The Wirral Badminton League held their annual KO Finals at Birkenhead School last weekend, and were treated to a thrilling evening’s badminton with three matches that fully deserved their final status.

The Birkenhead Cup, for the Advertiser Trophy, was won by Barnston with an 11-7 victory that could easily have gone either way, so close were the games.

John Kingan won all six games he played in for the winners, but every game was won by 21-17 or closer, and Rachel Ryan also remained unbeaten.

Simon Cole won four events for opponents Upton Victory Hall, teaming up with Aaron Magee and Jane Graham to keep hopes alive, and the result may well have been different had regular player Leanne Hulse been available on the night.

The Wallasey Cup, for the Vera Johnson Trophy, went to Wexford with a 12-6 win over Woodchurch A, again thanks to some narrow victories, particularly in the Mens Doubles.

Ian Thompson was the Wexford top scorer with five victories, matched by his Mixed Doubles partner Kate Park.

Fiona Kemp had the best return for Woodchurch, figuring in four of the six events won on the night.

The Hoylake Cup, for the Dovepoint Trophy, went to Meols club St Catherines, who seem to have a season ticket for Finals Night.

They were successful by 11-7 against Woodchurch B, their experienced ladies giving them a slight edge, with the Mens and Mixed events shared.

Nicky Melling notched five wins but the match went to the last event, and she was joined as top scorer by Mike Mounsey and Marianne McDonough, who saw them home with a 21-19 and 21-17 win.

Mark McCully and John Morton were the main contributors to the Woodchurch total.

The event was played for the first time using the new rally points scoring system and the handicap committee deserve credit for adapting so well to the new system and getting so many close games.