TCL Signature Series Shreveport - Elite Doubles

For those who have attended a TCL Signature event, you walk away with a variety of experiences. First timers may be in awe of the size of the event with usually well over 100 courts set up, not to mention having more than 1000 plus players, many times closer to 1500. All trying to play well enough to reach the podium, take home a nice piece of woodwork usually created by the Knabes, and pocket some of the $50,000 in payouts. The players who have played in several of these tournaments will all say it's a grind and a battle just dealing with the mental stress it may bring on. Not to mention the fatigue of being on your feet for hours upon hours putting most players on the couch on Sunday recovering from a bad case of cornhole coma! The most experienced players know. They just know. They know going into it there will be challenges dealing with board conditions, bag choices and the demand of throwing several hundred if not over a thousand bags over the 3-day event. For the Elite Division, TCL brings nothing but the best to this type of event. In years past, maybe many years past, you might be in a game where your opponent may be a bit outmatched, and you get a fairly easy win. Not these days. Not this event. The Elite Division in TCL is an absolute gauntlet where each game can be fiercely competitive. The first Signature event of TCL's 15th season took place recently at a venue many players call their favorite. The Shreveport Convention Center with a Hilton hotel attached and within walking distance to restaurants, Casinos and the popular Sand Bar providing everything needed to put on a highly entertaining event, and TCL again did not disappoint.

The main event showcasing the top players is Elite Doubles. This division has several Pros along with top tier players from all across Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, New Mexico and Louisiana. Before the event, I scrolled down the list of teams registered to see which teams I thought may have a chance to win and I really couldn't come to any conclusions. There are simply way too many awesome players, several that I don't get a chance to see play. Saturday things got started early in Elite Doubles with Pool play in the morning session and based on how teams finished, you could see who was playing well and who was on the struggle bus. Fletcher Jonson and newcomer William Cobb earned the top seed and a first-round bye in bracket play. Chase Lester and Levi Haddock, two outstanding young players from Northeast Texas, were seeded number 2. As the bracket play progressed, a couple of upsets along the way occurred including 18th seed Bryce Forbes and Tye Thompson taking down 2 seed Lester and Haddock...in 2 games. TCL plays best of 3 in the winner's side, so Forbes and Thompson didn't mess around. Another potential favorite lost their first match as Terry Swiney and Matthew Morris took down Justin Burton, Jr and Rylann Claver in 2 games. Skipping ahead to the winner's semi-finals, Oscar Maierena and Victor Alday matched up against Madden Franco and Luke Anderson with Franco and Anderson taking the match in 3 games to get to the finals of the winner's bracket. The other semi-final had Grant Upchurch and Cayhill Isom defeating Forbes and Thompson in 3 games. This would set up a winner's bracket final between Upchurch and Isom against Anderson and Franco with Grant and Cayhill winning in 2 games. The last two rounds of the deciding game for Madden and Anderson were fatal as Isom collected a 5-point round and Upchurch securing the win with a 9 piece against Franco. That put Upchurch and Isom in the finals, but Anderson and Madden weren't done yet. To get back to the finals they would have to beat Victor Alday and Oscar Mairena...again! This game was well played with Alday and Madden basically going bag for bag shooting 10+ ppr's. Luke got the better of Oscar scoring 17 of the 21 points helping them advance to the finals.

Elite Doubles is typically the final match played and always has a large and rowdy crowd on hand watching and cheering on their favorite teams. For newer players, this environment can be very unsettling and can wreak havoc of their nerves. The veteran players who are accustomed to the main boards, seem to handle it better. Watching this final I didn't see any player being bothered by the atmosphere as all four players were laser focused for this match. The first game saw a lot of back-and-forth scoring with the scored being tied at 11 after round 14. The next two rounds Upchurch and Isom would collect 6 more points to increase their lead to 17-11. In exciting fashion, Anderson and Franco scored 3 straight 4-point rounds to win game one 21-17.  Even more fireworks in game two as Upchurch and Isom opened up a huge 19-4 lead after 19 rounds. In an incredible comeback, Luke and Madden scored the next 17 points to pull off the massive win. The championship deciding third game had Upchurch and Isom leading 17-6 only to have Franco and Anderson come back and take a 18-17 lead. That lead didn't last long as Upchurch would eventually put them away with the 21-18 victory. This matchup was a great example of shot making and perseverance by both teams as they overcame many obstacles and deficits. Hats off to these guys as they gave everyone an awesome show. Congratulations to Grant Upchurch and Cayhill Isom on their win.

TCL's next Signature Series event will be played the first week of December in Mesquite Texas and as always you can expect another great event. Grab your partners, break in those new bags and get your throws tuned up as we will see you there in a couple of months!

Till next time, Y'all throw 'em straight!