Who would have thought three years ago, when I first showed up at the Italian Club in the middle of Covid, that Cornhole in Saskatchewan would be what it is today? The game went from running the bracket on an Excel spreadsheet and moving close pins up and down a scoreboard to being fully automated and scoring and brackets up on the walls, updating in real-time. Did you know that since we went to Scoreholio, over 960 people have registered to play cornhole with the Sask. Cornhole League? That does not include the hundreds who do not download the app and register when they come. Over 1200 different players have played in a Regina Cornhole League event. It is simply amazing, and it is not going to stop there, with the venue hosting a fundraiser every weekend for the foreseeable future.
This week was full of events and ended with another Regional event. Having the Regionals every month is excellent for players to play against the best in the club for the most points, besides a Provincial event. I like it because watching the best players in every tier perform while the pressure is on is fun and a testament to how good our league is getting.
Tuesday Night is one of my favorite nights every second week, and it’s Singles League play. It isn’t because I like to walk back and forth getting my butt kicked in tier 3, but more about it is an accurate indicator of how my practice is improving my game. I do not look at my wins and losses because they are inaccurate indicators. Everyone else’s game is also improving, so I look to other stats to see if I am improving. On Tuesday, for instance, I shot an average of 7.51 PPR and only won one of my games. The key stat for me was my opponent’s PPR. They averaged 8.42 PPR collectively, and the only other person to have tougher competition was Caesar at 8.67 PPR. The other Stat was my off-the-board percentage, which was in single digits. So, I guess my message is that it is easy to get bogged down with wins and losses, but looking deeper into the stats can better indicate your improvement.
Tuesday night’s Doubled play was an exciting night. Doubles are always a tough night because it is hard to move people around in the power rankings because of what happened on Doubles night. It is a true game of a team in that if you or your partner is not shooting well, the odds of winning go way down. However, Doubles could be the deciding factor depending on what happens in Regional play this week.
This week’s Doubles saw the rise of a couple of teams not mentioned much in my Blog. In Tier 4, Team Quad, consisting of Deadly (Brad Dennis) and Shawn Collins, hit the podium with a second-place finish. They might have had a chance to win the week if it was not for the Tier 4 powerhouse Bonnie P. Bonnie, ghosting this week, went undefeated, only giving up 9 points in the bracket. We also saw a new addition to league play, as Jeff and Lynette€ came out and threw some great games.
In Tier 3, we once again had the Women’s doubles National Champions find their game on the same night to find themselves on the throne with a win over Spilly and Louie in the A final. The Backdoor Bandits won their one game in the B, and the re-match was on. Knowing they had to double-dip DamBit in the Queen seat, they went to work. The problem was that the ladies were pulling out to the early lead. Being down 15-6, the Bandits re-grouped and took game one 21-17. They completed the double dip in game two to take down the Doubles league night.
Wednesday saw the return of the Senior Throw Down after a week off. Ten players showed up for an afternoon of tossing. Dean and Darlene were sitting on top, but Kevin F and Rus.. were ready for them when they came from the B side. Kevin and Rus won a close one in game one, 22-19. In game two, Dean and Darlene found their game to win decisively, 22-3, to take down the title.
Mixed Regional happened on Thursday night.
It was a fairly quiet night as eight teams battled it out for the title. Newson and Crystal scathed off a double dip attempt by Gel and Presley to win the event. Crystal and Newson found themselves at the top of the podium after always coming up short in this event. Watch out now that they got their first win; I predict it is one of many.
However, the shot of the night went to Sarah P. Sarah’s opponent was sitting seven and at 20 on the scoreboard. Sarah needed to push a bag of hers to extend the game. The problem was the only bag she had a chance at was sitting a foot and a half back dead center of the board. To complicate things more, she was throwing with the outside arm. After a deep breath, she threw it and hit it perfectly for a point. Great shot.
Friday, the SCA team was at Riffle High School teaching kids the game of cornhole. This was our last visit to Riffle, but we have scheduled days with the kids from Knoll and O’Neill in the next few weeks.
The SCA youth initiative has introduced the game of cornhole to over 400 kids. The goal is to get into every School in Regina and set up a School Challenge in February.
Friday’s Night FunHolio had 60 players battling it out for the prize money. We sat over with over 70 players late in the afternoon, but the flu knocked down the number. After the round-robin, Lynette was on top of the leaderboard but tied with four others that went 6-0. Damara, Shawn Collins (who has been on his game two weeks in a row), Crystal, and Newson were the other 6-0 players, but at the end of the night, it was The Kid and myself that double-dipped Louie and Lee S to win the money.
Regional Weekend started off on Thursday, but the real battles were set for noon on Sunday. For the first time, we had players tossing in three different tiers. The social, fun, learn-to-play event (tier 5) had eight players having fun and throwing some bags. This new event gives players who are just starting a chance to play against people with the same skill level.
SINGLES:
Tier 5: Ten players attended the first-ever Tier 5 Regional event. This event is intended for new players as a fun way to throw with others just starting out. Players must have a PPR below 5 to play, but as I looked at the final scores, everyone was shooting well. Wendy fired a 5.5 PPR during the event and was the victor as she beat Debbie West in the final.
Tier 4: 13 Players, including two from Saskatoon who made the trip to Regina to check out the BackYard, battled it out for the Tier 4 Regional Memorial title. Kassigan from Saskatoon, carrying an undefeated record into the final, took on Stich, who came from the B side to try to double-dip Kassigan. Game one was a battle, but in the end, Stich handed Kassigan his first loss. It was a battle in game two, but it was more of a blood bath, as Kassigan took Jason down in 5 ends. Great throwing.
Tier 3: 11 Players came to play in the Hawk division, and once again, almost everyone came out firing. As the bracket moved along, Caesar threw darts, which had him sitting in the King’s Seat. There was one game that he hit 23 out of 24 bags in one game. When we hit the final, Krentzy climbed through the B side to try to double-dip Caesar. Both games were a battle and fun to watch, but Krentzy was too much for Caesar in the end, as he took the Regional title.
DOUBLES:
Tier 3: The last event of a full week of cornhole was the Doubles Regional event. Krentzy and Spilly teamed up and went undefeated in the bracket as they beat Presley and Glen in the final.
Tier 4: Only four teams had enough energy to stay and play the Tier 4 Doubles Regional event. Double RR Incorporated defeated Ain’t my fault to win the title.
POWER RANKING –
The TIER 3 power ranking. The Hawks are firing lately, and the level of competition is precisely what is needed to watch everyone’s game excel. On Tuesday, Spilly led the way with an 8.94 PPR, but we also saw three more Hawks averaging over 8 PPR. The Regional Sunday decided these Power rankings this week.
1ST – Krentzy – Parker regains the top spot of the Power rankings as well as the top spot in the Tier 3 Cornhole Canada points standings. Parker won both Regional events this week, and at the midway point in the Cornhole Canada season, Parker has already maxed out on points for Regional events. Parker is also one of the players who is always walking around helping people with their game.
2ND – Newson – I put Newson in the second spot because as much his finishes this week were not what he wanted, he is always a threat to win. The club is what it is because of people like Kevin, and I know he is tired because of all the hours he puts in to ensure the BackYard keeps putting on premier events. Sometimes, the game struggles when you are tired, and this weekend, I think, was the case with Kevin, but he will be back.
3RD – Spilly – Always a solid thrower and still deserves to be in the top 3.
4TH – Jonathon – Jon did not throw this week, but I am still not ready to move him down further.
5TH – Caesar – Darren had a great weekend of tossing and, with a couple of 10 PPR games, deserves to fill the final spot of my top 5.
Tier 4/5 power ranking– Tier 4 was a stir leading into the Regional events this week. The Pigeons were loud in their chat, and many stats were thrown around. Stats are just that, and it comes down to the play and how you finish to end up in my top 5.
1ST – Stich – this was a tough decision because as Stich did not win this week, he was the only one who could win a game off of our friend from Saskatoon. Jason was throwing well and, when the pressure was on, made it to the final and pushed a game two in the final.
2ND – Bonnie P – Bonnie also had a great weekend but lost her seat on the throne this week due to better throwing from Stich. Singles week is coming on Tuesday, so that she may take it back.
3RD – Ringo – Ringo is getting more consistent every week, and he moves up to the third spot with a third-place finish in the Singles Regional.
4TH – Ritzy – Danny moves down one spot but is improving every week.
5TH – The Kid – The Kid stays in the fifth spot because I had the privilege of having him as my partner Friday night at the Funholio. Lucas carried me to the finish line as we took down the win.
