TCL League Championship - Open Doubles Preview

During the 1988 NBA All Star 3 point Shooting contest several of the games best shooters were assembled and before the event started Larry Bird walked into the dressing room full of the contestants and said "Who's playing for second". He then proceeded to perform the whole competition in his warm up jacket and outlasted Dale Ellis to win his 3rd straight 3 point competition. Needless to say the lore of Larry Legend continued. This Saturday in Shreveport the Texas Cornhole League will be finishing up it's League Championship with Doubles play and the final match to be played will be the highly anticipated Open Doubles. Like almost every Signature Event and League Championship, a lot rides on this event and it is usually the one that draws the largest crowds. The excitement will be electric and loud with upbeat music being played and a buzz filtering around as the games get started. The teams of two will be plenty and the talent will be unmatched at this level as many of the top players in and around Texas as well as a few surrounding states will battle and test their skills against each other. One of the teams is Grant Upchurch and Sammy Soto who are two of the best to have ever thrown bags in TCL. Both have won at high levels and I see them arguably one of the favorites to win it all Saturday. Grant who not only will be going for a three peat in Singles but will also being trying to win his third straight Doubles Title. He has won with Josh Murdock and last year with Justin Fowler and adding a little bit of irony, he and Fowler beat Sammy and Mason Vega last year. Sammy and Grant have won big events across the country and if they are on their games, they will be tough to beat. There are several other duos who are playing this weekend that must be considered as well including Mason Vega and Levi Lechner, Preston and Cayhill Ison and Tye Thompson and Dillon Randle. Vega has been here before and if Levi gets hot maybe Mason will get over the hump to get the title. He lost to Grant and Murdock while teamed up with Ernest Herrera a couple of years ago and lost last year to Upchurch and Fowler. Dude is due! Tye and Dillon are a tough team to deal with also and I can see these guys making a run if they get hot. Chase Lester one of the hottest players here of late is teamed up with Lane McManus and they pose a serious threat as well. Oscar Mairena and Aaron Aspeitia are another pair that are solid on the boards. These guys continue to make their way up the ladder and definitely have the potential to win it all. Ernest Herrera and Kevin Meza along with Fletcher Jonson and Scott Beck are extremely talented players and all are throwing well right now. They have big game experience and will be forces to be reckoned with. Luke Anderson and Rylann Claver are a talented team and have what it takes to be there in the end. Man there are some really good teams that I haven't mentioned yet, glad I don't have to face these guys!! Ty Trevino and Dylan Cernero, Matt Longoria and Anthony Delgado also should will be hard outs along with Alex Ibarra and Noah Alborado. Kale Harrell and Kobey Alley from Oklahoma can be menaces on the boards so don't sleep on these guys or else you'll become a spectator in a hurry! A few other teams that may be need to be mentioned are Jim Abdella and Zeb Smith and Terry Swinney and Matthew Morris. Both of these teams have a lot of talent and are hard to beat. I talked with Jim last night and he informed me that he had played earlier in the week and played on boards that weren't set up at the right distance and his sense of depth was way off. Hopefully he will get that righted and be the usual consistent thrower he typically has been.

I know there are others who I may not mention and I get picked on from time to time but trust me I don't mean any harm. I just kinda go with what I know and what I've seen. I'm not taking any bets however if you ask me who I think will win, well you'll may just have to come up to me in Shreveport and find out! Y'all have fun and enjoy this event.

Throw 'em straight!