Stoughton Kubb Invitational 2017 Recap

STOUGHTON, Wisc. — The Stoughton Kubb Invitational started off with another year of mid 80s weather and plenty of humidity. Conditions were a little more difficult with all of the recent rainfall in the area, which created pitches with long thick grass. There were a total of 20 teams that participated. There were eight rounds of qualifying play, which left no teams undefeated. Both Black & Blue (Darren Finger, Matthew Erdman) and Furor Celtica (Evan Fitzgerald, Dave Giese) only had one loss and earned the top two seeds in the eight team championship bracket.

The semi-finals saw a matchup of the number one seed, Black & Blue, versus five seed, The Northmen (Troy Curtin, Joe Malkasian). Black & Blue played well out of the gate winning both games. On the other side of the bracket, it was the second seed, Furor Celtica, versus the three seed, Kubb Snipers (Chad Bevers, Matt Green). Furor Celtica took game one, and was left a short porch in game two to advance to the finals.

In the finals game one, Black & Blue had a good round knocking down three baseline kubbs, which eventually led to a win. Game two was taken by Furor Celtica after picking up six kubbs on a one baton blast, and clearing the final three baseline kubbs. Game three was led off by Furor Celtica picking up two baseline kubbs. Black & Blue wasn’t able to respond with any baseline kubbs on their four baton round. Furor Celtica hit another two baseline kubbs, only leaving them with one remaining. After a four kubb blast with their first baton, Black & Blue picked off two baseline kubbs. There was a lot of deliberation about the setup after the Furor Celtica drill. One stray drilled kubb took a couple extra batons to clear which left one kubb remaining on the baseline. Black & Blue cleared their six drilled kubbs with two batons, finished off their remaining three baseline kubbs, and were able to down the king. It was a very exciting three game final.

In the third place game, the Kubb Snipers proved too much for The Northmen, winning in two games. The consolation bracket was won by Team Dunkirk, a local Stoughton team.

Final Results

1. Black & Blue (Darren Finger, Matthew Erdman)
2. Furor Celtica (Evan Fitzgerald, Dave Giese)
3. Kubb Snipers (Chad Bevers, Matt Green)

Consolation Winner: Team Dunkirk