FRIENDLY FIRES

Words by Jools Moore

The Tuesday morning of iGaming NEXT’s Valletta week saw industry players come together from across Europe to battle it out in the Enteractive One Day Padel Tournament. The event, which took place at IK Padel Village in Pembroke Gardens, was an opportunity for padel lovers of all levels to get their game face on and bring their best racket skills to the blue-floored, glass-walled courts overlooking the Mediterranean on the east coast of Malta.

With some familiar Malta-based faces in attendance, there were also plenty of visiting teams from far and wide, with ParlayBay from Sweden, BetFIRST from Belgium, and Gib Telecom from Gibraltar, joining the likes of Videoslots, iGamingPlatform, Cashcow, Chumba Casino, and Enteractive.

The teams were quickly geared up for the sporting challenge ahead, with caps, sweatbands, and sports towels provided by sponsors Enteractive, and as the sun dipped behind light clouds to deliver some shade on the courts, proceedings began!

With sixteen teams in total, the knockout stage was made up of four groups, four teams in each, meaning everyone played at least three matches before the weaker teams were eliminated. Some matches were over quite quickly, as could be expected from a mixed-level tournament, but there were also some long lasting clashes of a high standard from a few of the more experienced teams. These fierce battles saw long rallies and miraculous returns and recoveries, making for a spectacle that the onlookers savoured with quiet respect and then rousing applause at the end of wellfought points.

At the stroke of twelve, it was lunchtime, the group stages complete, and the list of quarter finalists settled. Burgers and chips satiated all the participants and attendees, although the wisest of the stillcompeting teams opted for hydration over a heavy meal, and soon they were back on the courts for the route to the final.

The quarters immediately saw longer rallies and games over a three set format, with each team holding their nerve against opponents’ smashes, lobs, and at-the-net volleys. More closely matched, the clashes upped the ante for the spectators as the quarters divided into the semis, where Enteractive met iGamingPlatform, and Gamon Solutions, Videoslots, in a crescendo of play on court one and two.

Then finally, it came down to the last two teams - iGamingPlatform, with Niclas Elfstedt and Matthew Calascione, against Gamon Solutions, with Victor Martyn and Lukas Podolsky. The sun reappeared from behind the clouds, heating things up on the court even more, and adding an extra handicap for the already tired players, but neither team was showing any signs of slowing down in their rise to the challenge. Yellow balls flashed back and forth across the field of play in seemingly endless exchanges, where winning shots were denied by sporting action that defied the laws of both physics and endurance. The quality of play was now at such a level that the enthralled audience, swelled in numbers with the now eliminated tournament participants, raised a clamouring support when one or other of the final teams killed a long-running point to their advantage.

Set one was taken by iGamingPlatform, set two by GamonSolutions, such that both teams requested the final set, supposed to be a long tie-break to ten in the format, to be a normal set of first to six games! This pushed the event well past the 3pm finish time, but IK Padel were happy to let the exciting dogfight continue to its conclusion with balls flying around the now blue sky above! Neither side gave the other any quarter, and it was only as the match creeped slowly towards its climax that one slip here and there by iGamingPlatform led to an advantage for Gamon Solutions. They took the third and final set, and the Tournament Trophy, accepting their prizes of two pro Padel rackets with sweat still cascading from their brows.

What an amazing day of Padel it was, enjoyed by all the players, and savoured by the viewing throng, treated to a meeting of four of the best players on the island! Well done to iGaming NEXT and Enteractive for organising, and we look forward to another thrilling event in 2023.