Odds | History | Rules
3 Men & a Canadian - Illinois
|
|
|
|
Bill Dyer 4
|
Brad Johnson 9
|
Joe Abrams 3
|
Glenn McMaster 7
|
|
|
|
|
Three-Way
Tie-Breakers
A record 104 teams toed the line for the 19th "run for
the slivers" at the 2009 WBC and when the cavalry charge
had ended, three remained deadlocked at the top of the heap with
23 points each thanks to three bonus points awarded to those who
had not won their event previously. The 3rd-rated '99 champions Me & Three Stiffs were originally alone in the lead
before the 6th-ranked James Gang and 3 Men & a Canadian were boistered by one and two bonus points respectively to knot
the score at 23-all. Thus deadlocked, the title would be decided
by the total entrant tie-breaker where the17th-ranked 3 Men
& a Canadian squad enjoyed a clear advantage with an average
entrant size of 50.75 to 31.25 for Me & 3 Stiffs and
28.75 for The James Gang. Finishing 4th were the prohibitive
favorites, three-time champion Nest of Spies who fell victim
to cannibalism when Stefan Mecay downed teammate David Dockter
in the POG Final to prevent a fourth title for the perennial champs.
However, they joined the 2009 champions in being the only two
teams to score with every team member - proving once again why
they are the team to beat - year after year.
Every Team Tournament has dozens of "shoulda, woulda,
coulda" stories replete with tales of had only we zigged
when we zagged. My favorite this year emanates from the Greenville
Mafia, a bastion of expertise where no less than eight Up Front
shields reside, whose four teams are often picked with more of
an eye towards allowing multiple members to play the same favorite
games than to maximize team scores. Sure enough, three Greenville
teams fielded an Up Front player, but the only Up Front laurels to be carried back to Greenville this year were earned
by the fourth team where young Kevin Emery earned his first ever
spurs. It's hard to determine who was prouder ... young Kevin
or the shutout paternal head of the family who now has a rival
for family bragging rights.
The year's biggest over-achievers were the 92nd-ranked Chicken
Bunches who overcame 460 -1 odds to finish 13th behind 10
points from Robert Renaud's successful defense of his Race
For the Galaxy title. Also thumbing their noses at the Happy
Handicapper were the Possum Gamers who ignored 236-1 odds
to improve from a 69th ranking to finish 9th. However, overall,
it was an up year for the Happy Handicapper. Despite the record
field of 104 teams, 15 of his top 25 picks (60%) made the Top
25 cut - up 8% from 2007 and 4% from last year.
Mark Love proved his equal with a winning % of 60% in our initial
"Pick the Top Ten" Team Tournament contest. Mark won
a free 2010 membership by correctly selecting all four of the
top four teams with his first five picks and then added Sweep
the Leg and Fields of Glory to round out his entry with six correct
selections. Move over Happy Handicapper!
Despite the much enlarged field, only 29 teams were shutout
- down nearly 6% from 2008. The highest ranked squad to post nothing
but goose eggs and thereby earn the 2009 title for Most Overrated
was Koleszar-Lientz-Plat at 53-1 which had been the 16th ranked
team. However, the fourth-ranked Da Boys squad was the
highest ranked team to fall out of the Top 25.
The Chicken Bunches team won the Misery Loves Company
title with 586 entrants for an average of 146 entrants per event.
On the opposite end of the scale, claiming the Big Fish in the
Small Pond title was Reese's Pieces whose 104 total entrants
averaged 26 players per event.
All in all, our 416 players selected 129 different events.
The most frequently named choices for the Team Tournament were Atlantic Storm and Twilight Struggle with ten each. Other top choices were Dominion at nine, Ticket
to Ride at eight and Robo Rally at seven. Dominion yielded the most laurels to its adherents
(17) while Ticket to Ride proved the most difficult to
predict (0). In all, 38 Team participants won their selected events.
2009 TOP 25 TEAMS IN ORDER OF FINISH
Rank.
Name |
Odds
|
Player
1 |
Player
2 |
Player
3 |
Player
4 |
Points
.Entrants |
1. 3 Men & a Canadian |
55-1; 17th
|
Bill Dyer/FDE/4 |
Brad Johnson/RRY/9 |
Joe Abrams/MOV/3 |
Glenn McMaster/DUN/7 |
23.203
|
2. Me & Three Stiffs |
47-1; 3rd
|
Keith Wixson/HRC/8 |
Marvin Birnbaum/WTP/8 |
Tom Drueding/PUG/0 |
Henry Rice/SUC/7 |
23.125
|
3. The James Gang |
46-1; 6th
|
Doug James/TRC/8 |
Jim Eliason/VIP/0 |
Richard Beyma/WAT/8 |
Rob Beyma/RBS/7 |
23.115
|
4. Nest of Spies |
20-1; 1st
|
James Pei/FTP/7 |
Stefan Mecay/TWS/3 |
Chris Byrd/PUG/7 |
Dave Dockter/POG/3 |
20.149
|
5. Sweep the Leg |
160-1; 64th
|
Jeff Burdett/HIS/8 |
Jeromey Martin/PUG/2 |
Nels Thompson/BKN/7 |
Jeff Heidman/POG/0 |
17.147
|
6. Fields of Glory |
47-1; 7th
|
Jason Levine/WPS/2 |
Arthur Field/DOM/11 |
Davyd Field/TKL/0 |
Kate Taillon/BAT/2 |
15.342
|
7. Reese's Pieces |
61-1; 23rd
|
Peter Reese/WLL/8 |
Bill Edwards/ATS/7 |
Andrew Maly/BAR/0 |
George Young/WTP/0 |
15.104
|
8. Go Flank Yourself |
66-1; 28th
|
Justin Rice/HIS/0 |
Rob Doane/GCA/2 |
Chris Withers/TWS/10 |
Riku Riekkinen/FTP/2 |
14.156
|
9. Possum Gamers |
236-1; 69th
|
John Elliott/ACS/10 |
Joe Collinson/HWD/3 |
Bill Morgal/AE3/0 |
Matt Morgal/960/0 |
13.209
|
10. Avenel Hill Game Co |
79-1; 35th
|
Andy Gardner/VIP 2 |
Pat Richardson/WAS/8 |
Tom Richardson/GSR/3 |
Adam Nolan/ABN/0 |
13.204
|
11. EPGS All Stars |
155-1; 63rd
|
Randy MacInnis/HRC/0 |
Ken Horan/PRO/0 |
Jim Castonguay/PGD/10 |
Mike Kaltman/CYL/2 |
12.479
|
12. The Defectors |
46-1; 5th
|
Pete Stein/KRM/0 |
Debbie Gutermuth/EPB/0 |
Lisa Gutermuth/CAR/9 |
Ken Gutermuth/WPS/2 |
11.177
|
13. The Chicken Bunches |
460-1; 92nd
|
Robert Renaud/RFG/10 |
Peter Schmitt/SET/0 |
Colin Davis/AGR/0 |
Jill Renaud/DOM/0 |
10.586
|
14. Central FL Gamers |
49-1; 15th
|
Kevin Youells/ACV/8 |
Greg Kulp/HWD/0 |
Jeff Cornett/E&T/2 |
Doug Galullo/DOM/0 |
10.349
|
15. Line of Succession |
59-1; 21st
|
Alex Bove/RA/10 |
Haim Hochboim/AMR/0 |
Raphael Lehrer/GOA/0 |
Aran Warszawski/POF/0 |
10.329
|
16. Wabbit's Wevenge |
58-1; 20th
|
Chris Moffa/PRO/0 |
Barb Flaxington/TKL/1 |
Eric Freeman/AMR/9 |
Greg Thatcher.ELG/0 |
10.320
|
17. Les 3 Mousquetaires #2 |
152-1; 60th
|
Sylvain Larose/M44/0 |
Martin Sasseville/AOS/8 |
Benoit Groulx/DUN/2 |
JF Gagne/RA/0 |
10.298
|
18. St. Paul's Rejects |
49-1; 14th
|
Steve Packwood/776/2 |
Rich Moyer/SSB/8 |
Mike Backstrom/SET/0 |
Sam Packwood/EPB/0 |
10.236
|
19. MITSGS |
48-1; 13th
|
Marty Sample/ACS/0 |
Alan Applebaum/VIP/0 |
Dave Finberg/TTN/8 |
Aaron Fuegi/TT2/2 |
10.229
|
20. Champagne Room Gamers |
29-1; 2nd
|
Bruce Reiff/WPS/0 |
Jeff Mullet/SJN/3 |
Nate Hoam/ALH/0 |
Kevin Wojtasczyk/WOR/7 |
10.221
|
21. Team X |
58-1; 19th
|
Tim Dolan/BCY/0 |
Dan Dolan Sr/ELC/2 |
Chris Storzillo/ABN/8 |
Seth Gunar/SCC/0 |
10.209
|
22. Band of Fools |
42-1; 3rd
|
Gary Dickson/TRC/2 |
Steve Dickson/MOV/0 |
Ray Freeman/TIM/1 |
Tom Gregorio/BWD/7 |
10.138
|
23. AREA |
68-1; 29th
|
John Sharp/VIP/0 |
Bill Thomson/SQL/2 |
Bruno Wolff/TT2/0 |
Ed Menzel/GBG/8 |
10.123
|
24. Triple Crossers |
106-1; 44th
|
Andy Latto/T&T/9 |
Cally Perry/SPB/0 |
Claire Brosius/DOM/0 |
Sam Brosius/LST |
9.585
|
25. Beach Bums |
130-1; 50th
|
Ed Beach/GCA/7 |
Sara Beach/ING/0 |
Matthew Beach/HWD/2 |
Natalie Beach/DOM/0 |
9.440
|
|