell, whom he earned a surprise 4 set win over. For the beaten Lions side, Ogier beat Matthew in 4 sets and Ferbrache in straight sets, whilst Powell weathered a fightback from Ferbrache in the final match of the night to seal the deciding end 11-8.

Whistlers B are in super form and they cemented their place in 5th spot after earning a 7-3 win of their own, with bottom placed side Lions E the side on the wrong end of the result. The form of Lawrence Stacey has been a key factor in this as he the most in-form player in the Division alongside Foss, due to having won his last 15 singles matches. He was in ruthless form in the match and defeated Paul Hainsworth, Andy Gill and Connor Powell in straight sets with some excellent table tennis. He also carried that strong form into the doubles rubber, where alongside Mark Pipet, picked up a straight sets win over Hainsworth and Powell. Shelby Timms had one of her best nights of the season as she came very close to an unbeaten evening. She started with a gritty 5 set win over Gill and concluded with a straight sets win over Powell. Sandwiched in between saw her push Hainsworth all the way during their encounter. She led 2-1 and was playing strong table tennis, before Hainsworth used his experience to claw the match back and comfortably take the final 2 ends by matching 11-5 scores. Mark Pipet picked up a further win over Powell in straight sets to extend the margin of victory. For the Lions side Gill defeated Pipet in straight sets, whilst they gained the final rubber by walkover due to concession by Pipet.

League leaders Whistlers E had what looked on paper to be a tricky fixture against 3rd placed side Whistlers D, but they remain unbeaten at the top with a 3 point lead after securing a strong 7-3 win. Averages leader Craig Dunning continues to impress and he overcame Kay Chivers in 4 sets, Keith Opie in 4 sets and reserve Matthew Board in straight sets. He had strong back-up from both Tim Le Page and Oskar Cleal, who each defeated Opie and Board in singles action. Chivers provided some credibility due to her 4 sets wins over both Le Page and Cleal, whilst she also teamed with Opie to beat Le Page and Cleal in straight sets in the doubles clash.

Ravenscroft Panthers C have been chasing Lions J since November after falling to a surprise draw with their E side. They managed to return to the top of the table this week with a 1 point buffer after they earned a decisive 7-3 win in the top of the table clash. Junior Barnaby Groves was the key performer in the fixture as he was the only individual to win all of his singles matches. This was however far from straight forward as he had 3 very tough matches. He opened with a challenging affair with fellow junior and younger opposition Luke Evans and needed to fight back from 2-1 down before eventually emerging as 13-11 winner in the 5th set. His next match against another fellow junior, Aiden Ozanne was tough again and it saw him clinch the 4th end by a matching 13-11 score to win 3-1. His final match against Aiden's father Andy was close again and he needed the full 5 sets to come through. Shaun Mosley added 2 wins after beating Andy 3-0 and edging out Evans 12-10 in the 5th set of their clash in the final game of the night. Steve Martin had a strong evening of his own as it saw him defeat Evans and Andy in matching 4 set wins. Aiden defeated Mosley in straight sets and Martin in 4 sets, whilst he also teamed with Evans to win the doubles against Groves and Martin comfortably in straight sets.