Denton Signature Series Recap

Each year the Texas Cornhole League puts on 6 major events. The Ryder Cup, the State/Conference Tournament and 4 Signature Series Events. This past Friday and Saturday TCL hosted the seasons forth and final Signature Series Event in Denton, Tx at the Denton Convention Center. I feel safe in saying that everyone thought highly of this venue. I mean, free beer during happy hour, who does that!! The food that I ate was good and affordable and the beer must have been good as I heard they sold out of Coors Light!

Things got rolling Friday with the Singles Events highlighted by the Open division. Veteran Steve Vanderver who has played many big events showed his worth as he got past Mark Bitner to claim the win. Bitner won his first 7 games to gain a seat in the finals and was throwing darts all night. Vandever lost in the winners bracket semis to a white hot Tom Allen before rattling off several wins to get back to the finals. Vandever wouldn't be denied as he double-dipped Bitner in a couple of well played games. Chad Jacobson threw well all night and was able to nab a 3rd place finish while Johnny Seymour placed 4th.  

In the Tier 1 drop down Singles Greg Kilmer defeated Justin Winschel for the win while Earnest Herrera and Grant Upchurch finished 3rd and 4th respectively.

The Tier 2 Singles had Casey Young delivering more than bread as he defeated Ryan Littlejohn to grab some 1st place hardware. Jonathon Perez came in 3rd and Matt Martinez came in 4th.

In the Social Singles Josh Heilman went undefeated beating Earnest Monarca to grab the win. Monarca lost in the 3rd round of the winners bracket then reeled off an impressive 9 straight wins to get back to the finals. Chase Jackson finished 3rd while Jason Newport came in 4th. Randy Fowler defeated Cory Clower to win the Backyard Singles with Troy Slover and Dakota King finishing 3rd and 4th.

Open Doubles gave us more Vanderver...well ya see, Steve teamed up with his wife Jenn and came away with the win defeating Chad Jacobson and Daniel Vinson to complete a weekend sweep for Steve. Jason Andrews teamed up with JC Nekuza to finish 3rd and Stuart Foster and Joe Arrington ended up in 4th.

Tier 1 Doubles was won by Dallas Berthiaume and Grant Upchurch as they defeated Nick Knabe and Dan Rogge. The Cornhole Killaz also known as Jason Robertson and Roel Salinas came in 3rd and Tristan Janca and Peyton Welch finished in 4th.

Tier 2 had Donnie Marshall and Mark Cordes winning as they beat Tyler Weaver and Steve Sheffield for the win. Rolando Rios and John Brady won 3rd and David Robinson and Brian Cranford slid  in to finish 4th.

Social Doubles was won by Sean McManus and Anthony Long as they got past Sean Weatherford and Jeff Hughes. Finishing 3rd was Steven Youngblood and Troy Slover while 4th place was won by Randy Fowler and David Cavins.

The Backyard Doubles had Clayton Brewer and Brittney Arrington taking home the win as they beat Lane McManus and Travis Sutton. Zach Williams and Brad Hughes came in 3rd and Anthony Hudson and Jim Hughes finished 4th.

Overall I'd have to say this was a great weekend of cornhole. Great venue, great games and great people. Speaking of great people, the folks that put this event on need to be mentioned. Chad Jacobson, Jason Andrews, Justin Fowler, Adam Utz and J D Thompson...you guys are amazing. Most people don't realize what all it takes to put on an event like this but I do. I know there are gazillions of hours that go into planning and organizing a tournament this size and for it go off without a hitch is a testament to your value. It is appreciated tremendously. Also, we thank your wives and families who allow you guys to put forth the time and effort to make these events happen for all of us.

Next up will be the State/Conference Event next month. See Y'all in Abeline!!

TCL Points Race 2019

Recently the 145th running of the Kentucky Derby was won by Maximum Security...ahem, no wait, actually the official winner was a 65.1 long shot named Country House. The 3 year old Chestnut was determined the winner because of an "Objection" that occurred as a group of horses making a dash to the final stretch kinda got "out of whack" so to speak. Race Stewards, who we frequently consider them Officials or Umps, or Refs or Blue...anyway,  the officials claimed Maximum Security obstructed some horses or something like that by basically impeding the route another horse was wanting to travel. See, out of whack. Exciting nevertheless and that brings me to the TCL Race for the Top 60!      

The 2018-19 Texas Cornhole League Season 9 is thundering down the stretch with many players jockeying for position. As is the case in most seasons, there is typically a good amount of movement as many players are chasing points with the Top 60 being their primary goal. Every year finishing in the Top 60 is one of the most sought after achievements and with it comes a cool jersey and an invite to the end of season Top 60 Tournament. Some of the top players are battling it out with hopes of finishing first in points and being able to proclaim themselves the 2018-2019 TCL Player of the Year. With the 4th Signature event and the State tournament looming, points and where you rank can be critical since this is where the seedings are determined for these events. 

As of April 26 the most current points rankings are basically a "who's who" of TCL players. Stuart Foster certainly isn't a stranger at the top of the rankings and leads everyone with 3803.0 points. Foster has had another great year with a near perfect Regional card and very good finishes in the previous 3 Signature Events. Eddie Grinderslev is right behind Foster with 3686.7 points and may need some help in order to make any positive movement. Todd Bridgeman, the current TCL Player of the Year is 3rd and has posted top 5 finishes in the previous 3 Signature Events but hasn't finished with a full Regional card. Brandon Gregor, a former Player of the Year and State Champion is in 4th with 3604.7. BG has a decent Regional Card but not as good as he would prefer with two 2nd place Regional Singles finishes and 2 Doubles wins. The previous 3 players, Grinderslev, Bridgeman and Gregor will miss the last Signature event in Denton due to the ACL Tournament in Arizona, giving others a chance to slide ahead of them. Johnny Seymour who has a near perfect Regional Card is in 5th with 3550.0 and will need to do well in Denton to increase his position. Daniel Vinson is in 6th with 3465.0 and seems to be on a mission here of late. He has added a second league win and a couple of Regional Doubles to his card and with a strong Singles finish in Denton he could make a considerable jump. Josh Groce is in 7th with 3450.0 points boasting strong Signature finishes to date but not as many Regional wins on this year's card. Christina Espinosa is in 8th with 3440.0 and once again leads all the ladies. Adam Utz comes in 9th at 3410.0 sporting a good Regional Card and will be looking for good finishes in Denton. Jason Andrews with 3400.0 points rounds out the top 10 and has a good shot at moving up with a good weekend in Denton.

There have been a slew of tournaments the past few weeks giving players several opportunities to grab wins and those all important points! Many players are trying to improve and maintain their ranks and the movement will be crazy. As I scan the Top 60 and beyond, it will be very interesting to see who can sneak in with late season charges. Even as I'm writing this the standings have changed considerably and just like the announcer at the Kentucky Derby bellowed..."And down the stretch they come"! 

Stay tuned y'all, this finish will be a good one.