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PLEASANTON, Calif. — At the end of the second season of Major League Table Tennis, Senura Silva (SPINDEX: 2600)  approached Bay Area Blasters coach Tim Wang. The free agent did not have an MLTT home at that moment, and he was determined to change that. He spoke with coaches and teams. He re-entered his name into the draft. It didn’t matter which team picked him up. He’d play for any team that would give him another chance to play professional table tennis.

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Though it would be especially nice if such an opportunity arose with the Blasters. They’ve already taken a chance on him in Season 1, right after his time with the Princeton Revolution ended. He’s still close friends with the Blasters’ star players, and he’s even been a star wearing that uniform, too. The former undrafted free agent dominated in his first stint with the Blasters, enough to become the third-ranked player in the league. Maybe, just maybe, he could do it again.

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“[Season 1] was very big for me, finishing third in the whole season," Silva told Table Tennis TV. “So that was a good achievement — I mean, not ‘good.’ One of the best.”

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Wang told Silva that if any roster spots were to open up, he would give the former Blaster a call. It wasn’t a guaranteed roster spot, but that answer was definitely a good sign. There was a chance that Silva could be back with the same team that he reached the top of the MLTT mountain with. Such a chance would arise. Right before Season 3 would begin, two roster spots opened up for the Blasters.

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And Wang kept his promise to Silva.

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The Blasters added both Silva and Ved Sheth (2553) to their roster to play in their Week 1 matches. It was official. Silva would return for a third MLTT season, representing the same team that made him into a star. And where would those Week 1 matches take place? In the Bay Area. The same area he played for when he first made his mark on MLTT. In front of the same fans that cheered for his meteoric rise two seasons ago.

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This would not necessarily be a storybook ending to his search for a new team. He’d have to write a strong first chapter. Silva’s roster spot for the next few weeks was not a guarantee, but if he performed well at the Alameda County Fairgrounds, he could receive another opportunity to play for an MLTT team in the weeks to come. It could even be this team.

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“Currently, I’m playing as a free agent, so I’m taking this opportunity to prove myself again,” Silva said. “And if I get a chance, [I’ll] do the same.”

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Silva arrived to Pleasanton, Calif. and reunited with his former teammates. They took their media day photos together, they practiced together, and they hung out together. It was almost as if he’d never left. Whether or not he would stay with the team past Week 1, it’s nice to be a Blaster again alongside the same friends he’s learned so much about table tennis and life from.

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“This makes me feel really comfortable playing with them again, and also spending time with them, learning a lot from them,” Silva said.

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But Silva was there for a reason. He was ready to show the world his table tennis skills, especially in his doubles games. Silva played in all three of the Blasters’ doubles sets alongside Jinbao Ma (2708), a familiar face for Siva. They shared a roster two seasons ago, back when their uniforms were pink, and their team was starting to form. And they still looked like the same old teammates, even after two years’ worth of massive changes.

Even the format of doubles matches has changed since Silva last played with Ma. In the offseason leading up to Season 3, MLTT introduced open serve doubles, shattering century-old rules that limit doubles players on how and where they can serve. This new format would be a lot more unpredictable than anything Silva’s experienced at the doubles table. Not only would Silva have to prove his skill, he’d have to do so in a doubles format he had never played at the professional level before.

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Silva and Ma played valiantly in each of their doubles sets, taking at least one game against every one of their opponents that weekend. The duo even kept every game close against the Texas Smash, the league’s reigning runner-ups. But Silva wasn’t limited to just doubles. Wang slotted him in either the Blasters’ first or second position for each of the three Golden Games, MLTT’s singles race to 21 points, where five players on each team rotate periodically. That’s a heavy responsibility for any player to have, especially for a player that had just joined the team.

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Wang was right to trust his free agent. Silva ended every Golden Game with more points than the opponent he faced, which included 2025 first-rounder Joao Monteiro (2759), star veteran Jens Lundqvist (2720), and rising rookie Chihwei Yeh (2680). And in that Golden Game against the Yeh and the Crocs, Silva scored a team-high six points to help the Blasters pull through and earn their first win of Season 3.

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The crowd stood up from their seats as their home team celebrated. Bay Area won this match in large part because of Silva, who looked just like the dominant player he was two seasons ago with the Blasters.

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“[My career] is a roller coaster ride for me,” Silva said. “And I’ve really enjoyed it.”

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You can catch more of Major League Table Tennis’ third season exclusively on Table Tennis TV. Sign up today for two free weeks.

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