DESPITE being held to a 5-5 draw in the Bury Table Tennis League by Prestwich B, leaders Ramsbottom’s A team are all but certain to retain their Division One title.

With only two matches remaining they need just three points, which would mean that Radcliffe CC cannot catch them.

The battle for second place is between Radcliffe and BAE, who lie 14 points behind Radcliffe but have two matches in hand.

At the bottom both Seedfield A and Prestwich D are doomed to relegation. The individual wins is between Rob Hall of Radcliffe and Andrew Jackson of Rammy, with only one game currently separating them.

In Division Two, the two teams going up, Coburg and Prestwich E, met this week with the honours going to Coburg 6-4, in a pretty even match with four players all winning two games. Bob Bent of Coburg has already won the averages for the division having only lost 6 matches this season. At the bottom of the league, Carlton C are relegated.

Seedfield C are eight points clear of nearest rivals Carlton Vale in Division Three and look favourites for promotion. Midges B are also eight points behind but with two games in hand, so it looks to be between those two teams for the second promotion spot.

Chris Sutcliffe leads the way in the individual wins from Phil Wardle but Simon King lies close behind and has the benefit of his team’s matches in hand. Shawfield B are already relegated, but the second relegation spot is between Maccabi C and Prestwich G. In the final match of the season, Maccabi who are currently three points better off, play the top of the league, whereas Prestwich play the bottom of the league. So it’s all to play for.

Seedfield D extended their lead at the top of Division Four to 39 points after beating next to bottom Shawfield E 8-2. The clash of the other Shawfield teams in this league saw the C team, who are in the mix for the second promotion spot, beat the D team who are now fighting to avoid the drop.

Holmar C dropped out of the fight for promotion this week as they could only manage a 5-5 draw and can no longer gain sufficient points.

The second promotion spot is firmly in the hands of ELPM who need five points from their last match to pass Shawfield who have now completed their matches for the season.

Adam Kenzitt needs just one victory in his last match to secure the most individual wins from his teammate Max Brooks.

Close matches are still the order of the day in Division Five where there are still another couple of weeks until the end of the season. Seedfield E and GSOB B are assured of promotion as neither Wardle B or Shawfield F can catch them. Ian Barton will take the individual wins as he is seven wins clear of second-placed Adam Simpson.