I was on the fence with running a tourney this week because people will be off work and on holiday and: a. want to play squash - so the tourney will be giant! b. traveling and having fun outside of Atlanta... maybe playing squash somewhere else c. have friends and family in town and they are funner than playing squash (not likely)
So - If you think you will play, please sign up online so that I know to hold the tourney or not. We need at least 4 people signed up on line by 5:30 on Wed.
Reasons to play Squash this time of year: - You are in town and don't have anything to do? - Your visiting relatives are driving you crazy? - You really need to get out of the house? - You need another reason to procrastinate shopping?
Luckily! Squash SMASH Tourney!
Hey there everyone - just wanted to let you know that this week's Weekly Squash SMASH Tourney - IS ON!
I know... I know.... I told some people that this week's tournament was going to be canceled because it's my anniversary.... but then! My wife reminded me that our Anniversary is on Thursday and not on Wednesday! Game on! Despite what she thinks, she is not a squash widow.
No really - I knew my Anniversary was on the 22nd, I just thought that Wednesday was the 22nd.
We had a great turn out of 8 solid players ranging in skills from 2.5 to 5.0. Saim K. didn't come out of the gate hot and it was looking like Alejo C. (3.5) was going to put him out in the cold. But losing the first round only lit Saim's fuse and he cut back through the losers' bracket against several solid players like Tom R. (3.0), who just won last week's tourney, Carl K. (2.5) (also 13 years old) who chased every ball down, Todd H. (3.0) who has a mean drop shot, and back to rematch against Alejo... the revenge match. Ultimately, it was a 5.0 on 5.0 match in the finals with Fletch C. vs Saim K. Someone said the winner got a $25 Marlows Gift Card and well.... Fletch put up a hard fight... Congratulations to Saim! 1. Saim K. (5.0) - $72 + $25 Marlow's Tavern Gift Card 2. Fletch C. (5.0) - $33 3. Alejo C. (3.5) - $15
Special thanks to Alejo C. (3.5), who tried to bribe the field into letting him win because he brought 50 awesome wings.... it almost worked... But seriously - Thanks for the wings, Alejo!
Like I said, it was not an easy night for anyone and at the end, there were some truly spent players. Carl K. (2.5), our youngest champion at 13, had the hardest matches of the night or the best workout, depending on your POV. He started off against Tucker M. (4.5), a strong 4.5 at that, but still new to the SMASH format got surprised when Carl put away any mistake Tucker made. Carl then went on to face Fletch C. (5.0). Fletch, he's not a nice guy, wasn't going to give Carl a chance and pushed Carl down into the losers' bracket where Saim K. (5.0) was waiting for him.
Alejo C. (3.5), the tourney's wing man... literally, played four matches to get to 3rd place finish.... but 3 of those 4 matches were against 5.0 players! Todd H. (3.0) also made great progress through the brackets only to get knocked out just before getting into the money. Some early surprises happened when Mario de M. (4.5) and Tom R. (3.0) got sent home early.
I think everyone had fun... except Carl K... and after his workout, is probably still not having any fun.
Below are some great pics n vids and more terrible commentary.
I'll have next week's tourney announcement up in a day or two. Until then, you can always follow along with live updates and latest info on Twitter @EvenSquash, Facebook @EvenSquash, Instagram @EvenSquash. And you can always add your email address (see the left side bar) to get emails about the latest posts.
Excuse me... this court is reserved. - Bob -
Fletch C. (5.0), in the red shorts, vs. Saim K. (5.0)
A clip of the finals
Tom R. (3.0) vs. Todd H. (3.0)
Tom just got promoted to 3.0 and first match was against a veteran 3.0
Tucker M. (4.5), white shirt, vs. Carl K. (2.5)
Tucker getting his SMASH skills
Fletch C. (5.0), red shorts, vs. Mario de M. (4.5)
Mario just came in from the cold... warming up was tough...
Fletch C. (5.0), red shorts, vs. Carl K. (2.5)
Fletch trying hard not to make any mistakes
Tucker M. (4.5), white shirt, vs. Todd H. (3.0)
Tight - first two games were determined by one point
I always wondered why the kid didn't ask for safety goggles AND the Red Ryder Carbine Action 200-shot Range Model air rifle with a compass in the stock.... maybe they didn't have safety googles back then. They have them now and you should have them for squash! This is our second to last Weekly Wednesday Squash SMASH Tourney of 2016. I expect a big turn out because people will either be getting off of work for the holidays, need to earn some spending cash, or are just realizing that any work they do this time of year doesn't really matter...
We had a great night with 8 players coming out to play. Tom R. (2.5) is our second beginner level player to ever win it and against a solid field of players from 4.5 down. Tom reminded everyone that with the EvenSquash handicap system, there is no room for errors and if his opponents gave him a loose serve, stray ball, or something he could get to, he could put it away. That said, Tom did not have it easy. Courtney W. (3.0) put Tom into the losers' bracket in the first round making Tom take the longest path to victory. He also had to play a previous champion and youngest player, Carl K. (2.5) and if you are not used to playing juniors - that can be quite intimidating. All in all - Tom ended up playing 15 games to win. Tom R. will now play as a 3.0. 1. Tom R. (2.5) - $72 + $25 Marlow's Tavern Gift Card 2. Courtney W. (3.0) - $33 3. Mario de M. (4.5) - $15
The Full Bracket
It was a tough night. Carl K. (2.5), having previously won, was back for more but got knocked down in the first round. Courtney (3.0), first time playing in several months, ended up playing Tom R. twice - first Court knocked Tom into the losers' bracket, only to face him again in the finals. Mario de M. (4.5), also a seasoned player, knocked two new comers to the tourney, Paul R. (3.5) and Justin R. (3.5) into the losers' bracket. Mario eventually fell to Tom R., who, will, if you make an error, take advantage of it. Mario had a couple of lose serves, and that's all it took. Robert M. (4.0), just back from his subcontinent tour, held his own for a while but ran into trouble from Jeff D. (3.0).
All in all - lots of fun and if you played last week and didn't place or couldn't make it, there is always Wednesday Dec 14!
Below are some great pics n vids and more terrible commentary.
I'll have next week's tourney announcement up in a day or two. Until then, you can always follow along with live updates and latest info on Twitter @EvenSquash, Facebook @EvenSquash, Instagram @EvenSquash. And you can always add your email address (see the left side bar) to get emails about the latest posts.
Racket up! - Bob -
Mario De M. (4.5), black shirt, vs. Paul R. (3.5)
Great match with great rallies... I didn't capture all of it but it was a good match.
It was an exciting night for the 10 players in last night's Squash SMASH Tourney. We started off around 6:40 and ended just a bit past 9pm with players of all skill levels from 2.5 to 5.0. Andrew M. (3.5) cut through the winner's bracket in five matches playing a total of 11 hard games against players that refused to let the ball bounce twice. Though some would say Andrew had it easy because his first match was a no-show (Carl K. where are you?) thereby giving him a bit more rest than the others but the smart money would say that it wouldn't have made a difference. Congratulations to Andrew M. (3.5). He will now play as a 4.0. 1. Andrew M. (3.5) - $90 + $25 Marlow's Tavern Gift Card 2. Telmo S. (3.5) - $45 3. Vincent L. (3.0) - $15 Telmo S. won the $50 Sushi Nami Gift Card in a random player draw.
Filled brackets
Andrew didn't get to have all the fun. There were lots of 'fun leftovers' for a lot of exciting and close matches. Welcoming first time player Telmo S. (3.5) who made a great showing, pushing through to 2nd place finish, and was the lucky guy to win the $50 Sushi Nami gift card in a random player draw. The best part was when he lost his first match, exhausted, started packing up and going home, and then his next match was called... yep - he didn't know there was a Losers' bracket and another chance to win the whole thing - hence double elimination tourney. You should have seen his face...
Our two top 5.0 players, Fletch C. and Saim K., got bounced early on. Luck would have it that they would play each other in the second round of the losers' bracket...tough draw for them - great for us spectators! Vincent L. gave up trivia night tonight to come play in the tourney - good thing too because instead of drinking beer and winning bar cash, Vincent crushed it a took home real cash in third place. There was also Tom R. (2.5) was getting back in the saddle, Fletch C. (5.0) who had all the errors working against him, and Jeff D. (3.0) who had a few weeks off.
This was also our first tourney using the sudden death rule. For those that don't know, the sudden death rule helps keep the tournament going at pace and not run too long. At 8:45, all matches, except the finals are decided by one game. If there's a match underway, the next game in that match decides the outcome - no mater the game score.
All in all - lots of fun and hope to see you out next week.
Below are some great pics n vids and more terrible commentary.
I'll have next week's tourney announcement up in a day or two. Until then, you can always follow along with live updates and latest info on Twitter @EvenSquash, Facebook @EvenSquash, Instagram @EvenSquash. And you can always add your email address (see the left side bar) to get emails about the latest posts.
Racket up! - Bob -
Telmo S. (3.5), blue shirt, vs Andrew M. (3.5)
Both players spent... this is the finals... and why this tourney is tough
Mario de M. (4.5), blue shirt, vs Saim K. (5.0)
Great player positions....
Todd H. (3.0), black shirt, vs Mario de M. (4.5)
Todd would advance - but it wasn't easy
Jeff D. (3.0), black shirt, vs Vincent L. (3.0)
Break between points or is there something on the side wall?
Telmo S. (3.5), blue shirt, vs Vincent L. (3.0)
This is the semi-finals... and in sudden death - 1 game determines who advances
Todd H. (3.0), black shirt, vs Vincent L. (3.0)
This might be the up and down the wall rally that people talk about
Saim K. (5.0), black shirt, vs. Mario de M. (4.5)
Saim would eventually push Mario into the losers' bracket - but....
Luis P. (3.0), black shirt, vs Andrew M. (3.5)
Just starting up with a bunch of unforced errors...
