Cai Younger is a friend of mine that I've mentioned a number of times in blog posts over the years.
He's a great player and one of my oldest friends too.
This year, Cai started an organisation named MatchPoint and it's really taken off.
Essentially, Cai goes from club to club running one-day tournaments for players of all levels, however, it's the format of these competitions that is particularly interesting.
They're one day events, everyone gets at least 3 matches (but often 4), and matches are played in a best of three format rather than best of 5 (still sticking to standard American scoring, first to 11 points with it going to 2 clear at 10-10).
Initially, Cai was running tournaments in the North-East of England, and now, MatchPoint is growing and branching out to the wider country (and possibly further afield soon).
Uptake has been amazing so far, most tournaments completely fill up, everyone gets a t-shirt, and there are many grades to offer people of all levels the chance to play.
It's an awesome concept and I'm quite confident that there isn't anything similar in Canada, so I decided to speak to Cai about MatchPoint for this article.
The first section will feature that interview, then I'll do a bit of rundown of a recent MatchPoint event that I attended that had a twist, and, lastly I'll talk a bit about the best of three format and why it's so unique.
Enjoy!
What inspired you to start MatchPoint, and how did the idea first come about?
'I have always enjoyed running tournaments and was already occasioannlly running PSA events in my local area and playing in various graded and PSA events around the country.
I got to know Joe Magor in the South of England and noticed the huge pool of players he was attracting for one day graded events and thought there may be a huge market for this type of event in the North of England.
Why did you choose the one-day tournament format rather than the traditional weekend-long style?
'I think overall it is just more popular. Players don't want to commit their full weekends from Friday to Sunday to squash.
This allows them to still get the same number of games in but in just one day so they can still do other things on the weekend as well as getting a workout.'
For someone who hasn’t been to a MatchPoint event yet, what can they expect on the day?
'They can expect 3 or 4 guaranteed matches against players of very similar level in best of 3 format. Usually with a couple of hours in between each game.
They can also watch squash all the way from entry level beginner up to PSA standard players in the A grade. These events are always a sell-out too which usually means decent sized crowds and a real hustle-and-bustle around the club.'
Why did you decide to use best-of-three matches instead of best-of-five?
'It's faster (less court time needed), it helps to get more players in the club at any one time, it's less draining for the players and finally I would argue that it's better to watch (much more likely to be 1-1 10-10 than 2-2 10-10 so there is always an exciting match in play).'
How do you structure the grades (A–E) to make sure everyone has competitive games?
'I use the SquashLevels points ranking system to put players into bands.'
Were you surprised at how quickly players have signed up and filled the draws?
'I wouldn't say I was surprised that they filled as i've seen some of the events down South sell out within a few hours but I was a little bit surprised by how quickly players jumpede on board with the idea up here.
We have sold out pretty much every single event including the first one we ran which is a really good sign.'
What kind of feedback have you had from players so far?
'I would say almost everyone really likes the format. We had Lwamba Chileshe (NZ no.3) playing our lasty event at Pontefract and he came up to me after to say he really enjoyed it and it was nice to get it all over with in one tough day.
You do get some traditionalists who prefer the best of 5 format but there is definitely a growing number of people getting on board with our format and entering more events.'
Have you noticed more casual or new players getting involved, or is it mainly competitive players?
'Yes definitely. On the 20th of this month is our 13th event at Redcar and it is the first time we have filled the E grade with 16 players (beginners ranked between 0-300 squashlevels).
It's great to see so many relative newbies to the sport being able to compete against similar level opponents in a tournament setting and also giving them that exposure to watch the higher ranked players in between matches.'
What’s been the biggest challenge in running these events so far?
'There are some challenges involved. mainly just the admin side and dealing with last minute dropouts and draw changes.
The days can be extremely busy especially when you have close to 100 players competing on the day over 8 courts, but I still enjoy running them and have some good people around to help.'
What are your plans for the future and expansion of MatchPoint?
'We have an app now (MatchPoint Sport) available on iOS and will be coming out on android this week.
The next step is adding features to the app like a scoring feature and blog/newsfeed to keep the community up to date.
We also plan on creating an admin panel over the next 6 months which will allow other organisers to run MatchPoint style tournaments through our app and create draws, schedules, etc, therefore allowing this type of event to take place internationally and futher grow our great sport.
This could mean future opportunities for clubs in Canada, for example, to run these events with the help of MatchPoint.'
Where do you see MatchPoint in the next 2–3 years?
'It's hard to say as everytime we have a meeting we come up with slightly different ideas and we've only been going for 12 months.
The only thing I know for now is the tournaments are getting really popular in the North and we would love to keep up that energy and keep more people playing and enjoying squash.'
And there you have it, an insight into MatchPoint!
Having played some MatchPoint events myself, I can confirm everything that Cai says above. The events are always packed, full of energy, a lot of fun, and, are great for bringing a bit of footfall and money into squash clubs too.
I promised Cai I would link to the MatchPoint social media channels and WhatsApp group, you can check those out below. Please drop a follow if you can, then head back to this newsletter to read on!
MatchPoint Instagram (@match_point_squash)
You can also download the app from the iOS app store (look for Matchpoint Sport).
I recently played an awesome event organized by three team captains: Joe Magor (South), Millie Tomlinson (Central) and Cai Younger (North), all of whom run best-of-three one-day events in different areas of the country.
The three created a large monrad event in which players from the three regions above all participated, with every player’s finishing place earning points for the team.
Played at Nottingham Squash Club, one of the most prestigious clubs in the country, the sold-out event utilized all 8 courts.
For me personally, I made the A draw, which was great; however, I was up against the 1 seed, which was not so great!
For reference, I'm about 8000/9000 on SquashLevels, and my opponent, Luke Bishop, is over 17,000.
With that said, since I've had a year off due to injury, I believe that my SquashLevels score is lower than it should be, and, for whatever reason, the scores of many players in the South are higher than expected.
I was really happy with how I played against Luke. I took the first game 11-5 and was on absolute fire. I'm not sure if it was luck, but it felt like every single winner I went for was coming off.
Unfortunately, I lost the second 11-6 and the third 11-5. Despite it being only a best-of-three, I was really gassed out. We both were, but Luke dealt with it better than I.
I think it was an interesting clash of styles that meant there was no rhythm at all;we were both just running from corner to corner, front to back, over and over.
Next up, I faced Luke Howells. He was at a similar level to me on paper; however, he beat me 2-0 (11-9, 11-9). I was really disappointed with this one as I lost both games on silly mistakes and poor shot selection.
Luke also played some great shots and was making me do a lot of work; however, in contrast to my first match, I actually felt like I had a lot more in the tank physically after the game.
I was determined not to lose my final match against Oscar Hill. Playing two other matches within the space of a couple of hours and then having a third within another two hours is really tough on the body and brain.
Most of the last matches I watched were more about who wanted it more rather than who was the better player.
I really wanted this last win to make sure I got some points for team North and to make sure I didn't come last.
I managed to win 2-0 (11-5, 11-7) which I was really happy with, then it was time for the night out!
To top off what was an awesome event, team North took the overall win. You can see the announcement being made in the video below.
The final standings were:
Team North – 288
Team South – 275
Team Central – 261
Lastly, I wanted to briefly touch on the best of three format of playing, as it really enforces a different style of squash.
This is quite fitting as we recently had the London Squash Classic PSA Squash Tour event that was played in the best-of-three format, and it certainly changed things up.
I watched a lot of the matches at the event, and, there were some really interesting upsets.
For whatever reason, the pace seems to be much faster and the style of play is more attacking in best of three games.
Players know they don’t have as much time to ease into the match, so the intensity ramps up straight away.
In a best-of-five, you often see players using the opening game or two to feel each other out, settle into a rhythm, and test tactics.
But in a best-of-three, there’s no room for that, every point carries more weight, and dropping the first game puts you right on the back foot.
That urgency encourages a more aggressive approach, with players looking to take control earlier in rallies and force the issue rather than waiting for long openings.
It can also make for more unpredictable results, as underdogs only need two sharp games to clinch the win, rather than sustaining a level across three.
It doesn’t necessarily mean the quality is lower, if anything, it’s just different.
Best-of-three demands focus, sharpness, and quick tactical adjustments, while best-of-five allows for endurance, longer storylines within matches, and gradual momentum shifts.
Both formats have their place, but the contrast shows just how adaptable squash is as a sport, one format rewards intensity and explosive play, while the other rewards patience and resilience.
For audience members and those who are perhaps newer to the sport, best of three can really make squash more exciting to watch.
Of course, longer time fans like myself are happy to sit through big five setters and marathon matches, however, the best of three format could be a great tool for attracting new people to the sport.
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