TACO Joins AzBaggers

There’s a new shared statewide contact list for cornhole enthusiasts in Arizona. It’s called AzBaggers. The TACO site will remain just as it is, but we’re merging our membership with this new list. Now all players and fans in Arizona will have a common place to post announcements and hear about events throughout the state.

If you’re already a member of TACO, we’ve added you to AZBaggers. Others can join by visiting the AzBaggers Home Page and clicking Join. Or simply send an email to azbaggers-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.

WMCO Summer 2010 Tournament #1

The White Mountain Cornhole Organization’s 1st cornhole tournament of its Summer Challenge was held May 15th at Bison Ranch, just outside of Overgaard, Az. Several teams from the valley made the 2 1/2 hour trek north to participate and enjoy the hospitality of the White Mountaineers.

Several good teams were in attendance. The host team “Make em Pay” with Dale and Terry, the reigning champs and #1 seed, “No Excuses” with Doug Z. and Vic, “Black Shirts” with Ray and Gregg, and “4 Peaks” Mike and Ryan came up from the valley to challenge.

“Make em Pay” drew “No Excuses” in the first match and the mountaineers were quickly sent to the loser’s bracket. Doug Z. and Vic ran through the competition without losing a match and had the advantage of needing to be beaten twice in 2 out of 3 matches in the championship to lose the crown.

“$ Peaks” had a first round bye then beat a local team with Doug K. and his stepson. “4 Peaks” then lost the remaining two matches to bow out of competition. The “Black Shirts” lost to “No Excuses” to drop into the losers’ bracket and won the remaining matches until facing Dale and Terry in the championship of the losers’ bracket. That earned them the right to play Doug Z. and Vic in the finals. Dale and Terry defeated the “Black Shirts” to set up a rematch between “Make em Pay” and “No Excuses” for the overall championship.

“Make em Pay” proved too much for “No Excuses” routing Doug and Vic 4 out of 5 games to remain the reigning champs. Dale and Terry peaked at the right time and both played as well as I’ve ever seen. Congratulations to “Make em Pay”.

1st place, “Make em Pay”, Dale and Terry, 2nd “No Excuses”, Doug Z. and Vic, 3rd “Black Shirts” Ray and Gregg.

In the singles competition, 12 people participated with Vic from “No Excuses” defeating local Doug K. in the finals.

Doug K. and Vic split the Airmail championship pot, each sinking 3 of 8 bags to share the title.

The long toss was a huge success with competitors besting each other one foot at a time. Throughout the day several challengers moved the mark past 50′. Ryan proved to be the most proficient at long toss holing with several marks past 50′. His mark of 56′ reigned for 1 1/2 hours before Vic, time running out, stepped up and hurled his 2nd bag the 57′ needed to take over the top spot. Time ran out before Ryan could regain the lead. The $182. long toss pot was the largest payout I’ve ever seen in this event. Well done everyone!

The day was a huge success with spectators and competitiors coming together at Bison Ranch and making the White Mountain Cornhole Organization’s 1st summer series event an instant classic.

Contributed by Vic Bradford

Vic and Doug win at McDuffy’s

Ray Sandoval of Extreme Cornhole and McDuffys Sports Grill hosted their second cornhole tournament this weekend in conjunction with the Kentucky Derby. Following the race, 18 teams signed up for the double-elimination tournament. Despite some wind and a larger than expected field, the tournament was entertaining and a success on many levels.

Worldfest 2010

This year’s Worldfest was moved from Margaret T. Hance (Deck) park to Heritage Square. It was a more intimate setting for the annual cornhole tournament hosted by Cornhole Arizona. Although still billed as the Arizona State Championships, this year’s tournament was a well-kept secret. It was announced only a few days in advance to a handful of past participants, no mention on the Worldfest website, no e-mail to the majority of active platyers, and only a last minute update on the Cornhole Arizona website. Fortunately 12 teams did show and though it was a shadow of past tournaments, it was a great time nonetheless with some good competition.

Cornbag Cup 4

Cornbag Cup 4 was held Saturday 4/27/10 at the Tempe Sports Complex. 58 teams entered the event that provided t-shirts, all you can eat pizza, and all you can drink beer to every contestant. It was a well run event as always and despite a little wind the weather held up to make it a great day for the fun. In the tournament Dave and Drew beat Doug and Vic in the finals for their first ever tournament win. The after party was held at Dos Gringos who was a sponsor of the event. As usual the organizers of the Cornbag Cup, Habib, Shock, Dan, and Shawn showed what it takes to throw a successful bags tournament.

SureFire Cornbags Introduced at Superbowl Event

The bags at the Horse and Hound Superbowl of Cornhole were provided by the newly formed local bags manufacturer SureFire Cornbags. The SureFire bags were well-received by the experienced players who seemed to like the feel and consistency. Surefire Cornbags are produced by the same people who make the Sturdy-Up Tally Tower also used at this event.

Superbowl of Cornhole

Sunday prior to the Superbowl, Tempe’s Horse and Hound Sports Grill hosted the Superbowl of Cornhole, a new kind of cornhole tournament aimed at providing all players with a good time while still including some top competition. It was only a $10 entry fee and no prizes, but there was pizza and beer included in the entry fee. Most of the top players showed up and lots of novices taking advantage of the promised fun.

Matt Guy Wins Fourth Straight King of Cornhole

This past weekend the Orleans Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas hosted the fourth annual ACO nationals cornhole championships and King of Cornhole competition. For the fourth year in a row Matt Guy came out on top despite greater competition than ever. Sixty-four of the world’s top cornhole players including 23 touring professionals and 37 qualifying amateurs converged in the headline event to vie for the world title. In the first round of thirty-two games, there were only two upsets by non-professionals. The most surprising was unranked amateur and 52 seed Ed Lantz of Fort Meyers Florida runner-up in the social doubles competition who upset the 13th seed Mark Allen. Another big surprise was the emergence of unseeded Matt Strzala who made the final four by beating Eric Hinerman. It was Matt vs. Steve Vanderver and Matt Guy vs. Randy Atha in a familiar match-up. Vanderver managed a very slight victory in game three to make the finals. Matt Guy and Randy Atha were neck-and-neck for a game and a half before Guy came on strong to pull away and assure his spot in the finals. The finals featured Matt Guy and Steve Vanderver. Both played strong with few unforced errors. Matt won game one and Steve won game two. Then Steve got to 18 in the third and final game only to see Matt Guy come from behind and win the match, retaining the crown as King of Cornhole.

Monastery Tournament Results

Lois and Brian of the USACL hosted a Secret Santa tournament at the Monastery in East Mesa to benefit BACA (Bikers Against Child Abuse) with a combined toy drive and cornhole tournament.

Four Peaks wins Southwest Brewfest

The first Southwest Brewfest was held Saturday November 8th, 2009 at Tempe Marketplace. It included a cornhole tournament hosted by Cornhole Arizona. Cornhole Arizona has been absent from the local cornhole scene for many months after a period of throwing the best tournaments in the state.