Liam Pitchford made his first appearance at a WTT major event for Team JOOLA, competing at the WTT Grand Smash in Singapore. The Englishman faced the tough task of navigating his way through a challenging qualification draw, where three rounds stood between him and a Main Draw berth.

It could have gone either way at any turn, but the grit of the 4-time Olympian showed as he made his way through the rounds. 

Locking in the first is always the big challenge. It wasn't the prettiest of matches, but he managed to sneak past Norway's Borgar Haug in the 5th to setup a Team JOOLA showdown with Lubomir Pistej. 

Pistej brought his flare to the table, and the games were tight, but Pitchford knuckled down to continue his momentum. 

The big matchup came in the third round, where he faced India's Sathiyan Gnanasekaran. Sathiyan's quick speed at the table posed a threat, and the Indian was able to scrape the first game. 

Pitchford raised the bar, giving no quarter in the forehand crosscourt exchanges, and staying in control in the short game.

While Liam held a 2-1 lead, he trailed at the end of the 4th. He pushed back to 10-9, but Sathiyan held on to force a decider. 

The match looked fairly even, with Pitchford commenting on how well Sathiyan was playing after the match, winning the 5th would be no easy task. 

With the main draw stakes resting on one final game, it was Gnanasekaran who took off to an early and convincing lead. 4-0 start for the Indian star, the pressure fell back on Pitchford. 

It was an occasion which the Team GB star rose to, recollecting after a timeout and raising the bar. Pitchford was able to equalize and then push ahead, still well in control in the short exchanges, and sharp on any half-long opportunities. 

11-8 would be the final score. A 3-2 win for Liam Pitchford, and he is deservedly on his way to the WTT Singapore Smash main draw! 

We look forward to seeing him, as well as Vitor Ishiy, Lily Zhang and Amy Wang, in action!