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)

Champion: Jason Salmon
Runner-Up: Jill Salmon
# of Players: 20

Bracket (PDF)

The hosts again were Bill and Connie Mills, who I really think enjoy the SoMoCo crew invading their “humble” abode. The Tournament saw 3 of the Top 16 (5 of the Top 25), yet it was Rookies and relative unknowns/newcomers who made the most noise. Rookie Janice Hovey beat former SoMoCo champion John Griffith in the Losers bracket, sending John home 0-2 BBQ. As a note, Janice did mention that she would like to host a SoMoCo event at her home. As another note, after breaking into the MB game fast, John has faltered in his last several tournaments. Looking for the fire to come back, John.

Relative newcomer Brad Morgan showed some skills, taking out Kevin Singleton 15-13 in Round 2, to make Kevin work to make the afternoon. Brad finally succumbed to World #2 Jason Salmon in the Quarterfinals. We will be looking for Brad to prove that the last couple tournaments were no fluke and that he really does have the skills required to challenge the elite ballers.

Veteran Jill Salmon lost the first game of the tournament, but wound up finding her stride and steam-rolling the Loser’s bracket to make the afternoon session. She wound up losing to World #13 Kevin Singleton in the Quarterfinals. Jill has always been a solid baller, but it seems that recently she is getting more confident and consistent, which could make her a dark-horse in coming tournaments.

Obviously, the most noise, literally and figuratively, came from the Decatur, AL brothers Matthew (aka Dilbert) and John Morris. While they are not new to the game (Dilbert won his first tournament back in 2007), they have not made many waves in recent events. Dilbert rolled through his bracket without dropping a set, defeating World #12 Sean Dameron twice along the way. John Morris had to play his way through the Loser’s bracket, but was tossing well the entire day. In the Quarters, Dilbert defeated World #22 Chuck Salmon; John defeated World #12 Sean Dameron. In the Semis, Dilbert took out World #13 Kevin Singleton; John sunk World #2 Jason Salmon to set-up a Final akin to the Wimbleton with the Williams sisters. In the end, John (who is more like Serena) took home the prize and defeated Dilbert to become the second Morris to hoist a SoMoCo trophy.

As I claimed back in 2007, NEVER challenge a redneck to a yard game. They will always beat you with experience! Congrats John on a well-deserved victory.

Champion: John Morris
Runner-Up: Dilbert
# of Players: 31

Results/Brackets (PDF)

– written by Jason Salmon