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.
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
In a huge and competitive field 38 people battled out 5 rounds of 11 point matches. This was the largest field ever for a BMAB tourney. Brian Nielsen from Switzerland (born Denmark) was the only player to go 5-0. He obtained the first Iron Legacy Star for this achievement.
Kit Woolsey rocked the field with a stellar 2.76 PR. Jason Pack played a solid 3.90 while and newcomer David Wu played an incredible 3.92. A very impressive result. Paul Swain and Roberto Litzenberger played 4.11 and 4.12 respectively to round out the top 5 in PR.
Malcolm Hutson was lucky enough to win the "unlucky dice" with -16.16 luck in his 1-4 journey.
Both Larry Shiller and Massimo Tassan-Solet had a chance to go 5-0 as they started the 5th round at 4-0. Massimo lost to champ Brian while Larry played a Andrew Liebenthal (3-1) who was looking for piece of the 2nd place bounty.
The 4-1 players were Julius High, Arkady Tsinis, Albert Steg and Roberto Litzenberger, Andrew Liebenthal and Larry Shiller.
Congrats to Larry Shiller who obtained a Masters 3 lifetime title from BMAB. Malcolm Hutson receives a Master's title. Paul Swain obtained a Master's 2 title. Well done!
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