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.