2024 Denver Wild West Players Cup Results

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Twenty people participated in the Players Cup event at the St. Louis Gateway. Five people obtained 4-1 records and shared the full prize pool amount themselves. After four rounds only Ben Friesen had a perfect 4-0 record.  Ben was paired cup with a 3-1 Ray Fogerlund in the final round.  Ben had his shot at obtaining a complete Iron Legacy Star, but in the end Ray prevailed. 

The other 3-1 match ups were Marty Storer vs David Stein, and Neil Kazaross vs Julius High.  Marty took home his match and added enough valuable circuit stars  to push him into second place for the year. Neil continued his dominance by defeating the red hot Julius High. Julius remains in the lead for the year with three events remaining. The last match up for the prize pool was a 3-1 Sean Garber vs 2-2 Mark Kaye. Sean won to seal the five way split. Each winner receives .2 Legacy Iron Star credit towards obtaining an Iron Star.

Gerry Tansey absolutely crushed it  on the PR front. Despite playing a 4.95 in one match Gerry managed to average 2.17 over the 5 matches. 

Carl Sellers playing in his second event, continued at a Super Grandmaster level with a 2.38 PR throughout his recorded matches.  Marty Storer played at a 3.06 PR. Kent Goulding stood out with a very strong 3.77. Neil Kazaross rounded out the under 4 PR team with a 3.88

 Garry Kallos upgraded his BMAB title from Advanced 2 (A2) to Advanced 1 (A1)

Bob Ellis (00950) obtained an Intermediate 1 (I1) title. Congrats!!

The unlucky dice prize was a very close call between Tom Rebelo, Irina Litzenberger and Rob Crase.  Rob ended up a fraction of a hair “unluckier” according to XG at -9.33.. compared to -9.30 and -9.22.  As bad luck would have it, Rob won $125 for being so unlucky.

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The current top 6 in the annual stars race after seven months and 7 events are:

1.     Julius High - 232.50

      2.    Marty Storer- 173.62

3.     Frank Talbot - 173.11

      4.    Kit Woolsey - 155.45

      5.    Neil Kazaross 142.03   

      6.    Rob Crase - 137.69

The top three players will receive trophies. The Player Cup Champion will also have their name added to the Players Cup Perpetual Trophy.  The top two players will split the inaugural year $1000 added cash.

The next upcoming events are the Players Cup Denver Wild West on Oct. 16th Players Cup Miami Open on Nov 20th and California Players Cup on Dec. 11th in LA.  See you there!

Thirty Two people participated in the Players Cup event at the Viking Classic. After four rounds Marty Storer, David Todd and Eric Barr held onto perfect 4-0 records.  When the draw came through David Todd was paired with Gregg TripleG Trunnell and Eric Barr was paired up with Marty Storer.  If DT would have won his match there would have been two people tied at 5-0 and only fractional Iron Stars would have been awarded.

Trunnell prevailed  against DT to share a piece of the prize pool.  The match Barr vs Storer match started out as a tight 3-2 game in favor of Eric until the 5th game in which Eric won a gammon on a 4 cube to win the match.  Eric was playing in his first event since before the Covid shutdown. 

Carl Sellers from Canada dominated on the PR front.  Carl played a stellar 2.38 PR throughout his recorded matches. Gerry Tansey continued his outstanding play with a 2.78 Tourney PR, matching his running average of 2.78.  Shout out to circuit newcomer Jeremy Krieger who played to a party friendly 4.20 in his first event.

Minneapolis player Eddie Farhadi was unfortunate enough to go 0-5 and post a negative luck factor of -16.73 to win the honors of “unlucky dice” and receive his entry fee back.

Sharing the prize pool with a 4-1 record were were TripleG, DT, Marty, Andrew Lundeen, Dan Minardi and Julius High.

Julius has continued his impressive run at Players Cup events. Julius cashed again and he had increased his race star lead for the title of 2024 Player Cup Champion.

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The current top 6 in the annual stars race after seven months and 7 events are:

1.     Julius High - 208.75

2      Frank Talbot - 173.11

            3     Kit Woolsey - 155.45

            4.    Marty Storer- 132.37

            5.     Rob Crase - 127.69

6     Albert Steg - 123.36

The top three players will receive trophies. The Player Cup champion will also have their name added to the Players Cup Perpetual Trophy. 

The next upcoming events are the  Players Cup St. Louis on Sept. 26th and Players Cup Denver Wild West on Oct. 16th. Hope to see you there!

Kit Woolsey followed up his 5-0 performance in the LA Players Cup by going 5-0 again in Novi. Neil Kazaross followed up his win of the ABT in LA by going 5-0 in the Michigan Players Cup.  Both players receive .5 Iron Legacy Star credit.

The 2024 Players Cup in Michigan had 32 participants.  After the 4th round, Jack Takala, Kit Woolsey, Frank Talbot and Neil Kazaross were undefeated at 4-0. In the final round, Kit faced off against Talbot, who was coming off a 5-0 Iron Star win in Chicago.  Kaz was victorious over Takala, while Woolsey defeated Talbot

On the PR front, Gerry Tansey dominated the field with an amazing 2.68 PR over his five mathes. John O'Hagan had an awesome 3.06 PR  followed by Kit Woolsey with 3.79 and Albert Steg 3.93, respectively. Other players that played below 5.0 were Frank Talbot, David Stein, Phil Perelmuter, Kent Goulding and Neil Kazaross. 

Those with a 4-1 record were that got a piece of the prize were Frank Talbopt, Jack Takala, Gerry Tansey and David Stein.

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It came as no surprise that Albert Steg, who posted a stellar 3.93 but went 0-5, won the unlucky dice award with -13.31 luck factor over the five rounds.

The current top 6 in the annual stars race after seven months and 7 events are:

1 Julius High - 167.83

2      Frank Talbot - 156.17

         3      Kit Woolsey - 145.45

4 Albert Steg - 123.36

5 Phil Perelmuter - 113.92

6     Irina Litzenberger - 110.82

The next upcoming events are the Players Cup Minnesota on August 29 and Players Cup St. Louis on Sept. 26th. Hope to see you there!

Kit Woolsey Wins an Iron Star at the Los Angeles Players Cup

The 2024 Players Cup in Los Angeles had 22 participants. After the 4th round, only Kit Woolsey had a stellar 4-0 record. In the final round, Kit faced off against Marty Storer, who had a 3-1 record. Kit prevailed and won Iron Star #004, becoming the third person to win both an annual ABT title and an Iron Star.

On the PR front, Art Benjamin continued to shine in his recently obtained Grand Master status by playing a 3.98 PR over his 5 matches. Marty and Kit followed with 4.06 and 4.21, respectively.

Grabbing a piece of the prize pool with a 4-1 record were Dorn Bishop, Art Benjamin, Ben Friesen, Jacques Stambouli, and David Parks.

The unlucky dice award went to Bob Wachtel with a -12.25 cumulative luck factor according to XG. This is the least bad luck to have won the unlucky dice award to date.

The current top 6 in the annual stars race after six months and six events are:

1 Julius High - 152.83

2 Albert Steg - 118.36

3 Frank Talbot - 114.27

4 Phil Perelmuter - 98.92

5 Art Benjamin - 95.98

6 Irina Litzenberger - 95.82

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The next upcoming events are the Players Cup Michigan on July 3 and the Players Cup Minnesota on August 29. Hope to see you there!

The 2024 Players Cup Chicago Open set a Players Cup and a BMAB record with 44 entrants. After four rounds, there were three players tied at 4-0. Starting the round, there was a 50% chance someone would walk away with an Iron Star. Frank Talbot played Khashayar Naghshineh from Vancouver, Canada, while Karen Davis (4-0) battled Steve Reichelt (3-1). When Karen lost to Steve R., it guaranteed that the winner of the two undefeated players would produce an Iron Star winner.

In a wild match, Talbot prevailed. Frank jumped out to an 8-0 lead against Khasa. Khasa chipped away at Frank’s lead and reached DMP. He took a commanding 90% chance of winning until Frank hit a shot during the bear-off and managed to scramble home a win. In achieving the prestigious Iron Star, Frank Talbot adds to his career legacy.

The nine people that ended tied for 2nd place at 4-1 were Ryan Rebelo, Adrian Nedelcu, John Rockwell, Roberto Gaui, Jesus Ibarra, as well as Karen Davis, Steve Reichelt, and Khashayar Naghshineh.

110 matches were played. 109 matches got recorded. The last match to start in the last round had a failed recording. The match was Angel vs. Jesus, and only God knows how the recording failed.

The PR battle was tight, with Ryan Rebelo (3.37) coming out 1/100 of a point lower than John O’Hagan (3.38). David Wells (3.49) and Art Benjamin (3.79) completed the sub-4 club. Ray Fogerlund (4.66), Al Hodis (4.76), and Frank Talbot (4.81) completed the under 5 PR group.

With an amazing lifetime achievement, Art Benjamin obtained Grand Master status. Art’s running PR average of his last 300 experience points dipped below 4.0.

Gabriel Ricaed Jr., from Brazil, became the Unlucky Dice winner with a 1-4 record and a negative luck factor of -15.28. Gabriel received his $125 entry fee back as the Unlucky Dice prize.

The current top 6 in the annual stars race after five months and five events are:

1. Julius High - 131.84
2. Albert Steg - 117.74
3. Phil Perlemuter - 99.48
4. Irina Litzenberger - 95.74
5. Karen Davis - 90.14
6. Frank Talbot - 86.77

The next upcoming events up to July are Players Cup Los Angeles on June 5 and Players Cup Michigan on July 3. Hope to see you there.

Lynda Clay and Albert Steg each go 5-0 and achieve half of an Iron Star.

The 2024 Players Cup Cherry Blossom was booming with 34 players. After four rounds, there were four players tied at 4-0. Sean Garber faced Lynda Clay, while Phil Perelmuter confronted Albert Steg in the dual finals.

Albert’s victory thrust him atop the Players Cup standings in the annual stars race. Albert went 4-1 for a second-place tie in New York as well in January.

Finishing with a piece of the prize pool and rank stars for the Players Cup race at 4-1 were Julius High, Claude Landry, Kent Goulding, Marty Storer, as well as Sean Garber and Phil Perelmuter.

Lynda Clay received the WWB Bowl for being the woman the won the event.

83 matches were played, recorded, and transcribed. Not a single match recording was lost.

Marty Storer dominated the field on the PR front, performing with an overall average of 2.56.

An old school player from the ‘70s who has been on hiatus, Charles Pipkin, shined with a stellar 3.73 PR average over his five matches. Welcome back, Charles. A few more events like that and Grandmaster status is within his reach.

Grandmaster John Klein (4.7), Roberto Litzenberger (4.54), Albert Steg (4.94), and Kent Goulding (4.98) finished out the under 5 PR group.

The unlucky dice was a nail-biter, with the two 'unluckiest' players, according to XG, receiving -13.43 and -13.39 luck rating. It was Roberto Litzenberger who was lucky enough to be a hair more 'unlucky' than Jerry Shea to take the $100.

The current top 5 in the annual stars race after four months and four events are:

1 Albert Steg - 117.74

2 Julius High - 111.84

3 Irina Litzenberger - 100.74

4 Kent Goulding - 83.28

5 Brian Nelson - 82.50

The next upcoming events to round off the first half of the year are Players Cup Chicago on May 22 and Players Cup Los Angeles on June 5. Hope to see you there.

2024 Ohio Players Cup BMAB: Tournament Recap

John O’Hagan earns an Iron Star! Among his very extensive and impressive achievements, John can now add a Players’ Cup Iron Star to his legacy. Neil Kazaross, PJ Macali, and John O’Hagan entered the 5th round at 4-0. Neil and John faced off while PJ played Garry Kallos (3-1). John defeated Neil 9-5 after winning an undoubled gammon at 2 away-4 away. With his victory, O’Hagan received 55.71 stars for the annual Players’ Cup title as well.

Attention then turned to the PJ Macali vs. Garry Kallos match. If PJ had won, there would have been no Iron Star awarded, and PJ and John would have split 1st place. PJ jumped out to a fast 7-0 lead, but Gary battled back. The match went to DMP and down to the final roll. Any double would have won it for PJ, but alas, Garry prevailed and enjoyed a piece of second place. Jeremy Ly from Long Island was the 4th player that tied for 2nd place. All second-place finishers received 38.71 race stars.

Art Benjamin played an impressive 2.70 and won the $50 PR side pool. While Art is always a solid player, he seems to even surprise himself with a Grand Master Zero level of play (below 2.75). Marty Storer was close behind at 2.74. Iron Star winner John O’Hagan played 3.87, while Finalist and GM2 Neil Kazaross played 4.34. Irina Litzenberger played her best BMAB yet with 4.95 to round out the “low five”. Canadians made up a quarter of the 20-player field. A shoutout to first-time tourney attendees Talbot Edwards and Sean O’Donnell. Tom Rebelo, making his first appearance at a BMAB event, played to an impressive 5.72. The unlucky dice award went to Marty Storer. Marty had a lack of -18.54, handily edging out Anatoliy Katsnelson (-13.24) and Art Benjamin (-13.21). Congratulations as well to the participants below that increased their BMAB titles. Thanks to all the participants that help make this another great event!

Roberto and Dmitriy

BMAB title for Enrique Gomez (01125) has changed from none to Advanced 3 (A3)

BMAB title for PJ Macali (00998) has changed from Advanced 3 (A3) to Advanced 2 (A2)

The 2024 Atlanta Player’s Cup BMAB has concluded, leaving us with thrilling memories of 24 players battling it out in 60 intense matches. Let's dive into the highlights:

After three rounds, four undefeated players emerged, and by the 4th round, only Sammy Wohl from the Sunny Florida club remained standing at an impressive 4-0.  Sammy was the only in the running for the coveted Legacy Iron Star.

The anticipation peaked in the 5th round as Sammy aimed to become the sole winner. However, Irina Litzenberger had different plans and emerged victorious in a nail-biting match, resulting in a 6-way split of the prize pool. So close, Sammy!

A shoutout to the eight other  players with a 3-1 record, who engaged in four epic matches to share a piece of 1st.

In the Unlucky Dice Award category, Marianne Bowen narrowly clinched it over Samra Hadden, earning the title of the "unluckiest" player this time. Hard luck, Marianne and Samra! Better dice next time!

Each 4-1 winner secured 42.74 Stars for the 2024 Player’s Cup Circuit. Brian Nielsen remains on top with a whopping 82.50 stars from the New York win. Julius High secured second place, and Irina Litzenberger's stellar performance places her at third with 65.74 stars. Additionally, each 4-1 winner receives 1/6 (.167) credit towards a Legacy Iron Star.

Special congratulations to Kent Goulding for achieving a Master 1 rating from BMAB, improving his previous M2.

Lastly, hats off to the following players for achieving their first titles, accumulating enough experience points over several tournaments:

• Sammy Wohl: Advanced 1 (A1)

• Kate Elmore: Advanced 2 (A2)

• Melanie Hughes: Advanced 3 (A3)

• Mehmet Agirbas: Advanced 3 (A3)

• Samra Hadden: Intermediate 1 (I1)

• Rob Crase: Intermediate 3 (I3)

Thanks to all participants for making the 2024 Atlanta Player’s Cup BMAB an unforgettable event! Until the next roll!

Roberto