Pardon the interruption. I needed a beer or 5 (!!!) to process what transpired at the King Kong Tournaments Men’s Doubles Age 64 and Younger today.
TS Debby held off until the very final end of play today, cutting short the conclusion to an exciting day of play.
In the found robin play, only one team made it through their bracket undefeated. Hats off to Jason Hedden and Doug McClintock on courts 4-6 for pulling off that feat. On courts 1-3, it was a tough draw becoming even tougher with the last minute change to an injury on team 6 where Howard Payne replaced Kevin Stasney. In the end, it was of no consequences as the team of Jim Bruton and Gary Chalmers overcame their first game loss of 10-11 to finish on top of their bracket with 4 Wins and 54 points. On courts 7-9, the top 2 teams duked it out in the 5th game with Chris Armstrong and Billy Speckman taking down the Keller brothers, 11-5, giving them 4 Wins, the head-to-head victory and total points of 52 to Dave and Steve’s 49 points. That loss also knocked them out of medal contention where the best of the rest was team Alan Knuckles and John Buffington from courts 1-3, also with 4 Wins but finishing with a total points of 52.
In the first Semis, it was Jason and Doug taking on Alan and John, where Jason and Doug handily won, 11-3. In the second Semis, Jim and Gary took on Chris and Billy, winning a very competitve game, 11-9.
That setup the Gold-Silver game between Jason and Doug against Jim and Gary and the Bronze game between Alan and Joh versus Chris and Billy. And that’s when TS Debby interjected and proceeded to drop a deluge just as we were beginning to play the final 2 games.
This is not over! I will look to reschedule the finals during the end of one of the other tournaments or find a schedule that works for the finalists. For now, give a round of applause to all the participants and fans who came to play and watch!
Kongrats to the finalists and look for an update for when we’ll bring this to its rightful conclusion. Many thanks to my intrepid team of volunteers: Chas Popplestone, Diane Fuleky and Gavin Mason! And of course, heart-felt thanks to our caterer at large, Moon Toomey!
Up Next:
-Signups for the Mixed Doubles Age 64 and Younger, Tue, Aug 6 at 8:30p
-Mixed Doubles Age 65 and Older, Sun, Aug 11 at 10a
Here is the link to the photos: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjBCu8Y
Here is the link to the YT playlist which includes the live stream and the GoPro footage captured from court 9: (ATP Alert! Doug McClintock ATP at 1:17:44 on the live stream) https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLy0MUnaQ-KX8cvIgXaXMb-gO8vzmvOyb9&si=rQCG6IvKFOhA51tF
Here are the timestamps for the games on court 9:
- Game 1 (0:00:00) – Umang Kasotia and Eric Green v Glen Smith and John Murphy
- Game 2 (0:13:48) – Tony Campbell and Rainer Badem v Glen Smith and John Murphy
- Game 3 (0:26:12) – Dave Keller and Steve Keller v Glen Smith and John Murphy
- Game 4 (0:40:15) – Keith Buchman and Sean Donnelly v Tony Campbell and Rainer Badem
- Game 5 (0:56:23) – Umang Kasotia and Eric Green v Tony Campbell and Rainer Badem
- Semis (1:13:15) – Jim Bruton and Gary Chalmers v Chris Armstrong and Billy Speckman
- TS Debby arrives! (1:38:00)
- Mo rescues my GoPro (1:39:53)
Bronze – Alan Knuckles and John Buffington v Chris Armstrong and Billy Specimen (will be rescheduled along with the Gold-Silver game to bring this tournament to a close)