Bumper EFA Trophy Entry Fills The Eton Courts
25/11/25: The qualifying rounds for this year's EFA Trophy in association with Advanta Wealth filled the Eton courts on Sunday.
Fourteen teams, 90 players and 126 games of Fives - this was the largest entry for the EFA Trophy since 2018. It was a particularly good indicator of the healthy state of many of the weekly club nights that take place in centres all over the country with teams taking part based around the club sessions at Summer Fields, Ipswich, Highgate, Newbury, Charterhouse, Lancing, Westway, Wolverhampton and Orpington, with many players featuring who don't often venture beyond the confines of their weekly knockabout.
The two consequences of such a big entry were that everyone there got a full day of fun and exciting matches and that trying to clinch a place in the top four teams in order to qualify for Finals Day in February was as tough a challenge as it has been for some considerable time.
The teams were divided into two groups of seven, with each group being played as a round robin and each match played across three pairs with each pair playing one game to 15. This meant that all 16 courts were pretty much in continuous use from just before 11am until just after 5pm, with fortunes ebbing and flowing, team permutations and strategy fluctuating throughout the day depending on fitness, form, availability and assessing each opponent as they came along. Inevitably, the final standings came down to a handful of key, tight games at various points in the day, with several teams in each group all in contention for a top two finish at various points.
The Old Ipswichians haven't won the EFA Trophy since 2006, but were in fine fettle this year, bringing two teams and with their A team looking very strong on paper. So it proved on court, as - led by in form youngsters Isaac Weaver and Daniel Ingram and backed up by plenty of experience - they dominated Group B, winning 17 of their 18 matches to take top spot and the title of bookies' favourites for Finals Day. The fight for the second qualifying spot behind them was fierce, with perennial EFA challengers North Oxford, last year's semi-finalists Team Westway, a strong Old Olavians team and solid line-ups from the Brigands and Newbury all fancying their chances, while a much greener Cambridge University team looked to gain valuable experience and make a nuisance of themselves by nicking the odd win here and there (once they'd all turned up, anyway).
The Newbury and Brigands teams performed well all day, but perhaps just lacked a bit of firepower at the top end to get themselves into the qualifying mix. The key matches in the end were the ones between North Oxford, the Olavians and Westway and these could not have been tighter. In the end it came down to a few points here and there, a 2-1 win for North Oxford over Westway early on, two 15-14 wins (both from 11-14 down) for North Oxford against the Olavians, and a very handy 15-13 second pair win for North Oxford over the otherwise unbeatable Ipswichians. These were enough to leave North Oxford on 13 points as they sat out the fnal round of matches, with Team Westway needing a 3-0 win over the Ipswichians to go past them and take second place. The Westway pairs threw everything they had at the OIs, but the Suffolk side - needing something out of the game to assure themselves of first place - were too strong and took the 3-0 win themselves.
Group A didn't have one team dominating as the Ipswichians had managed to do in Group B, meaning both qualifying spots were in play right up until the final round of matches and once again there were several sides eying up a route to qualifying. Defending champions Oxford University had retained the services of last year's captain Joel Robb and combined with the formidable Oxford Brookes contingent of Gwydion Wiseman and Gus Stanhope to give themselves the best chance possible of retaining their title. The most successful team in the history of the competition - the Old Salopians - are always going to be there or thereabouts but there were threats everywhere, from a Young Olavian team (five school players and one recent leaver), and Old Wulfrunian and Monday Knights teams both oozing class and experience. There were also no easy games in this group with the Ipswichian second string and Lancing both causing problems for everyone and picking up useful points throughout the day.
By the final round, the consistency and quality of the Oxford University team had done enough to secure top spot whatever happened; the Monday Knights had just dropped a couple of points too many to be in the mix and the Wulfrunians, Ipswichians B and Lancing were out of contention. The key match for the second qualifying spot was therefore the one in the penultimate round between the Olavians and the Salopians and it was effectively a winner takes all clash. The Salopians had started the day strongly but had lost a player towards the latter stages and had to concede third pair. Their first pair was still going strong, though, defeating the Olavians first pair 15-5. It therefore all came down to the second pair game and it could not have been closer, the Olavian youngsters clinching a nailbiting 15-14 win to take them through to the semi-finals at the expense of the Salopians.
This was a fantastic day - a real celebration of club Fives with players from all over the country and of all ages from 16 to 75 playing over a hundred matches, with the perfect balance of competitiveness and sportsmanship, showcasing just what Fives at its best is all about. Plus the young Olavian and Ipswichian players got to learn some interesting new words from Mr Coren. A great day all round.
Our thanks go to Eton for hosting the event, to Advanta for their sponsorship, to all of the team captains and organisers who put teams together and to all of the 90 players who took part for making it such a memorable day.
EFA Trophy Qualifying Rounds 2025/26
Group A
1. Oxford University 15 points
2. Young Olavians 13 points
3. Old Salopians 12 points
4. Monday Knights 10 points
5. Old Ipswichians B 5 points
6. Old Wulfrunians 5 points
7. Lancing 3 points
Round One
Oxford University beat Lancing 3-0 (15-8, 15-5, 15-4); Monday Knights beat Old Wulfrunians 2-1 (3-15, 15-5, 15-8); Old Salopians beat Old Ipswichians B 3-0 (15-9, 15-7, 15-14)
Round Two
Oxford University beat Old Ipswichians B 3-0 (15-11, 15-4, 15-5); Old Salopians beat Lancing 3-0 (15-5, 15-12, 15-0); Young Olavians beat Monday Knights 2-1 (15-8, 10-15, 15-2)
Round Three
Oxford University beat Young Olavians 2-1 (15-7, 15-9, 12-15); Old Salopians beat Monday Knights 2-1 (15-10, 5-15, 15-14); Old Ipswichians B beat Old Wulfrunians 3-0 (15-7, 15-13, 15-12)
Round Four
Old Salopians beat Old Wulfrunians 2-1 (15-5, 3-15, 15-7); Young Olavians beat Lancing 3-0 (15-3, 15-6, 15-7); Monday Knights beat Old Ipswichians B 2-1 (15-10, 15-5, 7-15)
Round Five
Lancing beat Old Ipswichians B 2-1 (15-3, 15-11, 1-15); Oxford University beat Old Salopians 2-1 (15-9, 9-15, 15-0); Young Olavians beat Old Wulfrunians 2-1 (7-15, 15-11, 15-1)
Round Six
Monday Knights beat Lancing 3-0 (15-8, 15-7, 15-3); Young Olavians beat Old Salopians 2-1 (5-15, 15-14, 15-0); Oxford University beat Old Wulfrunians 3-0 (15-5, 15-9, 15-3)
Round Seven
Old Wulfrunians beat Lancing 2-1 (10-15, 15-12, 15-6); Oxford University beat Monday Knights 2-1 (6-15, 15-10, 15-10); Young Olavians beat Old Ipswichians B 3-0 (15-8, 15-3, 15-6)
Group B
1. Old Ipswichians A 17 points
2. North Oxford 13 points
3. Team Westway 11 points
4. Brigands 8 points
5. Old Olavians 8 points
6. Newbury 5 points
7. Cambridge University 1 point
Round One
North Oxford beat Brigands 2-1 (15-10, 15-13, 9-15); Team Westway beat Cambridge University 3-0 (15-4, 15-1, 15-0); Old Ipswichians A beat Newbury 3-0 (15-5, 15-1, 15-0)
Round Two
Brigands beat Cambridge University 2-1 (13-15, 15-2, 15-0); North Oxford beat Team Westway 2-1 (15-9, 10-15, 15-11); Old Ipswichians A beat Old Olavians 2-1 (15-3, 15-13, 15-8)
Round Three
North Oxford beat Old Olavians 2-1 (15-14, 7-15, 15-14); Team Westway beat Newbury 3-0 (15-8, 15-8, 15-10); Old Ipswichians A beat Cambridge University 3-0 (15-3, 15-4, 15-3)
Round Four
Brigands beat Newbury 2-1 (5-15, 15-9, 15-3); Old Ipswichians A beat North Oxford 2-1 (15-3, 13-15, 15-7); Team Westway beat Old Olavians 2-1 (10-15, 15-10, 15-12)
Round Five
Old Ipswichians A beat Brigands 3-0 (15-3, 15-1, 15-0); North Oxford beat Newbury 3-0 (15-9, 15-3, 15-7); Old Olavians beat Cambridge University 3-0 (15-1, 15-5, 15-3)
Round Six
Team Westway beat Brigands 2-1 (15-2, 15-11, 11-15); Old Olavians beat Newbury 2-1 (15-11, 7-15, 15-4); North Oxford beat Cambridge University 3-0 (15-11, 15-7, 15-5)
Round Seven
Newbury beat Cambridge University 3-0 (15-12, 15-1, 15-4); Brigands beat Old Olavians 2-1 (2-15, 15-14, 15-9); Old Ipswichians A beat Team Westway 3-0 (15-10, 15-8, 15-5)
