TEAM Bath Netball put on a show in front of home fans on the opening day of the BiG Showdown, winning all three games to sit atop of the table heading into the second and final day of the pre-season tournament. Bath’s closest rivals were Saracens Mavericks and Knights Netball, who both won two of a possible three outings on Day 1, and the clash between Bath and Mavericks in the opening fixture of Sunday’s games will likely determine a spot in the BiG Showdown Final. Surrey Storm and Strathclyde Sirens all remain in contention for a spot in the final after winning a game on Day 1, while Severn Stars are the only side completely unable to make it through to the decider after picking up three losses.

Team Bath opened the day with a strong 13-goal win over Severn Stars, then backed it up with a 10-goal win over Knights Netball and a narrow one-goal triumph over Strathclyde Sirens. The Mavericks knocked off the Sirens more comfortably by 11 goals, and also clocked up a massive 25-goal win over Surrey Storm, recording the highest score and winning margin of the tournament thus far. In the other games, the Knights won by a narrow three goals over the Storm and had a crucial 11-goal win over the Mavericks, before Surrey hit back with a four-goal win over the Severn Stars, and then the Sirens repeated the same result against the Stars with a 10-goal win.

In shortened matches of four eight-minute quarters, teams were awarded two points for a win. Each of the six teams play the other five teams once to determine the the grand finalists, who will be the top two sides at the end of the two days, with the BiG Showdown Grand Final to determine the winner. While the winner of Bath and Mavericks will likely determine one of the spots – and could well be a Grand Final preview, the Knights are in the box seat to book a spot in the decider thanks to the victory over the Mavericks, and face the Stars and Sirens on Day 2. Making it all the more interesting, the Mavericks face the Stars in the final match of Day 2, meaning if the Mavericks win through to the grand final, they will need to play back-to-back games.

Day 1 results:

Team Bath 36 defeated Severn Stars 23
Surrey Storm 32 defeated by Knights 35
Saracens Mavericks 30 defeated Strathclyde Sirens 19
Team Bath 38 defeated Knights 28
Surrey Storm 32 defeated Severn Stars 28
Saracens Mavericks 27 defeated by Knights 38
Team Bath 28 defeated Strathclyde Sirens 27
Saracens Mavericks 51 defeated Surrey Storm 26
Strathclyde Sirens 37 defeated Severn Stars 27

Ladder after Day 1:

Team Bath 3-0 (6 points)
Knights 2-1 (4 points)
Saracens Mavericks 2-1 (4 points)
Surrey Storm 1-2 (2 points)
Strathclyde Sirens 1-2 (2 points)
Severn Stars 0-3 (0 points)

Day 2 matches:

Team Bath vs. Saracens Mavericks
Surrey Storm vs. Strathclyde Sirens
Knights vs. Severn Stars
Team Bath vs. Surrey Storm
Knights vs. Strathclyde Sirens
Severn Stars vs, Saracens Mavericks

The BiG Showdown Final