The ATTC Butterfly Mega Money Recap
- 3 days ago
- 6 min read
Updated: 2 days ago
The ATTC Butterfly Mega Money Open was a massive success, bringing together an unprecedented number of high-level athletes and top-tier talent from clubs all across the country.
Amidst this fierce national competition, our local Austin Table Tennis Club (ATTC) and University of Texas Table Tennis Team players defended their home turf with an incredible showing, walking away with seven hard-earned podium finishes across the weekend's singles and doubles events!
Elite Singles Open
The Action: Hiromitsu Kasahara (888 Table Tennis Center) set the pace early by going undefeated (3-0) in Group 1. Johan Hagberg (SoCal Table Tennis) also had a perfect 3-0 group stage to set up a clash of the titans in the playoffs.
The Results: Kasahara claimed the championship and $3,000 first place prize by defeating Hagberg in the finals, who took home $1,500 for his second place finish.
🎥 Footage courtesy of Conrado / TT Planet
I-Fan Lin (unaffiliated) and Alexandru Cazacu (Fortius TTC) were the semifinalists who advanced to the 3rd/4th place playoff.
🎥 Footage courtesy of Conrado / TT Planet
Under 2100
The Action: Sambit Kanjilal (ATTC/UTTT) dominated Group 1 with a flawless 3-0 record. Ben Shi (ATTC) mirrored that performance with a 3-0 sweep in Group 4, paving the way for a highly anticipated final.
The Results: Kanjilal took home 1st place, besting Shi in the championship match. Both Kanjilal and Shi represented the Austin Table Tennis Club; this all-ATTC final guaranteed a major victory for the hometown crowd.
The Under 2100 division also featured some incredible early-round drama, highlighted by Vidyut Govindarajan pulling off a massive upset against the much higher-rated Ahaan Pamnani. Govindarajan clinched that unforgettable victory in a grueling five-game war (9, 3, -7, -10, 12).
Under 1900
The Action: Mehrdad “Mo” Moghaddami (ATTC) was a force in Group 1, advancing with a 4-0 record. Victor Zhou (Houston International Table Tennis Academy) advanced from Group 4 with a solid 3-1 record and caught fire in the playoffs, taking down Vidyut Govindarajan (ATTC) in the semifinals.
The Results: Victor Zhou secured the title by defeating Moghaddami in the finals.
Under 1600
The Action: Nicholas Mott (ATTC) advanced out of Group 8 with a 2-1 record but hit his stride in the playoffs. Korim Ahmed (ATTC) battled his way out of Group 4 to reach the championship match.
The Results: Mott captured 1st place after a hard-fought victory over Ahmed in the finals.
Under 1300
The Action: Kapil Tewari (Heritage Table Tennis Club) swept Group 1 with a 3-0 record , while Ellie Kim (ATTC) advanced from Group 4 with a 3-1 record to mount a deep playoff run.
The Results: Tewari emerged as the champion, defeating Kim in the hard fought final match. Sumay Kaushal (ATTC) and Andy Ge (ATTC) both had fantastic tournaments, reaching the semifinals.
Under 3200 Doubles
The Action: The team of Tareq Zaman (ATTC) and Korim Ahmed (ATTC) dominated Group 2 with a perfect 3-0 record. The duo of Clark Kim (ATTC) and Ellie Kim (ATTC) fought their way through Group 1 to reach the finals.
The Results: Zaman and Ahmed won the doubles championship, defeating C. Kim and E. Kim in the finals. S. Nguyendon / Y. Hao and J. Kim / J. Lee rounded out the top competitors in the playoff bracket, with all four players representing ATTC.
Notable Mentions
Shahin Akhlaghpasand
Shahin (2511) showcased his veteran expertise in the tournament's premier event, the Elite Singles Open. He was an absolute force in Group 6, securing a perfect 3-0 record to easily finish in 1st place and advance out of the group stage.
Advancing into the high-stakes playoff bracket, Shahin squared off against Leudis Serrano (2110) in the elimination round. Despite putting up a fierce fight, Shahin was ultimately edged out in a tightly contested five-game match (9,-3,9,-8,8), concluding his strong run against the top-tier competition.
Michael Guo (2382)
The Run: brought some serious Longhorn pride to the tournament's highest tier, the Elite Singles RR. Competing in Group 6, Michael put together a very strong 2-1 record to finish second in his group and advance to the playoff bracket. He handled his business efficiently against the lower seeds, delivering decisive 3-0 sweeps. His only group-stage blemish was a hard-fought 1-3 loss to the group's top seed, Shahin Akhlaghpasand (2511).
The Feat: Advancing to the Round of 16 in the main playoff draw, Michael squared off against Seth Pech (2475). Michael came out of the gates swinging to take the first game, but Pech managed to reverse the momentum, ultimately eliminating Michael in a tough four-game battle (-7, 3, 4, 3). Despite the playoff exit, advancing out of the group stage in the Elite division is a fantastic showing for the UT Team!
Vidyut Govindarajan (Initial Rating: 1875 | Final: 1878)
The Run: Semifinalist (3rd/4th Place) in the Under 1900 RR.
The Feat: Vidyut came up huge in the clutch. He pulled off a massive upset in the Under 2100 division, defeating the much higher-rated Ahaan Pamnani (1998) in a thrilling five-game war (9, 3, -7, -10, 12). He finished with a stellar 7-2 overall record across his events.
Jeremey Lopez (Initial Rating: 1523 | Final: 1548)
The Run: Quarterfinalist in the Under 1900 RR.
The Feat: Jeremey locked in a great +25 point rating increase, bolstered by a fantastic upset victory over Erxi Wu (1607) in a tight four-game match (8, -8, 8, 8).
Aleem Mohammed (Initial Rating: 1475 | Final: 1571)
The Run: Quarterfinalist in the Under 1900 RR.
The Feat: Aleem put in serious work, playing 11 matches and walking away with 9 wins. He carved his way through the competition to earn a massive +38 rating boost, solidifying his new home in the high 1500s.
Akshay Namburi (Initial Rating: 1328 | Final: 1360)
The Run: Akshay fought hard to earn a +32 rating increase.
The Feat: A major highlight of his tournament was a spectacular 5-game upset victory over the 1574-rated Sumit Pamnani, proving he can punch well above his weight class.
Korim Ahmed (Robel) (Initial Rating: 1289 | Final: 1455)
The Run: Korim was an upset machine, logging a massive +47 rating increase!
The Feat: He completely ignored the numbers next to his opponents' names, securing back-to-back giant-slaying victories over Aleem Mohammed (1475) and Umair Syed (1455) to surge into the 1400s.
Kajal Akhlaghpasand (Initial Rating: 1231 | Final:1280
The Run: Kajal had an incredibly productive day on the tables, walking away with the second-highest rating increase among all ATTC-affiliated players! Starting the day at 1231, she added a massive +49 points to her USATT rating to finish at 1280.
The Feat: A major highlight of her tournament was her Lion Heart-worthy performance in the Under 1900 RR, where she completely swept Zsolt Varga (1461) in a decisive 3-0 victory (10, 7, 7). She also showed incredible grit in the Under 1600 RR, pushing the 1458-rated Shiloh Fields to the absolute limit in a grueling 5-game thriller before narrowly falling.
Jiwoo Lee (Initial Rating: 1120 | Final: 1242)
The Run: Quarterfinalist (Playoffs).
The Feat: Jiwoo put the entire gym on notice with a colossal +47 rating increase. She orchestrated two stunning upsets, taking down Kapil Tewari (1249) in a grueling 5-game match and dominating Yasir Hussain (1371) in three straight games.
Ellie Kim (Initial Rating: 1106 | Final: 1108)
The Run: Finalist / 2nd Place in the Under 1300 RR (and Doubles).
The Feat: Ellie was an absolute ironwoman, playing a staggering 11 matches! She consistently battered her way through the brackets to claim multiple podium finishes.