This weekend in Berlin, the European Youth Top 10 tournament saw many of the usual suspects holding hardware aloft upon the rostrum. There was, however, one party crasher of note at this royal ball. There were no major upsets in the Junior (under 18) championships. Third-seeded Prithika Pavade of France did upset her top-seeded compatriot Isa Cok in the Junior Girls event, part of a perfect 8-0 run to claim the title. Kay Stumper of the host nation Germany pulled a similar stunt in the Junior Boys event, although he required only six matches to claim his second straight continental championship. Just as Germany and France split the Junior titles, they would find the same spirit of sharing in the Cadet (under 15) competitions. In the Cadet Girls contest, Germany's Annett Kaufmann finished at 8-1, staying clear of the logjam of players at 7-2 to claim the title. In the last year of her eligibility, the victory comes as something of a redemption for the 14-year-old Kaufmann, who finished in the runner-up spot last year. The biggest surprise of the European Youth Top 10, however, was to be discovered among the Cadet Boys. France's Felix Lebrun (pictured) was not originally seeded in the event, but secured a last-minute invite as a substitute. The world's #21-ranked cadet, Lebrun is anomalous among European players in that he employs the traditional Chinese pen-hold grip. He does, however, take advantage of the reverse backhand which was seldom seen a generation ago. Armed with his trusty pen-hold paddle, Felix made the most of his invite, upsetting six of the seven higher-seeded players he faced. Poland's Mateusz Zalewski was the lone survivor of Lebrun's pen-hold massacre. "I had problem with his service game," said Lebrun of Zalewski. "Struggling with the receive. He forced me into mistakes. He is a very aggressive player." While Zalewski won the battle, Lebrun won the war, claiming gold in his last year of eligibility with a 6-1 record. "The hardest day was today," said the victorious 14-year old. "I won both matches, but I was very nervous. I felt great pressure." And how will the young champion celebrate his Cinderella story? "I will return to trainings in my club Montpellier and hope that soon we will be able to travel to tournaments," he says. With his locally unique style, Felix Lebrun is clearly poised to be a factor in the global equation. He is not just aiming to replace Germany's Danq Qiu as the best pen-holder in Europe. Rather, the aggressive young star has the winner's mindset necessary to rival Fan Zhendong as the best player in the world. After all, the pen-holder is mightier than the sword-holder.

More at ETTU