KLINGNAU, Switzerland — The final stop on Kubb On: Tour’s (Bryan Jones, Christopher Jones, Kyle Weakland) itinerary was Kubbmaister in Switzerland. During their week in Switzerland, the team had met up with fellow kubb players in Basel and Baden for a few friendlies and they were very excited to get down to business at the tournament.
The Kubbmaister atmosphere was almost like a festival or fair. There was a food and drink tent, a live D.J., kubb mini games, and both a recreational and a competitive side to the tournament. It was a sunny, almost a little too hot day, and everyone there was having a good time. The people were friendly and always willing to have a quick chat between matches.
The mini games were sort of a mini-golf-like series of challenges. There was one where you had to knock down a kubb that was moving back and forth left to right, and another that required you to knock down a kubb by throwing a rainbow arc over a tall bar. There were a number of these games and it was a fun little activity between matches.
As for the tournament, the competitive side should have been labeled very competitive. Kubb On: Tour started in a group that included some well-known, very tough teams. They ended up only winning one of their three games.
After the initial group play, teams were put into a giant bracket. This was one of the craziest looking brackets you’ve ever seen. It was a double elimination bracket with lines going seemingly every which way. Kubb On: Tour dropped their first match 1-2, but managed to pull of a win on their second match. On their third match, they started strong, but fell into a rut and dropped the deciding third game, and therefore the match. This put an end to their day.
As teams were eliminated, there were a lot of friendlies happening. Kubb On: Tour jumped in on a few games, and even won a few games. There were also a lot of really great, high-quality matches to watch so the team was not bored at all.
When it was finally time for the finals to begin, the entirety of the tournament’s participants headed over to the finals pitch. The crowd was loud and enthusiastic as they cheered on the two Swiss teams, SMP and Team Shnäuz.
In this best of three match, the first game started off a little slow. It took a few turns to really get some kubbs in play. Once there were six kubbs off the back row, the teams fell into a few turns of just trading those back and forth. Eventually, Team Shnäuz, riding a beautiful field-to-baseline double, managed to clear the back row. With a baton in hand, Team Shnäuz lined up for the sure shot, but it was not meant to be this round—SMP was still alive. On their turn, SMP was able to add to the pile of kubbs, but not able to finish it. Team Shnäuz drilled, cleared, and lined up for a king shot with three batons in hand. It only took one.
In game two, SMP was up first and they made it count with a two for two turn. Both teams were playing very well, and in just a few turns there were seven kubbs in pay. Team Shnäuz quickly cleared those seven kubbs with just two batons. It took three more batons to clear the last two baselines, and then the final one was spent knocking down the king. Team Shnäuz won the game, match, and the 2018 Kubbmaister title!
It was another unbelievable experience for the Kubb On: Tour team. They may not have done well, but they certainly enjoyed the experience.
Final Results
- Team Shnäuz (Switzerland)
- SMP (Switzerland)
- Breitizone
Finals Match Video
Watch the archived live-stream of the finals match on Facebook
