Kuala Lumpur: All sports leagues are different and they all incorporate different kind of scoring system to keep the game fresh and interesting. Malaysia’s first ever badminton professional league, the Kopiko Purple League (KPL) uses 5×11-point scoring system for each match, and the winner of each tie is determined by the total number sets/games won, not the number of matches won (A tie is comprised of two teams playing six matches, players play the 5×11 scoring format with best of five sets).
According to KPL’s tournament technical director – Lim Guat Lee said the main reason of using this format is to make the matches exciting and competitive throughout the tie.
“The system keeps the matches moving swiftly while allowing complex strategies to unfold. Victory is never assured until very late in each tie,” said Lim.
“Let’s say Team A beat Team B with 3-2 in each of the first four matches, the total points for both teams at the end of the fourth match would be Team A with 12 points (3+3+3+3), Team B with 8 (2+2+2+2) points. However, if Team B could win the fifth and the sixth match by 3-0 each, Team B will emerge as the winner with the end result of Team A earns 12 (3+3+3+3+0+0) points, and Team B earns 14 points (2+2+2+2+3+3),” explained Lim.
In Thursday’s match, Puchong United BC that was spearheaded by world number 5 Tommy Sugiarto defeated Serdang BC 15-10; and Ampang Jaya BC beat Bangsar Hawks BC 15-9.
In a one sided tie on Friday, Muar City BC that led by former world number one Lee Hyun Il of Korea crushed Nusajaya BC 18-4; while Klang United BC blasted past Kajang BC 13-8.
