Lukas Horvat leads by a whisker over Grant and Lindqvist, while former king Okafor sinks to a humiliating eighth.
Seven matches in, the Riverside League has a leader, a logjam and a former king who appears to have misplaced his crown somewhere in the car park. Lukas Horvat sits on top with 19 points from six wins in seven. That is not dominance. It is a one-point cushion over Oliver Grant (18) and a two-point gap to Emma Lindqvist (17), who also have six wins apiece. Lukas leads the way a man leads a queue: technically first, with two people breathing down his neck. Still, credit where it is due. He is top of the table and has a younger brother to remind about it, which, by all accounts, is his favourite hobby.
About that younger brother. Jakob Horvat sits sixth with 12 points from four wins, seven points behind the sibling who never lets him forget the two-year age gap. Their family business for this season is already done, since the brothers have played each other. Whatever happened, Jakob is now left chasing the pack instead of his brother's shadow. His remaining schedule offers no mercy: Oliver Grant, Maya Chen, Sofia Rossi, Marco Bianchi and more. If he wants to make Christmas dinner bearable, he will need to start taking scalps among the contenders. Hoping Lukas trips over his own ego is not a plan.
Now for the season's great embarrassment. Daniel Okafor, one half of the rivalry that has passed the title back and forth for years, is languishing in eighth with 10 points. His sworn rival, Oliver Grant, is sitting second. One of them has turned up to defend a legacy, and the other has turned up to watch it. Okafor's remaining fixtures read like a punishment: Oliver Grant, Lukas Horvat and Emma Lindqvist are all still to come. That gives him three chances to resurrect his reputation, or three chances to bury it publicly. The Grant versus Okafor showdown is still on the calendar. For Grant, it is a chance to close in on the top. For Okafor, it is the last fire exit out of irrelevance. Bring popcorn, and maybe a sympathy card.
The title will be decided in a handful of meetings at the top. Lukas Horvat still has to face both Oliver Grant and Emma Lindqvist, plus Okafor. So the leader has the hardest homework of anyone, and the Lukas versus Oliver clash could flip the table in one afternoon. Emma has the friendliest path of the top three. Beyond Lukas and Daniel, her list features Hannah Weber, Aisha Rahman, Clara Dubois, Nina Kovač, Elena Petrova and Sam Whitaker. If she wins her big ones, she could quietly stroll past both men while they bruise each other. Sofia Rossi (15) is lurking in fourth with Oliver and Jakob still ahead of her. Her old coach, Marco Bianchi, is down in tenth with 9 points. The student has clearly outgrown the teacher, and their meeting is already behind them. Maya Chen (14) is the dark horse, with Sofia and Jakob still on her list.
At the bottom, things are grim. Sam Whitaker has zero wins from seven matches and two points, presumably earned through sheer attendance. Aisha Rahman and Nina Kovač are stuck on three points each and still have to play each other. Somebody escapes the cellar, and somebody gets locked in with Sam. One more appointment to circle: Hannah Weber against Tom Fletcher, husband against wife, with 10 points against 7 at stake. They drive to the club together either way. Whoever loses gets to enjoy the silent ride home, and the winner gets to pick the radio station for the rest of the year.