Following his game-winning point, Kevin Murphy threw his racket on the table and stared skyward.

The 57-year-old downed defending champion Ryan Bachli in five sets Sunday to win the men’s singles title at the Yukon Table Tennis Championships. The victory was the 20th of Murphy’s storied career.

“I honestly didn’t think this would happen,” Murphy said of his latest win.

“I haven’t been playing much in the way of singles all year because of a hip injury. ... I had no idea I would even win a match against Ryan.”

The scorelines reveal the game story as Murphy won 7-11, 2-11, 16-14, 11-7 and 11-5.

Up 2-0 in the best-of-five matchup and appearing to have the game in hand in the third set, the 23-year-old Bachli faltered.

“Me and Kevin both haven’t been playing much all year,” Bachli said. “It’s amazing that I even got to the final. I was just way too tired ... I couldn’t move around or anything.

“And I’m playing with long hair for the first time so it was poking me in the eyes and stuff.”

Bachli cruised to a 2-0 lead in the game, even tossing in a trick shot in the second match that saw his ball roll up the net and land softly on Murphy’s side of the table.

“Oh, you devil!” Murphy exclaimed to Bachli, who himself was in disbelief at his luck.

The third match was a game-changer, however, with the two men exchanging blows until Murphy finally claimed it 16-14.

“From the third game on, everything changed and things just started working for me and stopped working for him,” Murphy told the Star post-game.

“Even after I won the fourth game, I thought well, now he’s going to turn up the juice.”

The longtime coach said in the third match, he was suddenly able to implement more sidespin on his serves and shot.

“I snuck back in and all of a sudden things started working my way. It’s sweet ... I’m at a loss for words to explain it.”

Murphy went on to win the fourth match 11-7 by outlasting his young counterpart through some difficult rallies then went on to beat Bachli 11-5 in the deciding fifth match.

Despite hip and knee injuries that limit his mobility, Murphy said he left it all on the table.

“I’ll probably pay for it tomorrow and maybe a few days further,” he chuckled. “Sometimes it’s like a switch going off and I think I’m five years younger and despite the limitations, you’re playing on some memories. The memories are not flawed at all.”

The annual title match that traditionally pits Murphy versus Bachli is a special one.

All eyes in the gymnasium at Ecole Whitehorse Elementary School turn towards centre stage as the territory’s two dominant players do battle.

While Murphy’s 20th title win highlighted the championships, it wasn’t the only trophy awarded over the weekend.

In women’s play, Christina Nie downed Grace Anne Janssen in three sets for the singles title.

Janssen didn’t go home emptyhanded however, after teaming up with Mingmin Ming to win the women’s doubles competition.

Meanwhile, Taras Yurkiv and Daniel Li partnered to beat Murphy and Bachli for the men’s doubles title.

In junior play, Arcel Siosan took the boys singles crown, while figure skater turned table tennis player Kelcy Armstrong won the junior women’s category, after winning a tiebreaker with Janssen and Ashley Harris.

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The 2015 Yukon Championships weren’t the only table tennis action of the weekend.

On Saturday, the local association hosted a school tournament in an effort to woo players to form a team for the 2016 Arctic Winter Games. Thirteen players attended.

Dawson City’s Ethan Gaw and Selkirk’s Ming Huang took the singles crowns, while Gaw and F.H. Collins’ Thomas Brenner won the boys high school team event.

Christ the King’s Nathan Abel teamed up with Vanier’s Arcel Siosan to win the boys elementary title, while Huang and F.H. Collins’ Ashley Harris took the girls event.