Kubbing to Kick Cancer 2017 Recap

Photo of destroyed tent at Kubbing to Kick Cancer. — One of many destroyed tents on this windy day.

KASSON, Minn. — On Saturday, June 10, 2017 the fifth annual Kubbing to Kick Cancer tournament was held at Veterans Memorial Park. It was a hot and extremely windy, with temperatures reaching the low 90s and the wind gusting up to 45 miles per hour. Many batons, kubbs, and especially tents fell victim to the wind. Despite the somewhat harsh conditions, spirits were high and the tournament managed to raise what’s projected to be a record amount. These proceeds will go to Relay for Life. A final figure will be announced later this week.

There were 40 teams participating. Qualification play consisted of seven rounds of the Klassic system before being broken into three brackets—championship, silver, and bronze. The top eight went into the championship bracket, the next 16 to the silver, and the remaining 16 teams to the bronze.

In the championship bracket, the semi-finals had Strike Without Warning (Darren Finger, Evan Fitzgerald) matched up with Kubbitz (Dan Drum, Jeff Gibson, Riley Radcliffe) and Kübb Krüsher$ (Aaron McKie, Brian Winistorfer) with Kubbanite (Matthew Erdman, Ford Rolfsrud).

Strike Without Warning were undefeated (wins and one tie) going into the championship bracket. They kept it going in their semi-final matchup. In game one, Strike Without Warning won in three turns, and in game two, four turns. Kubbitz was only able to throw 12 batons total.

Kübb Krüsher$ and Kubbanite were in a battle to the end. Each team took a game, leading to a third. In the last game, Kübb Krüsher$ missed a king shot, leaving room for Kubbanite to come back. Kubbanite made progress, but was unable to finish it on their next turn. Kübb Krüsher$ were able to clear the nine kubbs in play and had one baton left for the king. This time, they didn’t miss and they moved on to the finals.

In the finals, Strike Without Warning kept their streak going. They started hot and never cooled down. Kübb Krüsher$ played strong, but just couldn’t match it. Strike Without Warning won in two games. You can watch the archived livestream at the Kubb On Facebook page.

In the third place game, Kubbanite beat Kubbitz in two games.

Full brackets are available on the Kubbing to Kick Cancer Facebook page.