Tonight was a night for surprises and upsets in SWBP’s first singles tournament at Coaches. Early predictions put regulars Kyle Sweetland, Josh Rogers, and yours truly as the favorites. There was some mention of Ted “d-bag” Wallace’s recent performance putting him in the finals, but I didn’t buy it. A couple wildcards, however, ended up proving all predictions wrong.

There were several good matches in the first round, with an equal number of surprising outcomes. Newcomer “Smoky” Joe Z sent favorite Mikkel to the losers bracket. AJ Weddinton wasn’t having a good night, after being sent down by Jeremiah Gage; and Kyle, arguably Albuquerque’s best player, lost his first matchup against Brandon Perry.

Probably the most surprising matchup would prove to be prophetic for the rest of the tournament. SWBP’s photographer Ian Tom decided to finally play in one of the events he was documenting. Tom played against Wallace in the first round. The game was a shockingly short one, with Tom sending Wallace down with 5 cups left on the table. Was this a fluke? We would see.

All these great players in the losers bracket made it a tough one to get through. Beth Goodrich did her best in solidifying her status as best female player in ABQ by going out just one game shy of the final 8. Wallace fought hard through the bracket after his first round loss, making it to the final 8 before losing in an emotional game against yours truly. Sorry Ted, you’ll never beat me when it counts ;).

Back in the winners bracket, the photographer turned pong-pro was making short work of all who faced him. He made it easily to the winners bracket finals before finally being defeated by young-gun David Glaser. Only one of Tom’s games went to 1 cup (against another pre-tournament favorite Gary Cadwell).

In the losers bracket semi-finals, Mr. Cadwell found himself up against his Clawless roommate. Both players had looked forward to a matchup, and were glad that at least one of them would make the top three. It wasn’t long, as I had the best game of my life, sending Cadwell home with a 7 cup loss.

Unfortunately my shooting would not remain that precise in the next game against the upset. Playing against Tom was something I was not prepared for. I got in my own head way too much and ended up missing the last cup several times, including in rebuttal.

This pit the photographer against the young-gun in the tournament finals. David Glaser of team 10 Inches Soft had quietly made his way undefeated through the winners bracket to face the happy-go-lucky Ian Tom. After the first game, it seemed as though this really would be a Cinderella story: the lowly photographer, always in the background, finally gets his chance to perform, and goes the whole way! Unfortunately, Glaser wasn’t much of a Disney fan, and sent Tom home with a final 3 cup loss. The full bracket can be found here.

Thanks everyone for coming out and supporting us! Tell your friends to check us out and come by for our next tournament! Also, wish us luck next month as we take on the nation’s best at the World Series of Beer Pong in Las Vegas!

-Clawless