At the start of the tournament, Hyderabad Hunters were fancied to win the 2016 PBL on the strength of their singles superstar Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia. However, as the events unfolded, Lee lost two consecutive matches and didn’t play in the tie against Mumbai Rockets on January 11. Mumbai’s 4-1 victory over Hyderabad threw Hyderabad Hunters out of semifinal contention and since Awadhe and Delhi had already qualified, two semifinal spots were up for grabs on the last day on January 13 in the two ties that were scheduled. In the first, Delhi played powerfully and inflicted a heavy defeat on Mumbai. Ironically, despite beginning the tie with a victory in mixed doubles, Mumbai lost rest of their matches. After the Mumbai combo of Vladimir Ivanov and Kamilla Rytter Juhl defeated Delhi’s Akshay Dewalkar and Aparna Balan 15-13, 15-11, Delhi’s PC Thulasi defeated Mumbai’s Ruthvika Gadde 15-11, 5-15, 15-11 in women’s singles. Since Mumbai used this as their Trump match, they conceded the point earned in the first match and Delhi took 2 points as per the rules. With Tommy Sugiarto beating HS Prannoy in men’s singles, Delhi’s lead became 2-0 and they were yet to call a trump match. Delhi also won men’s doubles, where Koo Keat Kien/Tan Boon Heong defeated Mumbai’s Vladimir Ivanov/Mathias Boe 11-15, 15-12, 15-10 to take an unassailable 3-0 lead. The men’s singles was Delhi’s Trump match and Rajiv Ouseph scored a 15-7, 15-10 victory over Mumbai’s Gurusai Dutt to make it 5-0 for his team.
Chennai Smashers qualified for the semifinals after beating Bengaluru Top Guns 4-1 in the last league tie. Bengaluru’s loss meant that Mumbai Rockets also earned an indirect semifinal berth. Before the start, Bengaluru needed to win all the five matches to qualify but Chennai made a smart move by calling the first men’s singles as their Trump match, in which Sony Dwi Kuncoro defeated Bengaluru’s Sameer Verma in three games 15-10, 10-15, 15-8 and that victory put Chennai 2-0 ahead and Bengaluru went out of contention. However, Bengaluru wiped out the negative point by winning the men’s doubles, in which Hoon Thien How/Joachim Fisher Nielsen beat Chris Adcock/Pranaav Jerry Chopra 15-7, 15-8. The home side also reduced the lead further, when Indian star Srikanth Kidambi outplayed Chennai’s Brice Leverdez 15-4, 15-12. In women’s singles, PV Sindhu continued with her brilliant run and defeated Bengaluru’s Chinese youngster Suo Di 15-12, 15-7 and in mixed doubles, Chennai’s Chris Adcock/Pia Zebadiah defeated Bengaluru’s Ashwini Ponnappa/Joachim Fisher Nilesen 15-14, 15-12. In the end, it was a clean 4-1 victory for Chennai.
In the first semifinal in Bangalore on January 14, Chennai Smashers will take on Delhi Acres, while Mumbai Rockets play against Awadhe Warriors in the second semifinal at Hyderabad on January 15. The winning teams will then travel to Delhi for the grand finale on Sunday January 17, 2016.