On the 8th to 9th of August the 2nd stage of this year’s LNSS championship the showdown took place in Liepaja in August. 11 athletes started in the 1st league, while in the 2nd league the number of players reached 20.
The competition did not disappoint, as there were many similar games with interesting results in both the 1st and 2nd leagues. In the second league of the quarterfinals Ziedonis Mazūrs, Linda Bumbiere and Artūrs Korjaks reached the semi-finals relatively easily. While the most intriguing game took place between Viktorija Dukaļska and Georgijs Muravjovs, where it took all 5 sets to determine the winner. Victoria proved to be the best.
In the semi-finals, Ziedonis and Artūrs ensured the final already seen in the previous stage. Linda, who beat Victoria 3-0, was convincingly better in the game in the third place this time.
Meanwhile, the final of the second league did not disappoint, because the first 2 sets were full of drama, in which, the experienced Ziedonis was superior 11-9 12-8. In the third set 12-5. But what’s interesting, despite the intense competition, the first four were identical compared to the first stage.
In the first league in the quarterfinals, Deniss Ovsjanikovs defeated Mārtiņš Alli 3-0, Juris Starzdiņš won Aigars Bush 3-0, Imants Elstiņš won 3-0 Andis Briģis, and finally Raimonds Briežkalns was 3-0 superior to Igor Kudrinski.
In the semifinals, Deniss and Raimonds won Juris and Imanta relatively easily. In the game for the third place, Juris convincingly beat Imanta.
Meanwhile, the duel between Deniss and Raimonds took place again in the final, this time all 5 sets were needed to find out the best. In the middle of the game, Raimonds looked better and it seemed that the victory would be in his hands, but Denis managed to break the course of the fight and ensured yet another victory. Another big intrigue ahead of the third and final stage this year, scheduled for October, is which of the 1st league participants will remain in the last 2 places, which will mean a relegation to the second league next year.
