Champion: Sean Dameron
Runner-Up: Scott Salmon
# of Players: 55
Brackets/Results (PDF)

MORNING SESSION

Bracket A

The bracket probably should’ve been called the Dameron bracket with Tom, Elaine, Missy & Sean all battling it out (along with Cousin Dawn Jenkins!) Bracket A wasn’t nice to a couple of the Damerons, though, as Missy & Elaine both went 0-2. #2 seeded Tom Dameron showed no mercy on daughter-in-law Missy thumping her 15-2 before he got thumped by Cousin Dawn. She came down from Louisville battling a cold, but fought through the congestion on her way to locking up the #2 seed into the afternoon. Rookie Josh Taylor put on a show today going 4-2 in the bracket to seal the #4 seed into the afternoon (more on him later). Jared “Dan” Spann made his Monkeyball debut going 2 & out, but he made up for it by taking home a $50 gift certificate courtesy of Paper Cuts Designs. (Thanks, Holly Mackle!) Rookie Ryan Hammock had a nice showing going 2-2 in his first tourney, narrowly missing the afternoon. He’s hooked, and is already trying to plan his own tourney. Steve Sebastian continued his trash talk (see last year’s MBXman recap) when he was paired up to play his daughter Caitlyn. When their game was over, he gave me the score & I said, “Who won?” He kind of laughed and said, “You think I’m gonna lose to her?” Atta boy, Steve…show no mercy.

Bracket B

Scott Salmon & his wife, Michelle, started the day as the #1 & #2 seeds in Bracket B….and they finished the morning session that way, too. Nice job, Salmons! Rookie Jim Pignataro is a natural, and came within one game of making the afternoon session. Santo Kurre, son of Tony & Nancy Kurre, played in his first official tournament. He played Lindsey Griffin in the longest match I’ve ever witnessed.  After what seemed like an eternity, Lindsey had to leave early, or I think they’d still be playing! Santo moved on to play David Kracalik, another MB rookie AND the winner of the Big Rack Challenge, but David was hot and took advantage of Santo’s previous marathon match. Scott Scharding (2nd place finisher in MB Mayhem) had a good day going 2-2, but just missed the afternoon getting knocked out by neighbor
Matt Dover. Matt took the #4 seed into the afternoon, while redneck game veteran Adam Vines took the #3 seed.

Bracket C

#1 seed Chuck Salmon showed why he was a #1 seed as he went 3-0 into the afternoon session. #2 seed Tony Kurre had 2 close victories before he lost to Chuck in the bracket finals. Rookie Reagan Mitchell was the highlight of Bracket C. She lost her first match to Brian Harper (who made it to the afternoon session this year & at last year’s MBXman), but then was en fuego as she won 4 in-a-row to lock up the #3 seed into the afternoon! Joey Whitehurst started out strong, but just missed the afternoon when he was put out by phenom Reagan. Another rookie, Gregg Bissot, got his first MB win in his first official match. He’ll be someone to look out for in future tournaments. Blake Labrato played well today, going 3-2, narrowly missing the afternoon when he was put out by Brian Harper.

Bracket D

Seeded players at mbX2 were showing why they were seeded in the first place, and Bracket D was no exception. #1 & #2 seeds Todd Bragan & Brody Black both advanced to the bracket finals with Brody
topping Todd in a 15-12 shootout. The real story of bracket D was rookie Paul Dupre (boyfriend of Reagan who was the breakout star of Bracket C above). Paul started off hot winning his first 2 official
MB matches. He lost his 3rd match to High Fly Cheer Center owner Todd Bragan, but then finished off strong winning two more matches to take the #3 seed into the afternoon. The first Tanzanian Monkeyballer, Suleman Solomon, started out strong with a 15-0 skunk against The Bright House Foundation founder Nancy Kurre. He was quickly shown the other side of that score as Brody Black skunked him in his second match. Stephen Stepkoski had one of the stranger morning sessions. Through a series of no-shows and byes, Stephen was able to lock up the #4 seed into the afternoon by going 1-2, with both losses to hotshot Paul Dupre.

AFTERNOON SESSION

Tidbits:

Experience won out as 7 of the 8 seeded players made the afternoon session. 6 of those 7 made the quarterfinals. All 4 semi-finalists were seeded players. 3 of the 4 semi-finalists were #1 seeds. The 2 finalists were the 2 highest-ranked players. The winner was the top-ranked player in the tourney. 55 players. 116 games played. 8 Monkeyball ropes missing (if you’ve seen them, please let me know!)

This year, we debuted the Big Rack Challenge at mbX2. It was a big hit at last year’s MB6 World Championships!! Our Big Rack Challenge was more of a Little Rack Challenge, but it was a lot of fun anyway. We had 16 ballers participate with half of the prize $$ going to the winner and the other half going to The Bright House Foundation. Rookie David Kracalik got hot at the right time and took home the prize…nice work, David!

The afternoon is really what this thing is all about…in the words of a former NFL coach, “You play to win the game!” It’s not an afternoon session unless there are multiple Salmons still hanging around. mbX2 saw 3 Salmons in the final 16. #11 ranked Scott Salmon took on Brian Harper in his match and advanced to the quarters winning 15-7, 15-0. Veteran Michelle Salmon took on the breakout star, Reagan Mitchell. Experience paid off and Michelle advanced winning 15-8, 15-8. Chuck Salmon was scheduled to play Matt Dover for a chance to make the quarterfinals. With Matt’s early exit, Chuck automatically advanced to the round of 8. #7 ranked Sean Dameron took on Stephen Stepkoski and put up the only reported 12-monkeys of the tourney on his way to a quick 15-0 game one victory. Game two was much longer, but the result was the same and Sean advanced to the quarters. Brody Black & Josh Taylor were scheduled to play for a berth into the quarterfinals, but with Tony Kurre & Adam Vines having to leave, Brody & Josh moved on to the quarters without playing. Cousin Dawn Jenkins tangled up with Paul Dupre in a 3 match showdown. Dawn took game one 15-6, but Paul wouldn’t go down easily and he took game two 15-7. Dawn used her MB5 afternoon experience to finish off Paul and advanced winning 15-4. The final sweet 16 matchup put Todd Bragan against fellow High Flyer Patrick Burke. Todd proved he was the boss, winning 15-7 & 15-5.

QUARTERFINALS

Rookie Josh Taylor had a strong showing in his first MB tournament, but met his match when he took on SoMoCo veteran Brody Black in the quarters. Brody advanced winning 15-7 & 15-8. In a match of #1 seeds, Chuck Salmon took on Todd Bragan in a rematch of MBXman’s sweet 16. Todd played well, but Chuck showed why he is the Godfather of SoMoCo Monkeyball winning 15-7 & 15-0. Sean Dameron & Michelle Salmon battled each other back & forth in their first quarterfinal game with Sean finally winning 17-15. (That game featured a restart and a rope swap, but was a lot of fun.) After the battle, Sean got hot and finished off the match winning 15-4. While Michelle was battling Sean, her husband Scott Salmon was in a real tussle with Dawn Jenkins. Dawn may have had a cold, but she pushed Scott to the brink of elimination. Scott took game one 15-10, but Dawn came right back and won game two 15-11. Game three was a real humdinger and Scott finally put her away winning 16-14. Dawn will be ready for MB7!!

SEMIFINALS

The Semis gave us 3 top 16 world-ranked Monkeyballers and the #26 ranked baller. They were no strangers to Monkeyball’s later rounds where the stakes are high. Sean Dameron took on Brody Black in one semi, while Scott Salmon took on his pops, Chuck Salmon, in the other semi. Scott and Sean were both playing lights out as they each skunked their opponent in game one. Scott punched his ticket to the final by finishing off his dad, 15-9. Sean secured his spot in the finals by finishing off Brody, 15-2. The day wasn’t over for Brody, though. He battled Chuck in a one-game match for 3rd place. They went back & forth until Brody prevailed 15-13. Brody had a heckuva day….he and his son each won a door prize, he won the Half-&-Half raffle, finished 2nd in the Big Rack Challenge, and finished 3rd in mbX2.  Way to go, Brody!

FINALS

And now, the Finals… mbX2’s final match gave us two top-ranked Monkeyballers in a Southpaw battle.
Scott knocked Sean out of the quarterfinals of MBXman, so he was hoping that history wouldn’t repeat itself. Game one started out a little slow and took a couple of minutes to get the score up to 4-3. Sean jumped ahead, 7-4. Next thing you know, Scott & Sean both put up big racks where they each scored 5 points to make the score 12-9. Sean finished off game one with a 15-9 victory. Scott jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in game two. He built the lead to 5-3 and then put up an empty rack where Sean picked up 6 points to go ahead 9-5. He was focused all day, and Sean was able to seal the deal and beat Scott 15-5 to win the tournament. Scott now has bronze & silver Monkeyballs, so he’ll be gunning to complete his set and win the coveted Golden Monkeyballs at next year’s mbX3!! Hope to see you all there!

Big thanks to Todd & Amy Bragan for allowing us to take over their gym again! And special thanks to our sponsors for all that they created & donated (playmonkeyball.com, Hanging Halo, Tom Dameron, The Legendary Pineapple Skinners, Paper Cuts Designs, Sweet Petits, Dance Trance, Oh Suzy-Q Designs, Café Luigi, High Fly Cheer Center, Wide Open Signs, & Sidelines Sports Academy)!! Many thanks to everyone that came by, played, bought an mbX2 t-shirt, or donated to The Bright House Foundation.  Many people and families in Alabama will be changed by this wonderful organization. Thanks for all you do, Nancy & Tony Kurre!

Rookies Matt & Bethany Redmond started us off in a friendly husband-wife battle, with Matt taking out his wife for his first career MB victory.  Next up were husband & wife, Scott & Beth Scharding, who also made their MB debut.  Scott showed no mercy on his wife, and won 11-1.  (It doesn’t take long to get a newbie hooked on MB, and I overheard Scott talking about measuring the distance in his front yard and making a set of ladders!)  We’ll talk more about Scott in a second, as he made a run to the finals in his first tourney!  Jeff Wright took on Matt Dover, but unfortunately for Jeff, Alabama fan Matt took out his football frustration (South Carolina beat Alabama 35-21) on his way to an 11-0 thumping.  #4 World-ranked Sean Dameron took on Karen Dover in his first match, but Karen put on a show.  She quickly put up 6 quick points, and led 7-1 after 2 rounds.  Sean eventually found a rhythm, and won 11-7, but Karen is one to watch out for, going 3-2 in her MB debut.  Gina Young lost her first match to Karen, also, but made a racket in the loser’s bracket beating her husband, Ed, in the longest match I’ve ever seen.  (It’s tough to play when you have 2 little ones running circles around you!!)  I think their match lasted about 2 hours…   Hostess, Missy Dameron, didn’t have her best tourney, but she had run a 5k that morning, and had a massive bee sting on her throwing arm.  She’s always a threat, but was eventually taken out by phenom Karen Dover.

In between hot dogs, MB ropes in trees, the sun setting, & kids running through the ladders, a lot of MB was played.  As the sun went down, it became difficult to see until the street lights came on and Jeff put his truck on the lawn!  Sean Dameron took out Matt Dover in the first semi, and then Scott and Matt battled for a spot in the finals.  Scott eventually edged out Matt 16-14 to reach his first MB finals.  In the first SoMoCo finals under the lights, Sean took out Scott 15-5.

Champion: Sean Dameron
Runner-Up: Scott Scharding
# of Players: 11

Results/Brackets (PDF)

Scott Salmon breezed through the winners bracket, while his ultimate opponent in the finals, Michael Jones, decided to do it the hard way, losing to Doug Maxwell in the first round. (We think Doug has been secretly practicing at night.) But Jones pulled it together and progressed through the losers bracket, making it to the finals after battling Chuck Salmon (who was sporting his New Orleans Saints jersey) in the semis. In the end, Jones claimed his first tournament victory with a hard-fought best two out of three set against Scott.

A great start to the fall SoMoCo Monkey Ball season, which will no doubt see lots of tourneys sandwiched in between football games.

Champion: Michael Jones
Runner-Up: Scott Salmon
# of Players: 10

Bracket/Results (PDF)

Jason Salmon, #2 in the world, looked sharp all day going 4-0 to win Bracket A.  He didn’t drop a game until his semi-final matchup with #7 Sean Dameron.  He overcame that loss, as he stomped Sean the next game 15-0 to secure his spot in the finals. #16 Scott Salmon played well going 3-1 and securing the #2 seed into the afternoon.  Newcomer Michele O’Brien proved to be too strong for Scott today, as she took him out in a 3 game quarterfinal battle. #5 Kevin Singleton lost his first match of the day to newcomer, Jason Gulledge.  He took the 4th seed out of Bracket B by winning his next four matches in the loser’s bracket before Michele beat him to secure the 3rd seed.  Michele eventually lost in the semifinals getting beat by Todd Bragan.
Todd was on fire all day!!  (I can vouch for that because he threw a 12 monkeys on the first rack as he monkey-stomped me 15-0 to win Bracket B!)  Todd took out Joey Whitehurst in a 3-game battle in the quarterfinals & Michele O’Brien in the semis,  before he lost to Jason Salmon in the finals.  Todd took home the silver Monkeyballs and already has his eyes set on MB7!!

Joey Whitehurst has only played in one other tournament, but today he looked like a seasoned veteran.  He started off with a win and then lost to #16 Scott Salmon.  Joey blamed everyone and everything but himself, and it worked for him.  He put up four straight victories on his way to locking up the #4 seed in Bracket A.  He’s already started work on his own set of MB ladders, so he’ll be a force in future tournaments.
Jeremy Long started off his tourney with a loss…but he turned it around quickly and won 6 in a row to secure a #3 seed into the afternoon.  He played Sean Dameron in a rain-soaked battle of MB5 proportions.  #7 Sean won that battle,  then lost in the semis to eventual winner, Jason Salmon.  (who by the way also threw a 12 monkeys on me!)

Michele O’Brien and Sean Dameron played a one game match for the bronze Monkeyballs.  Michele really wanted the bronze, but came up just short and Sean took home 3rd place. Congrats to Jason Salmon on the win!  In addition to taking home the golden Monkeyballs, he also won a 2-night beach trip to the Gulf, courtesy of Kaiser Realty.

We all had lots of fun!  Many thanks to Buffalo Wild Wings Trussville for hosting!  Thanks to Jeff Tyler for providing the live music in the afternoon, Jeff Otwell for providing the music that night, Bob’s Collectibles for donating the silent auction memorabilia, Budweiser for the beer, and thanks to all the Monkeyballers who came out to play!  A lot of good will be done by Tony and Nancy Kurre of the Bright House Foundation with the $$ raised!!!

Winner: Jason Salmon
Runner-Up: Todd Bragan
# of Players: 36

Bracket/Results (PDF)

Champion: Sean Dameron
Runner-Up: Missy Dameron
# of Players: 19

Brackets/Results (PDF)

We had several rookies today, and Brody, Gidge, and their kids made up almost a third of the field.  (I think Brody is secretly trying to groom his kids to be pro Monkeyballers.)  Ben Cornelius and Scott Herron, two MB tourney rookies, started the day off with a shoot-out.  They were filling up the ladders like it was the Worlds Finals!  Baylor, Jon Thomas, and Cade Black (ranging in age from 8 to 11) also played in their first MB tourney today.  They didn’t win a game today, but I saw lots of smiles and fun being had!  They will be taking care of business on the MB playing field in the near future.  Michael Glaze played his first MB tourney today, and proved to be a natural.  He took out Adam Vines in their first match-up, but Adam would have revenge later.  Adam knocked out Michael after storming through the loser’s bracket, just barely missing the afternoon session.

Brandon Cain, another MB rookie, was the first to put a rope in the phone lines, but since he is about 7 feet tall, it didn’t take much for him to retrieve it quickly.  Tom & Elaine Dameron played a marathon match, with Tom eventually winning.  Elaine was vocal today, but was eventually taken out by laid-back Brad Morgan.  Brad had a good showing today, before being knocked out by Kevin Tavakoli.  Kevin, who’s always entertaining, didn’t disappoint in putting smiles on the faces of those that he beat today.  Currently he is #239 in the World Rankings, but he was hot today and just barely missed a trip to the finals.  He took #8 Sean Dameron to the brink of elimination.  Blake Labrato, lost to rookie Jay Coshow in his first match, but put up 3 straight victories in the loser’s bracket before being ousted by Brad Morgan.  (One of Blake’s 3 wins was a revenge match against Jay!)

Sean Dameron and Kevin Singleton each won their first three matches to snag the top seeds in the afternoon Final Four session.  Kevin, tied for #5 in the World Rankings, beat #41 Brody Black 15-4, 15-11 to reach the finals.  As mentioned above, #239 Tavakoli put up a big fight and topped #8 Sean in the first match 15-13.  Sean won the second match 15-0, setting up a brutal third match for a trip to the finals.  Sean took the early lead, but Kevin stormed back eventually losing 15-12.

The finals saw #5 Singleton versus #8 Dameron.  Singleton prevailed and was crowned the champ, winning 15-8 & 15-10.

Champion: Kevin Singleton
Runner-Up: Sean Dameron
# of Players: 18

Bracket/Results (PDF)

When all was said and done the final eight came down to veteran circuit players. Both Michael Jones and Tom Dameron made their first final eight, and Michael made his first final three. Once again Scott Salmon showed NO MERCY in eliminating his mother, Jill, from yet another afternoon session. She has mentioned that he may now be out of the will.

Kevin Singleton managed to squeak by Scott Salmon for his second consecutive Derby Day win. Kevin was all smiles because he had finally beaten a Salmon and got down on his knees and thanked the all mighty Lord that Jason had to spend his Saturday in Marietta, Georgia coaching his six year old twin daughters in a soccer game!

Kevin, I just couldn’t let that one go!!!!

Thanks again to Connie Mills for hosting another great Tournament. Her significant other, the magnificent mustachioed Bill, was attending a soccer game in Munich, Germany. His original trip was delayed due to ash from Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokul volcano. It would have been a great party even without the Monkeyball. Always good food, lots of Andygator, and as always, good company.

Also, we managed to raise about $400 for Brighthouse, always a good cause. Thanks to everyone that donated money to this charity. It will go to good use.

Champion: Kevin Singleton
Runner-up: Scott Salmon
# of Players: 34

Bracket (PDF)

Champion: Scott Salmon
Runner-Up: Sofa Lomenick
# of Players: 8

Bracket (PDF)

Champion: Jason Salmon
Runner-Up: Kevin Singleton
Third Place: Scott Salmon
# of Players: 70 Results/Bracket (PDF)

Write-up by Sean Dameron

I didn’t really know what to expect when I started planning this, but I wanted to do two things:  raise $ and awareness for the Bright House Foundation, and introduce people to Monkeyball.  First goal, check.  The generous Monkeyballers donated over $1,700 to the Bright House Foundation.  Goal number two, check.  We had 70 players, with over 30 rookies tossing the ropes for the first time!

MORNING SESSION

Bracket A

#1 seed Jason Salmon and #2 seed Jill Salmon continued their consistent performances finishing 1 and 2 in Bracket A.  Unfortunately, Missy Dameron continued her recent MB slump going 0-2 barbeque.  She lost a close one 15-13 to rookie Matt Dover, and her 2^nd match to rookie Joey Whitehurst, even though Joey’s “friends” were cheering her on!  She did an amazing job, however, in keeping the event running smoothly.  Thanks, Mis!  Rookie Brantley Walker lost her first match, but went on a run with four-straight victories before losing to High Fly coach Todd Bragan.  Todd had an impressive performance, making it to the afternoon session in his first sanctioned Monkeyball tourney.  Tony Kurre, co-founder of the Bright House Foundation & Monkeyball rookie, was the story of the day.  He went 2-2 in the morning session, and was the #4 seed coming out of the bracket.  More on TK later…

Bracket B

#1 and #2 seeds, Sean Dameron & Michelle Salmon, made it through to the afternoon going 1 & 2, but the real story of Bracket B was 9-year-old Caleb Long who got hot and made it all the way to the Afternoon.  Caleb was 1-1 his first two matches, then he won the next three matches to secure a #4 seed in the afternoon.  Rookie Jason Edwards came out of nowhere and went 5-1 to secure the #3 seed in the afternoon.  Jason and Caleb will be tough to deal with in future MB events!  Newcomer Marty Vandernoot went 2-2 on the day and missed the afternoon session, but had the coolest name of the tournament.  Carol and Janet Patterson made the trip over from New Orleans, and both went 0-2.  They made up for it by winning multiple door prizes!

Bracket C

#13 ranked Kevin Singleton took care of Bracket C by going 4-0.  New Orleans native and #2 seed, Judd Patterson, didn’t start off strong, but got hot late winning four-in-a-row to lock up the #3 seed into the afternoon.  Jon Geisen had a heckuva day going 3-1 in the morning session to wrap up the #2 afternoon seed.  Rookie Brian Harper looked sharp in his first MB event, going 4-2 in the morning to secure the #4 afternoon seed.  Amy Bragan, co-owner of High Fly Cheer Center, played well in her first sanctioned MB tournament, and just missed the afternoon.  Thanks for allowing us to use your wonderful gym!!  Brad Morgan started off strong winning his first two matches (and numerous door prizes!), but just missed the afternoon.  Blake Labrato, another first-timer, went 2-2 for the day, but has caught MB fever already.  (Rumor has it he’s already made his own set of ladders and ropes!)

Bracket D

Bracket D had its share of rookies, but Steve Sebastian’s performance deserves mention.  When he registered that morning, he paid for his daughter, Caitlyn Sebastian and her boyfriend, Nathan McWain, too.  He told me he’d never played before, but he was going to school them.  His bold prediction came true, and he just barely missed the afternoon session.  He started out going 1-1, but then put up four-straight victories through the loser’s bracket.  In his final game (which would have put him in the afternoon session), he got put out by 3^rd place finisher Scott Salmon in a squeaker, 16-14.

Bill Mills, the moustache of Monkeyball, played well in his first 2 matches, topping rookies Brandon Harper & Kathy Love.  He narrowly missed the afternoon after losses to #1 seed Chuck Salmon, and Stephen Stepkoski.  Stephen put together quite an amazing performance wrapping up the #4 afternoon seed, all with a freshly separated shoulder!

AFTERNOON SESSION

TIDBITS:  9 of the 16 Morning seeds made the afternoon.  (6 of those 9 made the quarterfinals, 3 of the 6 made the semis, and 2 #1 seeds made the finals.)  Experience won out…all of the #1 & #2 morning seeds made the afternoon, only 1 #3 seed made it, and none of the #4 seeds made the afternoon.  70 players & 156 games played.

The afternoon session is really what MB is all about.  Best 2-out-of-3, mano y mano, knockdown drag-out…a real beat-down until we crown a champ.  MBXman did not disappoint.

The afternoon sessions were a family affair for the Salmons.  #2 world-ranked Jason Salmon didn’t feel sorry for Stephen Stepkoski and his separated shoulder, and knocked him off in two games.  Younger brother Scott Salmon took on his mother, Jill Salmon, who has been tearing it up lately in local Monkeyball events.  Scott was on fire today, and knocked out Mama Salmon 15-3, 15-5.  Michelle Salmon, Scott’s wife, took on cousin-in-law Judd Patterson.  Judd made quick work of SoMoCo tourney winner, Michelle, advancing to the quarterfinals to face cousin, Jason Salmon.   We can’t forget Chuck Salmon!  He also advanced to the quarters by knocking off High Fly Cheer owner Todd Bragan.  Todd took the first game 15-6, but Chuck’s experience won out as he won the final two games to advance.

In other non-Salmon afternoon action, #8 ranked Sean Dameron took on newcomer Brian Harper, winning a friendly match 15-5 & 15-6.  #13 ranked Kevin Singleton took on the 9-year old prodigy, Caleb Long.  Caleb put up some points and had an impressive performance, but Kevin advanced winning both games.  Jon Geisen stayed hot as he took on MB rookie, Jason Edwards, and he advanced winning both games.  In the final sweet 16 match-up, rookie Tony Kurre took on Brody Black.  During warm-ups before the tourney started, I told Tony that there was always a rookie that showed up and dominated.  Neither of us knew that it would be him!  Tony and Brody battled and split the two first games.  Tony got hot and won the 3^rd game 15-0 to advance.

QUARTERFINALS

In a match of #1 seeds, Kevin Singleton took on Chuck Salmon.  Kevin played well, and advanced to the final four winning 15-3, 15-2.  Scott Salmon took on Sean Dameron and continued his run with two straight wins.  Tony Kurre’s hot streak kept blazing on as he beat Jon Geisen to set up his final four match against World Championship runner-up, Jason Salmon.  Salmon advanced after taking out his cousin, Judd Patterson, in a three-game battle.  Jason took the first game 15-0, and Judd followed that up with a 15-0 victory of his own.  Jason was focused all day channeling the New Orleans Saints motto to “Finish Strong,” and he did that by finishing Judd off 15-1 in game three to advance to the final four.

SEMIFINALS

The final four gave us three top 25 players and one rookie.  Scott Salmon first took on Kevin Singleton for a trip to the finals.  Scott played well in the morning and afternoon, as he took out his mom, and #8 ranked Sean Dameron, but Kevin was on a roll and won his second match in a row by the score of 15-3, 15-2.  Jason Salmon and Tony Kurre were up next in the other semi-final.  Tony took the MB world by storm, but Jason isn’t ranked #2 in the world for no reason.  His consistency pushed him on to the finals, and he put an end to TK’s title hopes, winning 15-7, 15-1.  Scott and TK played a one-game match for the bronze Monkeyballs.  Tony had made quite an impression on the MB world, but his luck for the day would run out against Scott.  His baby girl needed to be fed, so he didn’t waste any time.  Scott quickly put up 15 points and the win to claim 3^rd place on the day.

FINALS

The finals gave us two #1 seeds and they put on a show.  Jason was in the finals of a major MB tourney for the second time in a row, and I’m sure that he didn’t want to repeat his 2^nd place finish at MB5.  Kevin consistently goes deep in SoMoCo tourneys, and has several titles to his credit.  The final match-up was a real barn-burner with two back-and-forth games.  Kevin gutted out a 16-14 victory in the first game.  Jason was still thinking about “Finishing Strong,” and won game two 15-13 to push the match to a third and final game for all the marbles and the coveted Golden Monkeyballs.  Jason jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead in game 3, before Kevin cut it to 7-4.  They both were filling up the racks, but Jason’s tough to beat when he gets on a roll.  He continued to put on the pressure going up 14-6.  In the last rack, Jason put a rope on each bar to seal the victory!

Bill Mills said it best, when he said that the Salmons are like the Mannings of Monkeyball.  Five of the Sweet 16 afternoon qualifiers were Salmons, with Scott finishing third and Jason taking home the championship.  Way to go, Salmon family!

Thanks again to Todd & Amy Bragan for allowing us to use their gym, High Fly Cheer Center!  We had a lot of fun, and raised a lot of money for the Bright House Foundation.  Plans are already underway for next year’s event, and it appears that we’ve caught the attention of quite a few northern Monkeyballers, so hopefully we’ll see a big group come down for MBX2!

See you next February!

Below: Video from game three of the championship match. Kevin (blue shirt) won game one 16-14, Jason (black shirt) won game two 15-13.

The weather was a cool 50 degrees with a stiff breeze, but Elaine Dameron came with hot tea and cocoa to warm everyone up, and snacks to fill everyone up!  (Thanks, Mom!)  The day started with Randy Nelms giving #13 world-ranked Kevin Singleton all he could handle, before Kevin won a close one 15-13.  (This reminded me of the recent Iron Bowl where Auburn led #2 Alabama for 58 1/2 minutes before the Crimson Tide scored the go-ahead touchdown for the victory.)  Another match-up that started the day was a battle of the Grandmothers, where Kathy “Kaki” Mardis took out Elaine “Grand E” Dameron with a 15-8 beatdown.

Brad Morgan has recently come onto the MB scene, but today was not his day.  He went 0-2, but he will be a contender in SoMoCo tourneys to come.  Missy Dameron got out of her MB slump winning two matches on the day.  Missy and rookie Tripp Durant played the longest game of the day, where Tripp won 15-13.  Tripp played in his first MB tournament and just missed making the Final Four.  He’ll be a force to be reckoned with in future tournaments.

Mike Jones, SoMoCo veteran, almost made it into the final four before losing to Adam Vines.  This wasn’t Adam’s first tournament, and it showed.  He lost his first match to Mike, but steamrolled through the loser’s bracket to make the final four.

#2 world-ranked Jason took on Tom Dameron (and his red scarf) in his first match, winning 15-3.  Jason’s skills were looking good today, but Tom’s hat and scarf were too.  Meredith Brock, Jason’s second victim, ended the day 0-2, but provided us with some laughs with her “toss it straight up in the air and almost hit yourself” technique.  #12 world-ranked Sean Dameron took on Melanie Salmon in his first match, where Melanie used her “throw it straight & let the wind put it onto the 3-bar” technique.  Luckily for Sean, it only worked a few times, and he won 15-3.  Sean took on newcomer Tripp for his second victory.

The final four consisted of three of the top 13 world-ranked players(#2 Jason Salmon, #12 Sean Dameron, and # 13 Kevin Singleton) and one redneck triathlon veteran (Adam Vines).  # 2 Salmon took on # 13 Singleton in a grudge match, with Salmon winning 15-8 & 15-7.  #12 Dameron took on Adam Vines, winning 15-1 & 15-0.  Jason and Sean are highly ranked and are #1 & #2 in total tournament points (according to MB’s world ranking system, but have only played each other in one other tournament.  The first match didn’t start off too well, with Jason and Sean throwing up empty racks.  They got their mojo back and started scoring.  Sean won the first game 15-6.  The second game seemed to go on forever where they were neck-and-neck.  Sean put up 5 points on the last rack and Jason knocked off one of his own ropes to seal the victory for #12 Sean Dameron.

Champion: Sean Dameron
Runner-Up: Jason Salmon
# of Players: 14

Bracket (PDF)