TCL Signature Event 4 Irving Texas

 

Less than 100 years ago Irving, Texas had a population of less than 360 residents. Today there are well over 250 thousand Texans who call Irving home. One of Irving’s most iconic buildings was the former home of the Dallas Cowboys, Texas Stadium. Opening in 1971 and known for its distinctive hole in the roof, this is where legendary Dallas Cowboys Roger Staubach, Tony Dorsett, Drew Pearson, Randy White, Ed jones and Cliff Harris played.

Just few years ago, there may have been a couple hundred players throwing bags competing in a TCL Signature event. Usually those events would’ve been played at the fabled Mule Barn or a nice meeting room at a Marriot hotel. Those events had Texas cornhole brass such as Daniel Vinson, Stuart Foster, Joe Arrington, Eddie Grinderslev, Chad Jacobson and Todd Bridgeman battling against each other. There were others including Chris Paul, Travis Welch who teamed up as The Poachers dominating the boards for a while. As the game started taking off and its popularity began to boom, other names were etched in the great history of TCL including Brandon Gregor, Josh Groce and A.J. Sims.

By 2019 the game had started to outgrow several venues due to the increase in players and places like the Field of Dreams and Tyler Indoor Soccer Center were considered too small. The Denton Convention Center, which was thought to be one of the better venues, also became a victim to the growth of cornhole. Now TCL has to play in massive convention centers like the Shreveport Convention Center which is one of the best places for large events as well as the Irving Convention Center. The first weekend in May, the afore mentioned Irving Convention Center is where the competition will gather as cornhole players from all around will congregate and play for large sums of money!

This is the final Signature Event for the 2022-23 season leading up to the State Tournament in Shreveport. I know it may be hard to imagine but there will be around 1400 players vying for a slice of the $50K payout. That’s crazy considering where the game was just a few years ago when payouts were considerably smaller than that. Nevertheless, you can bet there will be some outstanding players and games to watch as stories will be written, and legends will be declared.

Thursday evening there will be around 50 ladies playing in the Women’s Singles event and there are several very talented ladies who can win this one. Typically you would think that if Christina Espinosa is playing, she is certainly someone who can win any Women’s event and this Signature isn’t any different. Though she hasn’t been as active on the boards, she is still a threat and with her experience she has potential. Other ladies who are looking to add to their legacy include Crystal Infante, Haley Davidson, Denise McEvoy and Tracie Beeson. Infante recently won the Women’s Doubles in Lubbock and has to be a player to watch. Davidson, McEvoy and Beeson all are fully capable of making a run and winning this tourney as well. Other ladies you can’t count out are Trish Trejo, Taylor Rose, Kayleigh Logan and Delany Pilliod. This will be a fun one to watch and I expect the competition to be fierce.

The typical big attraction is the Open Division, and this Signature will have plenty of star power. The obvious favorite has to be Justin Burton, Jr. Burton has won each Signature Singles event this year and has been white hot here of late with some big wins. Burton won the Lubbock Signature which included a epic 33 round win against Sammy Soto. Soto is no stranger to big wins as he has grabbed several podiums the past year and I expect him to contend for this event as well. There are several players in this division who can win and if any of them get hot, look out! Gavin Cano, Grant Upchurch, Jacob Foreman and Brandon Gregor are typically players you would expect to be in the mix however there are some others that are trying to get some hardware. Those players include Cayhill Isom from Lampasas who has been throwing exceptionally well along with Chase Lester and Scott Beck. Isabella Suprenant, Luke Anderson, Juanito Pantoya, Mason Vega, Tye Thompson and Zeb Smith all have tremendous potential as well. There are always players who nobody expects to contend but Signatures always seem to sprout new talent and this one I believe there will be some new names making their name known. Newcomer to Texas Alec Budd is one of those players. Budd has been playing for a while and just recently moved to East Texas and has been lighting it up. Don’t sleep on this guy! There are simply way too many really good players these days and any of them could be a problem. Some of these include Ernest Herrera, Dillon Randle, Fletcher Jonson, Ernest Monarca, Alex Ibarra, Caleb Franklin, Zack Faulkner, Aaron Aspeitia, Andruw Villa, Logan Chamberlain and someone who just recently got back into the swing of things, Anthony Delgado. Man, there is some serious talent out there and it will certainly be a battle. To win this event you will have to mix in a few 13’s and 14’s along with a whole bunch of 12’s to win this one!

I wanted to do this article to see how folks liked it and if I get enough positive response I may try to do another before Irving. Ya’ll enjoy and best of luck.

 

Throw ‘em straight!