EKSTRALIGA: Leszno take 4th straight title

Gorzów STAL took a two point lead at home in the first final. But few thought it would be enough to ensure overall victory by the end of today’s return match in Leszno.

The home team simply do not know to lose a final and Gorzow were pacified and unable to take a single heat advantage until Heat 10, whilst Leszno took four 5:1s in the first 2/3rds of the match.

Double world champion, Bartosz Zmarzlik, was his team’s highest scorer when the teams met on this track in July with 10+1.

But this day was owned by Bartosz Smektala (13+1), Emil Sayfutdinov (11+1) and Piotr Pawlicki (11+1) as the team tamed Zmarzlik curbing him to a shockingly low 3+1 from five heats.

Gorzów’s points, instead, came from an unexpected source, junior Rafal Karzmarcz who came 55th in individual heat average with a heat average of just 1.121. But today he defied the statisticians with a team leading 8, whilst Szymon Wozniak scored 7+1. Meanwhile Danish national champion, Anders Thomsen (5+1), and the top scoring Australian in the league, Jack Holder (6), were unable to rise to the occasion when they were most needed.

So, for the fourth year in a row, Unia Leszno, are the Ekstraliga Champions.