Carolina made everyone wait until Week 4 for its Season 4 debut. Then the Gold Rush made up for lost time.

Three matches. Three victories. A 50–13 advantage in team points.

That was the strongest statement from Major League Table Tennis’s October 30–November 1 weekend at Houston’s ULH Event Center. But the final match supplied the drama, as Texas overcame Nandan Naresh’s disqualification and the forfeiture of his scheduled Golden Game turns to defeat Atlanta.

The Gold Rush left unbeaten, Chicago finished 2–1, Texas salvaged a 1–2 home weekend, and Atlanta departed 0–3. Those records tell part of the story. The Golden Games tell the rest.

Carolina arrives ready

Any question about Carolina needing time to settle into the season disappeared quickly on Friday.

The Gold Rush beat Atlanta 20–1, collecting 14 of the 15 regulation points before winning the Golden Game 21–14. Eugene Wang, Chan Hyeok Park and Enzo Angles swept their singles assignments, while Kai Zhang and Park swept doubles. Jessica Reyes-Lai earned Atlanta’s lone point against Hong Lin.

Saturday required more work. Carolina beat Texas 16–5, but every regulation match finished 2–1. The Gold Rush won all five, repeatedly finding the extra game that separates a competitive performance from a useful team lead.

Angles recovered from losing his opening game to Takuya Jin to win the next two. Edward Ly beat Choi Inhyeok 2–1, and Park took two games from Naresh. Carolina then edged Texas 21–19 in the Golden Game.

Sunday brought another test against Chicago, which had also won its first two matches.

Robert Gardos beat Park 2–1, taking both of his winning games 11–10, and Mo Zhang swept Hong Lin to give Chicago a 5–1 lead. Carolina responded through doubles, where Park and Ly won the first two games 11–10 against Gardos and Daniel Tran.

Angles followed with a sweep of Sean Zhang. Eugene Wang recovered from an 11–2 opening-game loss to Emmanuel Lebesson to win the next two, putting Carolina ahead 8–7 before the Golden Game.

The Gold Rush finished the job 21–15 for a 14–7 team victory.

Carolina’s depth showed up in the doubles selections. Park partnered Kai Zhang on Friday, Eugene Wang on Saturday and Ly on Sunday. All three combinations won their assignments, producing a combined 7–2 game record.

Angles won all three singles assignments and eight of nine games. Eugene Wang contributed five wins in six singles games. Carolina could win comfortably, win close, and recover after falling behind.

For a team playing its first weekend, that is a useful collection of answers.

Chicago finds points under pressure

Chicago’s 2–1 weekend began with a reminder that the third game matters, even after a singles assignment has been decided.

Texas won four of Friday’s five regulation matches, but each finished 2–1. Mo Zhang’s 2–1 victory over Amy Wang helped keep Chicago within reach at 9–6.

Lebesson’s final game against Jin was particularly valuable. After losing the first two, he took the third 11–10. That single team point helped leave Chicago in position to turn the match around.

The Wind did exactly that, winning the Golden Game 21–20 and the match 12–9.

Saturday was more straightforward. Chicago beat Atlanta 16–5, with Gardos defeating Quadri Aruna 2–1 and Mo Zhang sweeping Reyes-Lai. The Wind carried a 10–5 lead into the Golden Game and won it 21–9.

Mo Zhang was one of Houston’s outstanding performers. She won all three singles assignments and eight of nine games, matching Angles’s singles game record for the weekend. Her Sunday sweep of Hong Lin put Chicago in a strong position against Carolina, even though the Gold Rush eventually prevailed.

Texas survives the weekend’s wildest finish

Texas entered Sunday having lost Golden Games by one point to Chicago and two points to Carolina. The home team needed a finish it could enjoy.

Getting there was complicated.

Tom Feng opened the finale by beating Jin 2–1. Texas answered with victories from Anastasiia Kolish, the doubles pairing of Senura Silva and Choi, Choi in singles, and Naresh, building a 10–5 regulation lead.

Then came the incident that changed the Golden Game.

Naresh was disqualified for hitting his paddle on the table. His scheduled turns in the Golden Game were forfeited, with Atlanta receiving the maximum points available from those turns.

That left the remaining Texas players with very little room for error. Every forfeited turn gave Atlanta points without requiring the Blazers to win a rally.

Texas still found a way through, taking the Golden Game 21–18 to secure a 16–5 victory.

The final team score looks comfortable. The circumstances were anything but.

Choi deserves credit beyond the finale. He won six of nine singles games over the weekend and added five doubles game wins alongside Silva. His Sunday sweep of Mishel Levinski helped Texas establish the regulation cushion before the unusual Golden Game finish.

Atlanta searches for a way out

Atlanta’s three defeats produced just 11 team points, and the Blazers lost all three Golden Games.

Feng supplied a bright spot, beating Alexandru Cazacu 2–1 on Saturday and Jin by the same margin on Sunday. Those back-to-back singles victories gave Atlanta something tangible to build on after Friday’s heavy defeat.

The broader challenge is generating enough points throughout the lineup to give those individual wins a greater effect. Against Carolina and Chicago, Atlanta entered the Golden Game trailing 14–1 and 10–5. Against Texas, the Blazers had the opportunity created by Naresh’s disqualification but still could not convert it into a win.

Houston results

Friday: Carolina 20, Atlanta 1  |  Golden Game: Carolina 21–14

Friday: Chicago 12, Texas 9  |  Golden Game: Chicago 21–20

Saturday: Chicago 16, Atlanta 5  |  Golden Game: Chicago 21–9

Saturday: Carolina 16, Texas 5  |  Golden Game: Carolina 21–19

Sunday: Carolina 14, Chicago 7  |  Golden Game: Carolina 21–15

Sunday: Texas 16, Atlanta 5  |  Golden Game: Texas 21–18

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Carolina owned the weekend. Texas made sure nobody could relax before it was over.

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