Site Products

Classic Hardbat World Championships: The Dream Team Wins Again

Open Teams at the Classic Hardbat World Championships: The Dream Team Wins Again

By Larry Hodges

The Dream Team won in 1992, and now they’ve repeated, 30 years later in 2022. But instead of Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, and the rest, it was Jimmy Butler and Alexander “The Flash” Flemming. (Alex’s brother, Stephan, also played a few doubles matches.) The two were seeded #1 as well as #1 and #2 in Open Singles to be played the next day. In the Teams, they didn’t lose a singles match. (Their only doubles losses were defaults in the earlier rounds, so they could focus on singles.) But before we get to the final round robin of three teams, there were the preliminaries. There were two big upsets, or perhaps three.

Second-seeded Team America (A.J. Carney and Joseph Cochran) lost to #5 seeded Team Romania (Vlad Farcas and Alexandru Cazacu), 3-2. Team American was up 2-1 with their “big gun” up in multiple hardbat national champion AJ. But Alexandru, after losing the first badly, won the match, -5,9,9,8. In the fifth, it was Vlad over Joey, 5,9,8.

The other upset was #10 seed Dominican Republic and North Carolina (Alexis Perez and Bryce Milford) over #4 Team China (George Guo and Bin Hai Chu). Alexis won both matches – 3-2 over Guo – while junior star Bryce (15, who would win Under 17 here) won over senior star Bin Hai Chu, 11-9 in the fifth in a tournament-changing upset.

The other upset? #3 seeded Team Nigeria (Yinka Olasoji and Randy Hou) were defeated by weather when Yinka’s flight from New York was cancelled. And so the “Therrific Three” were Dream Team, Romania, and Dominican Republic & North Carolina (DR&NC).

First up was Dream Team vs. DR&NC. Jimmy Butler’s main focus is relentless consistency, while “The Flash,” normally more aggressive, often played mostly consistent as well. Result? Some of the longest and best rallies imaginable, especially between Bryce and The Flash, who both play spectacular hitting and counter-hitting games. But there’s a reason they are the Dream Team, and they won nine straight games, with none of the six singles games close. In the doubles, they played The Flash (Alex) and his brother, Stephan, and while the games were closer, they also won 3-0, at 9,9,5. Watching the matches is also a contrast in personalities. Jimmy Butler is always calm and focused, while The Flash is often exuberant, often laughing and smiling between points.

Next up was Dominican Republic vs. Romania. In the battle of the Alexes who are not The Flash, Alexandru Cazacu (ROM) defeated Alexis Perez (DR&NC), 8,6,4. Next came perhaps the match of the tournament, at least in the teams. Vlad Farcas won the first two easily against Bryce Milford, then Bryce won the next two easily, and seemed to be dominating. In the fifth, they battled back and forth to 8-all. Vlad won the next two – winning one with a tricky crouching serve that Bryce put off the end – and finally won, 7,5,-7,-7,9. In the doubles, it was all Romania, 8,7,7.

And so we were into essentially the final, Dream Team vs. Romania. And there, for the Romanians, the dream ended. But Romania put up a fight. In the first match, against The Flash,

Vlad Farcas – a former US Open Sandpaper Champion over Jimmy Butler – had three games points in the first game and two in the third before losing, 13,3,12. In the second match, Alexandru Cazacu came back from down 8-10 to win before losing the match, 7,9,-10,7. In the doubles, with Jimmy now playing with The Flash, it was all a dream as they won at 8,2,5.

And so the 2022 World Hardbat Team Champions are The Dream Team, Jimmy Butler and Alexander “The Flash” Flemming!

Results should go online after the tournament. It is being livestreamed at:

https://www.facebook.com/ClassicHardbat/

___________

Stay “In The Loop” with Butterfly professional table tennis equipment, table tennis news, table tennis technology, tournament results, and We Are Butterfly players, coaches, clubs and more.

Latest News

Where Should the Top of the Racket Point?

May 1, 2025
1x Backhand Topspin from Backhand (close to normal body distance to the table – robot plays regular spin… Read More

Butterfly Training Tips with Bob Chen – Everything is Butterfly

May 1, 2025
(by: Bowmar Sports) In this Butterfly Training Tips, Bob Chen shows in every aspect of his life he… Read More

Butterfly Training Tips with Rachid El Bou Bou – Backhand Loop & Forehand Pivot

April 30, 2025
(by: Bowmar Sports) In this Butterfly Training Tips, Rachid El Bou Bou is executing the Backhand Loop, followed… Read More

Zhu Yuling Signs Contract With Butterfly

April 29, 2025
(by Butterfly Global) Butterfly has signed an advisory contract with Zhu Yuling (Macau, China). Having excelled since her… Read More

Butterfly Training Tips with Lingshuai Meng – Backhand Punch Block

April 29, 2025
(by: Bowmar Sports) In this Butterfly Training Tips, Lingshaui Meng is executing the Backhand Punch Block https://youtu.be/WlXmg5wurQs Stay “In… Read More

Pair of Golds for Van Emburgh at ITTF World Challenger São Paulo

April 29, 2025
(by Steve Hopkins) American Para Table Tennis star Jenson Van Emburgh delivered a sensational performance at the ITTF… Read More

Number One In the World! From Puerto Rico, The Best Mixed Doubles Team In U-13 Table Tennis

April 28, 2025
(by: Edgardo Vázquez /Puerto Rico National Coach ) Among the rising stars are Brianna Rodríguez and Owen Shemesh,… Read More

Backhand Receive Against a Short Serve to the Forehand

April 28, 2025
(By Larry Hodges) In my day, there were players who received short serves much better with their backhand… Read More
View All News

Get the latest from Butterfly

Stay “In The Loop” with Butterfly professional table tennis equipment, table tennis news, table tennis technology, tournament results, and We Are Butterfly players, coaches, clubs and more.