Bolton Pickleball Open 2025 – Knottys Pickleball Tournament Recap for Bolton 1 to 2 November 2025

DinkQuest tournament recap for Bolton: Molly O’Donoghue does the double in Bolton as Louis Laville stars across two draws.

Full report from the Bolton Pickleball Open 1 to 2 Nov 2025. Molly O’Donoghue wins the Women’s Doubles with Thadea Lock and adds the Knottys Mixed Doubles with Louis Laville. Mens Doubles decided in three tight games. All scores seeds and highlights.

Date: 1 to 2 November 2025
Location: Bolton, UK

Bolton Pickleball Open 2025 Molly O’Donoghue Double Louis Laville Mixed Title Full Results and Scores

Molly O’Donoghue enjoyed a standout weekend at the Bolton Open, lifting two titles across two days and underlining her status as one of the most in form players in UK pickleball. Teaming up with Thadea Lock, Molly O’Donoghue captured the Women’s Doubles Open without dropping a game on Saturday. She returned on Sunday to partner Louis Laville and edged a thriller to secure the Knottys Mixed Doubles Open crown in three.

There was no shortage of drama in the Mens Doubles Open either, with the final going the distance before Louis Laville and Joshua Bright seeded No 2 closed out a high quality decider over James Chaudry and Ben Cawston. The mixed draw bronze match also produced a brief flashpoint as officials issued a language warning during the second game. It was handled swiftly and play continued with no further issues.

Women’s Doubles Open final Saturday 1 November 2025

Molly O’Donoghue and Thadea Lock No 1 seeds defeated Tak Yu Abby Fung and Rachael McCrea by 11 to 3 and 11 to 3. The top seeds set the tone with early kitchen line pressure and compact third shot selections, consistently forcing short replies and put away looks. Their serve plus first volley pattern was crisp and once they established side to side control there was little room for Tak Yu Abby Fung and Rachael McCrea to create sustained pressure. The tactical edge came from Molly O’Donoghue racing to the non volley zone and Thadea Lock holding the backhand dink pattern which neutralised counters. Identical 11 to 3 wins underline how ruthlessly the pair converted early mini runs into full game control.

Men’s Doubles Open final Saturday 1 November 2025

James Chaudry and Ben Cawston versus Louis Laville and Joshua Bright No 2 seeds ended 5 to 11 11 to 7 7 to 11 with the title to Louis Laville and Joshua Bright. The champions opened with deep returns and disciplined fourth shot resets for 11 to 5. James Chaudry and Ben Cawston answered in the second game by stepping in on second serve, choosing cleaner speed ups and attacking middle balls to level 11 to 7. The decider swung on three sequences. First, an early hold under pressure when Louis Laville and Joshua Bright dug out a 0 to 2 start with two clean transition resets. Second, clearer middle ball calls cut out cheap errors. Third, closing nerve at 8 to 7 as Louis Laville found two forehand counters that flipped neutral rallies and set up the 11 to 7 finish.

Knottys Mixed Doubles Open final Sunday 2 November 2025

Molly O’Donoghue and Louis Laville defeated Thadea Lock and Ben Cawston No 1 seeds by 6 to 11 11 to 9 11 to 8. The opening game belonged to the favourites as Ben Cawston controlled first volleys and Thadea Lock won long dink exchanges for 11 to 6. From there the momentum turned on subtle shifts. Molly O’Donoghue and Louis Laville varied targets to pull Thadea Lock wider then sped up through the middle to disrupt positioning. They tightened transition play, trimming fifth and seventh ball errors and started to win more neutral rallies. Game two closed 11 to 9 after Molly O’Donoghue absorbed a body speed up and countered into the open lane. Game three saw Louis Laville again decisive down the stretch for 11 to 8.

Mixed bronze final Sunday 2 November 2025

Ellie Tomkinson and Joshua Bright defeated Sonali Patel and Alexander Minogue Stone. In the first game the timeout came at Tomkinson and Bright 9 to 7 with a final of 11 to 8. In the second game the mid game break showed Tomkinson and Bright leading 11 to 8. Officials issued a language warning during the second game. The moment was brief, standards were reinforced, and play resumed promptly without further incident. The difference throughout was the consistency of Ellie Tomkinson in the cross court dink exchanges and the timely speed ups from Joshua Bright.

Weekend Headlines and Talking Points – Tournament Recap for Bolton

The Bolton storyline centres on two themes. First is the double for Molly O’Donoghue, who left with the Womens Doubles title alongside Thadea Lock and the Mixed Doubles crown with Louis Laville. Second is the heavy workload and payoff for Louis Laville, who captured the Mens Doubles with Joshua Bright and then added the Mixed Doubles with Molly O’Donoghue. Seeds mostly delivered. In Womens doubles the No 1 seeds were close to flawless. In Mixed the top seeds Thadea Lock and Ben Cawston reached the final but were edged by late point execution from Molly O’Donoghue and Louis Laville. Fine margins decided the Mens Doubles where a handful of transition points and middle ball decisions proved decisive. Professional officiating ensured that the language warning in the Mixed bronze match was addressed quickly and fairly.

What This Means for the UK Pickleball Landscape

Results in Bolton reinforce depth at the top while showing that margins are narrowing. The same core of players Molly O’Donoghue Thadea Lock Louis Laville Ben Cawston and Joshua Bright continue to set the pace, but more teams are sharpening transitional play and counter attack patterns. Mixed mastery remains pivotal. Partnerships that adapt targeting and reset discipline as Molly O’Donoghue and Louis Laville did in the final are thriving. Across the finals the serve plus first volley battle again proved decisive. Teams that neutralised third shot pressure and owned the first four balls tended to dictate tempo. For clubs and players the weekend was a masterclass in middle coverage communication and late point poise, skills that travel from league nights to Open level competition.

Full finals score for quick reference on tournament recap for Bolton

Date	Event	Winners	Runners up	Scores	Notes
Saturday 1 November 2025	Womens Doubles Open Final	Molly O’Donoghue and Thadea Lock No 1 seeds	Tak Yu Abby Fung and Rachael McCrea	11 to 3, 11 to 3	Straight games win
Saturday 1 November 2025	Mens Doubles Open Final	Louis Laville and Joshua Bright No 2 seeds	James Chaudry and Ben Cawston	11 to 5, 7 to 11, 11 to 7	Title to Louis Laville and Joshua Bright
Sunday 2 November 2025	Knottys Mixed Doubles Open Final	Molly O’Donoghue and Louis Laville	Thadea Lock and Ben Cawston No 1 seeds	6 to 11, 11 to 9, 11 to 8	Comeback in three games
Sunday 2 November 2025	Mixed Bronze Final	Ellie Tomkinson and Joshua Bright	Sonali Patel and Alexander Minogue Stone	11 to 8, second game led 11 to 8 at the break	Language warning issued during game two, match concluded smoothly

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