2011 Best of the West Recap!
The Second Annual "Best of the West" tournament was held this past weekend in Phoenix, Arizona. This year's Tournament brought sixteen squads from across the western United states to the dessert to compete for cash and bragging rights as the best region in the Western US. The Weekend Began with a 2k doubles tournament and was dominated by So Cal putting both teams in the finals. After two hard fought games Peter Rusch and Mark Pinmentel followed up there 3rd place finish in Vegas with a solid win.
The side event was finished and it was time for the Big Show. As everyone filtered into Whiskey River Saturday afternoon there was a definite buzz of excitement you could feel throughout the building. Games started around 1 pm and there were some heated battles early on in the day. Every squad was fighting to make the top 8 and give themselves a shot at the BOW crown. After a long day of pong, drinking, and some very competitive matches we had our final 8 set. The early favorites were Sac's Finest, AZ In Clint we Trust, and the Vegas All Stars. After the first round of match-ups the final four teams were as follows: Sac's Finest, AZ, Sac Northern Lights out, and Vegas. Sac's Finest Played Vegas in a very competitive match and it came down to 1 cup as Sacramento squeaked by Vegas to Make the Finals for the Second year in a row. In the other Semi-Final you had the home team AZ squad against Sacramento's Northern lights. In the end Arizona was just too strong for Sac's 2nd squad and punched there ticket to the finals for a rematch of last year's Final. Arizona had revenge on their mind from last year's defeat but in the end Sacramento was just too deep and were crowned Best of the West Champions for the second straight year.
I would like to give a shout out to Matt Mooney of Nor Cal Beer Pong and Christ Gracia of Fast Times Entertainment for throwing a great tournament and putting in the long hours leading up to the event. A lot of hard work was put in to make this event run smoothly, and to make sure everyone had a great time. New friendships were made, and people are still reminiscing about the shenanigans that occurred at the hotel following the event. Another awesome weekend in the books, and I'm sure everyone is looking forward to the next big tournament.
Final Standing
1. Sac's Finest, Sacramento, CA
2. Arizona West , AZ
3. Las Vegas, NV
4. Northern Lights out, Sacramento, CA
T5. San Diego, CA Albuquerque, NM Arizona East Corona, CA (IE)
Doubles 2k Champs
1. Peter and Mark (Only Play for Cali, teams like Vlade)
2. RJ and Patrick Crosby |
