Portland enters Championship Weekend as its biggest question mark. Not because of their talent level, but because of how much of that talent is missing.

Lineup

Coach Christian Lillieroos
Jens Lundqvist (MLTT No. #5)
Nikhil Kumar (#11)
Kotomi Omoda (#28)
Sid Naresh (#36)
Carlos Hernandez (#73 - Free Agent)
Darryl Tsao (#74 - Free Agent)

Out: Hampus Nordberg (#9), Min Hyeok Kim (#15), Kang Dong-Soo (#3), Minhyung Jee (#72)

What Changed?

This is not the same Portland team that beat Princeton 17-4 in Week 4 and 14-7 in Week 15 earlier this season.

That team had depth, with outstanding, renowned players from top to bottom. This team is missing four of those players, and has elected to replace them with free agents Carlos Hernandez and Daryl Tsao.

What Do They Still Have?

Week 9 Player of the Week Jens Lundqvist isn’t going anywhere. He controls tempo better than anyone at the table, and Portland always seems to be better whenever he plays.

Kotomi Omoda has been one of the league’s best women all season long. She won Women’s Player of the Week during Week 4 and finished third in Women’s MVP voting. She also provides value in the Golden Game.

Nikhil Kumar (61.1% Doubles) and Sid Naresh (64.4% in Doubles) have an argument as one of the league’s best tandems, but their value extends beyond doubles. Kumar has the talent to beat any player in the league, and Naresh provides stability in key moments.

Regardless of how many players they’re missing, Portland is still bringing a strong core to Championship Weekend. That’s a strong testament to their incredible depth.

What They Need

Hernandez and Tsao cannot afford to lose matches, especially against Princeton. Portland needs immediate production from its free agents, wherever they play at the table.

They need clean doubles execution, which Kumar and Naresh have provided all season. But it won’t be easy; Cho Seungmin (66.7% Doubles), Koyo Kanamitsu (48.8%), Jinxin Wang (40.6%), and every other member of Princeton’s revolving door of doubles threats have swung entire matches in the past.

Portland probably isn’t going to dominate a Princeton roster with Cho and Benedek Olah, but that’s okay. They don’t need dominance; they just need to keep the match close and stay strong before the second half.

Why The Paddlers Can Win

From Lundqvist’s decades-long table tennis career to Kumar’s presence since MLTT was founded, Portland still has plenty of experience at the top of their roster. They know how to win MLTT matches, which they’ve done all season long through their nothing-to-lose mindset and their ability to adapt mid-match.

What to Watch

• Singles 1 and Singles 2
• Contributions from free agents
• Golden Game lineup

The Portland Paddlers are the wild cards of Championship Weekend. They’re coming with an incomplete roster, but it’ll still be a challenge for opponents to prepare against the top-ranked team in the league.

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