Let’s hear it for the men! They really put on a show today at theKing Kong Tournaments Men’s 8.0+ and we got to see some of the best games played so far this year! And with hurricane Milton gone, we’re finally beginning to see some nicer weather after enduring a brutally hot and humid summer.
On courts 1-3, your top finisher was Robert Kraft and Jim Bruton, going undefeated and racking up a +39 points differential to also earn them the #1 seed. On courts 4-6, it was Rob Schultz and Tom Musone doing the same but with a +30 points differential to get the #2 spot. For courts 7-9, we had a battle in game 5 that determined the top seed for their group. Going in, John Buffington and Rick Stehno were on cruise control, handily winning their 4 previuos gams by. wide margin. Wayne Bondy and Terry Wenger had sometiing else to say as they lost only 1 other game and by only a single point. Wayne and Terry handed John and Rick their first lost to get the #3 seed with 4 wins and 54 total points. The battle for the 4th and final spot came down to between John and Rick or Tony Chiravolo and Scott Shore. Both teams finished with 4 wins, 46 total points but John and Rick had a +26 to Tony and Scott’s +16 point differential, giving John and Rick the 4th seed.
Both Semis saw some more great play continue with John and Rick defeating Robert and Jim 11-7 to get them to the Gold-Silver game. Rob and Tom went into OT, winning 12-10 over a very scrappy Wayne and Terry pairing, to get them into the Gold-Silver game.
In both the Gold-Silver and Bronze games, both sides were well matched and we saw some incredible rallies being played. In the end John and Rick were finally able to get the upper hand, winning the Gold 11-9 over Rob and Tom (Silver). Wayne and Terry took home the Bronze, defeating Robert and Jim 11-8. Kongrats to the medalists and give everyone a hand for an amazing tournament today.
I hope I caught all the action on court 6 as I saw that the livestream may have gotten interrupted with a lost network connection message and a spinning death wheel on the screen!
Thanks to my volunteers of Chas Popplestone, Sue Reich, Diane Fuleky, and first timer, Nancy Walker. And welcome back, Moon Toomey, and resuming your duties a chief hamburglar.
Up Next:
-Pickle N’ Poker Palooza-Night Owls. Oct 18
-Men’s 6.5 and Under, Oct 20
-Halloween Charity Event, Oct 27
Here is the link to all the photos: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjBMTjG
Here is the link to the YT channel playlist, including the replay of the livestream. Unfortunately, the livestream lost it’s network connection midway through game 3 on court 6 and I didn’t discover the problem until we got to the playoffs.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLy0MUnaQ-KX_-DJZL5dnyoWN8_2dn6ipr
These are the timestamps for what was on the livestream::
- Intro/group photo (0:33:44)
- Game 1 (0:37:20) – Tony Chiravolo and Scott Shore v Ron Rivas and Ed Duran
- Game 2 (1:04:25) – Glen Kielbowicz and Michael Flaherty v Rob Schultz and Tom Musone
- Game 3 (1:1:12:45) – Doug McClintock and Paul Gatto v Gary Jones and Frank Dunn – the stream ended at 7-1-2, Paul serving). Anyone catch the error?
Games lost from the livestream:
- Game 4 – Tony Chiravolo and Scott Shore v Rob Schultz and Tom Musone
- Game 5 – Rob Schulz and Tom Musone v Gary Jones and Frank Dunn
- Semis – Robert Kraft and Jim Bruton v John Buffington and Rick Stehno
- Gold-Silver – John Buffington and Rick Stehno v Rob Schultz and Tom Musone
I did fire up my iPad from afar after finding out the streaming problem and recorded the Semis and Gold-Silver games with that, albeit with a few challenges. Here are the timestamps from that footage:
- Semis (00:00) – Robert Kraft and Jim Bruton v John Buffington and Rick Stehno
- Gold-Silver (27:29) – John Buffington and Rick Stehno v Rob Schultz and Tom Musone
Here are the timestamps for the GoPro video from court 9 (I expect this to be available later today-it’s still processing as of 7a 10/15):
- Intro (0:00:00)
- Game 1 (0:03:27) – Wayne Bondy and Terry Wenger v Michael Ciavarini and Paul Waters
- Game 2 (0:18:46) – Eric Green and Andy Baker v Mark Montgomery and Spencer Lampert
- Game 3 (0:31:29) – John Buffington and Rick Stehno v Keith Buchman and Sean Donnelly
- Game 4 (0:44:20) – Wayne Bondy and Terry Wenger v Mark Montgomery and Spencer Lampert
- Game 5 (1:09:31) – Mark Montgomery and Spencer Lampert v Keith Buchman and Sean Donnelly (after switching ends, the camera started to act wonky through the remaining games)
- Semis (1:37:13) – Wayne Bondy and Terry Wenger v Rob Schultz and Tom Musone
- Bronze (2:06:25) – Wayne Bondy and Terry Wenger v Robert Kraft and Jim Bruton
And a with a little help via video editor, I was able to zoom into the end of Game 3, Game 4 and Game 5 from the GoPro, albeit with the wandering focus problems popping up in game 5:
- Game 3 (2:34:20) – Doug McClintock and Paul Gatto v Gary Jones and Frank Dunn – at the switch 6-1-2, Paul serving. Anyone catch the error?
- Game 4 (2:42:46) – Tony Chiravolo and Scott Shore v Rob Schultz and Tom Musone
- Game 5 (2:55:37) – Rob Schulz and Tom Musone v Gary Jones and Frank Dunn