The first ever PSA Tour Copper event ended in fittingly dramatic style, as teenage sensation Mohamad Zakaria fought back from 2-0 down to win the NASH Cup 2024 NASH Family Wealth Management mens title, after Englands Katie Malliff had claimed the womens crown in five games earlier in the day.

The tournament had already enjoyed a number of thrilling matches across the first four days, with 12 matchups going the distance, several of which featured epic comebacks and missed opportunities.

It was perhaps unsurprising, therefore, that both finals went to five in front of a packed out London Squash & Fitness Club, which continued to create a unique and passionate atmosphere throughout the competition.

16-year-old Zakaria has already put the squash world on notice across the last 12 months, becoming the youngest ever male winner of a PSA Tour event and the youngest male junior world champion, and he now has a PSA Tour world event title to his name too.

But playing on the eve of his 17th birthday, Zakaria had to do things the hard way against Englands Curtis Malik, who had knocked out Moustafa Elsirty in dramatic fashion in round two, before putting in dominant displays in the next two rounds.

The last time Malik and Zakaria had met was in a five-game marathon almost 12 months ago, with Malik winning 11-9 in the fifth, so it was little surprise especially given that both players have improved since then that they were so evenly matched early on here.

Never once during an 18-minute first game were there more than two points between them, but it was the No.2 seed who took it 11-9, before giving himself a 2-0 lead by winning the second 11-7.

By his own admission, Zakaria had been somewhat passive throughout the first two games, but he came out firing in game three, displaying a more attacking brand of squash as he raced to an 11-5 win in less than six minutes.

A high backhand volley winner brought that game to a close, and Zakaria left the court to loud cheers of encouragement from the crowd, with the young Egyptian having become somewhat of a fan favourite throughout the week, especially with the students of Londons Western University.

He then cruised into a 10-6 lead in game four, but Malik set the nerves jangling by reeling off three points in a row, with Zakaria motioning to his coaching corner that he needed to keep his cool.

Keep his cool he did, with a stroke on the following rally ending the game, sending the match into a decider as the hour mark approached.

With momentum against him, Malik knew he likely needed a fast start to game five, but instead the tide continued to flow Zakarias way, as he was quickly 5-1 up.

5-1 soon became 10-1 handing him nine championship balls, but he only needed one, with another high backhand volley proving too good for Malik to reach.

Its the best summer one can ask for, but its no surprise, Ive worked incredibly hard to be here, Zakaria said after victory, referencing his success at the WSF World Junior Squash Championships in July.

The Western guys atmosphere is incredible. They were cheering for me all week, it was an incredible atmosphere and I was so happy I could scrap the win today.

It was 2-0 down and I said to myself Oh my God youre going to regret this, your birthday is tomorrow and youre going to have the worst birthday ever, so you need to push. And I pushed and I found a way and I completely changed the momentum, and I was extremely happy to get this title.

At the beginning the rallies were neutral. Sometimes I was controlling them, sometimes he was controlling them. I didnt go for my shots, didnt have my creativity, so I just said, okay youre losing this way, change everything, go for shots and lets see what happens. So I started that in the third and I won it very quickly so I just got the momentum and the confidence.

Zakarias win followed a similarly enthralling contest in the womens final, between Malliff and Curtis Maliks younger sister, Torrie.

Torrie had produced her own remarkable fightback in the semi-finals, saving two match balls at 2-0, 10-8 down to Georgia Adderley before turning things around to win in five.

Taking on No.2 seed and compatriot Malliff in the final, Malik carried that momentum from her semi-final win into game one, punishing anything loose with her trademark powerful kills, most notably on game ball at 10-9 when she slammed a backhand winner just millimetres above the tin.

Game two was a different story as Malliff lost only four points, two of which came on the first two rallies, but Malik got her nose back in front after three, saving game balls at 11-10 and 12-11 down, eventually taking the game 14-12.

Game four followed a similar pattern to game two, with Malliff this time losing only three points, sending us into a decider that would swing one way and then the other.

Malik opened up a 5-2 lead only to see her opponent win six points in a row, but another vicious backhand kill closed the gap to two points, with cries of yes Torrie echoing from the stands.

8-6 would soon become 10-6, though, and while Malliff saw the first two match balls come and go, she would not waste a third, securing victory on a stroke decision after a smart forehand drop to the front-left wall.

Im pleased to win the first Copper, she said.

I know Torries a dangerous player, the kills are amazing like ridiculous, really unretrievable at times so yeah, pleased to get the the win there.

I didnt really execute the my game plan, I left too many balls around the middle and she hit way too many winners against me.

I think Im back to my best. I obviously had a back injury but Ive been playing back since March, so the more matches the better really, and Im definitely getting better with each match.

Results: NASH Cup 2024 NASH Family Wealth Management Mens Final

[8] Mohamad Zakaria (EGY) bt [2] Curtis Malik (ENG) 3-2: 9-11, 7-11, 11-5, 11-9, 11-1 (66m)

Results: NASH Cup 2024 NASH Family Wealth Management Womens Final

[2] Katie Malliff (ENG) bt [7] Torrie Malik (ENG) 3-2: 9-11, 11-4, 12-14, 11-3, 11-8 (53m)