The battle of the Yukon's top two Division 1 squash teams fittingly went down to the wire last night at Better Bodies Whitehorse.

In the end, EBA Engineering claimed the title, outdueling Dynamic Systems 20-15 in a closely-contested championship matchup.

Three of the four matches took all five games to decide, with EBA coming out on top in each of them.

In the first matchup of the night, EBA's No. 2 player Phil Jackson went down 2-0 to Ehsan Idrees, before coming back to win three straight games 15-8, 15-11, 15-13.

"”We've had close games all year,” the wily veteran said after his win over Idrees. "He's young, he's quick and fast. I wish I knew the secret to how to beat him, but sometimes you win, and sometimes you lose.”

The second matchup pitted No. 1 players Mark Tubman and Sam Penner against each other, with EBA's Tubman outlasting his rival in five games.

While happy to earn his second straight championship, Tubman said winning the playoffs is more about bragging rights than anything else.

"It doesn't mean a whole lot in all honesty,” the team captain chuckled. "You get bragging rights for the summer.”

EBA's No. 3, Shahid Syed, would finish off the championship win in style, beating Dynamic's Doug Thorseth 3-2 to close out the season.

"He hits hard. He hits soft,” Tubman said of Syed. "He just somehow seems to pull it out through his competitive nature.”

The battle between Syed and Thorseth determined EBA's victory.

The two veterans found themselves tied 2-2 after four games, making the fifth set a winner-take-all event.

Thorseth played a hard-diving and sliding game, while Syed preferred to shift gears, relying on a softer, slower style.

When the dust settled, it was Syed's strategy that paid dividends, as he secured the final game by a score of 15-10.

Dynamic's No. 4 player Jonathan Gorton beat EBA's Brent McLaren 3-1 to claim the lone win for his side.

Gorton said the league serves as a great way to pair socializing with recreation through the long winter months.

"There's great competition and lots of different levels,” Gorton said post-game. "And if you get a little bit better, you can climb up a level.”

Gorton admitted playing in the championship was a novelty.

"Some people are more competitive than others, but you play hard in your games,” he said. "You're one of four, so you just go out there and hit balls and you hope your teammates hit balls – and maybe you come out with a championship. It's pretty interesting. It's really fun.”

McLaren joined EBA mid-year after the club's starting No. 4 player suffered a season-ending leg injury.

TSL Contractors Ltd. beat Yukon Tree Services 13-12 to win third place.

In last week's semifinal, EBA edged out TSL Contractors in a game so close it had to be decided by counting actual game points.

With the match tied 16-16 after all games were complete, a detailed countback gave EBA the win, 207-203.

In the other semi, Dynamic upset top-ranked Yukon Tree Services 19-12 to land a berth in the final.

Outside the Cube beat Solstice Landscaping 17-15 to claim fifth place.

Tomorrow night, the Div. 2 squash championship will be decided, with The Electrical Shop and Better Bookkeeping squaring off in the title game.

In last week's Div. 2 semifinal matchups, The Electrical Shop beat out Aurora Geosciences 19-11, while Better Bookkeeping edged North Star Storage 15-14.

Yukon Brewing beat Sterling Insurance 19-10 to take fifth place.

The Yukon Open will close out the squash season May 9 to 11.