RAHUL RAMPERSAD and Justin Siu won six matches Saturday to be crowned champions in the Trinidad and Tobago Badminton Association's Open Doubles Tournament at Central Regional Indoor Sports Arena, Chaguanas.

The tournament was played under round-robin rules but climaxed with a "virtual final" as both the eventual winners as well as the Anil Seepaul/Milind Ogale combination had been unbeaten when they clashed in the last match of the night.

Favourites Rampersad and Siu, who were runners-up in last month's National Championships, then prevailed 21-18, 21-18 to capture the title.

The top seeds had topped Group A with three victories and had only surrendered one set from the first phase of the competition in defeating Jason Ramjass and Matthaus Wilford 21-15, 15-21, 21-16.

This duo won their other two matches to also advance to the "Big Four."

Seepaul, a five-time national singles champs as well as a multiple national doubles and mixed doubles champ, and German Ogale won their three matches to advance to the "Big Four" from Group B, along with Mark Springer and reigning national mixed doubles champ Roger Moore.

However, after winning twice in Group B, Springer and Moore failed to make an impression at the final hurdle as they lost in straight sets to the top two pairs and defaulted against two-time defending national under-19 champ Wilford and last year's national under-17 champ Ramjass.

After taking a set from two-time defending national champ Rampersad and Seepaul's former partner Siu in the first phase, the youngsters were easily beaten (21-10, 21-14) in the "Big Four". And they were also brushed aside (21-11, 21-13) by runners-up Ogale and Seepaul.

Naveeta Marajh and Shannon Sundarsingh were the only females to participate and the juniors lost their three matches in straight sets in Group B.