THIEF RIVER FALLS, Minn. — After a long, cold night, few of us started setting up around 8 a.m., The pitches were plowed out the night before. It was negative 26 degrees with no wind. Knowing it would warm up to negative 8 degrees and the sun would be out for most of the tournament, we were pumped-up to compete. There were 11 teams show that showed up, five teams less than last year. The tournament was scheduled to start at 11 a.m and there were five two-player teams, three three-player teams and three four-player teams participating.
The format was changed from seven game series to five, single-game series DMK Klassic style. Many competitive games were played. After that, the top seven teams sat out a single series while the bottom four teams battled each other for a play in to earn the eighth spot. The top eight played best two of three games series in the championship division and there was no time limit. We did not do a consolation bracket this year.
After the first series, it started to get very dark and lights were set up, ready for the tournament to move forward. The championship series between Team J and K (Daniel Kaushagen, Jake K) and Kubboondock Saints (Vince Miramontes, Joe Sabol) took place around 7 p.m., with the first game lasting the longest—over an hour. In that game, Team J and K was victorious. With both teams frustrated, they opted not to take a break in the negative 15 degree weather and started game two right away. Game two only went about 20 minutes, with Kubboondock Saints winning this time. The series was tied up and now it was time for the third game, with all of it on the line. The third game went back-and-forth, and both teams were close to finishing it up. After about 30 minutes, Kubboondock Saints were able to finish it and win the championship!
Everyone had a great time ending the evening listening to one of our favorite local rock bands. The ninth annual TRF Winter Tournament is scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 12 at the Eagles Club. Thank you to everyone for all of the support for TRF Kubb!
Final Results
- Kubboondock Saints (Vince Miramontes, Joe Sabol)
- Team J and K (Daniel Kaushagen, Jake K)
- Matt Gunderson team (Bruce Gangelhoff, Matt Gunderson, Alex Winter)
