2016 Year in Review

As is a tradition for me, I like to look back at what has happened with the club over the past year, and share what I see as far as trends. We had another great year in 2016, and I thank everyone for their support and participation.

Here are some statistical comparisons to last year:

  • Our average monthly tournament attendance saw a strong increase this year of 1.75 over 2015, to 12.08 players per tournament.
  • The highest monthly tournament attendance this year was 14 – the same as last year – but the stronger overall attendance gives me hope that we can hit 16 this coming year.
  • We had a record number of unique participants at our monthly tournaments this year – 31 (up 12 from last year). This is a wonderful result in my eyes as it means that more and more people are able to find us.
  • Our attendance is chouettes held steady this year at an average of 4.5 per event. This was bolstered by some very strong attendance towards the end of the year – a trend that I hope continues.
  • Our average attendance at the 7 social/open play events was 4.1, which is down from 4.2 per event last year.

I look forward to 2017, and continued growth and success for our club. A notable event this year is that the club will be hosting of the Ohio Valley Challenge Cup (more information on that soon!). I wish everyone a Happy and Prosperous New Year!

2016 CBC Player of the Year – Chris Yep

Now that the final tournament of the year is finished, the totals are in and Chris Yep has captured the CBC Player of the Year title for 2016! This is the second time that Chris has won the title, with the first being in 2012.

It was a title defined by consistency throughout the year, with Chris placing in the top 3 of nine tournaments. This effort was enough to overcome an impressive 4 straight tournament wins by Mike Rezai at the beginning of the year. During the summer months, it seemed to be turning into a 3-horse race with Chris, Mike, and Trevor Dierkes all within striking distance of each other. In the end, Chris ended up on top by a margin of 56 points.

Chris’ efforts have earned him an engraved doubling cube which will be presented to him early next year.

Congratulations, Chris, on a well fought campaign!

December 2016 Monthly Tournament Results

Even with the inclement weather the night before, a record-tying crowd of 14 players came out to play in the final monthly tournament of the year – including 2 new players to our ranks: Stu and Eric Cohen! Trevor Dierkes won in the main final over Stu Cohen to notch his second tournament victory of the year. In the consolation final, Jim Bougor won over Luke Smith to take third place.

The full tournament bracket for this month can be found here.

Thank you again to all who came out to play today, and congratulations as well to our top 3:

1st – Trevor Dierkes
2nd – Stu Cohen        (first time podium)
3rd – Jim Bourgor      (first time podium)

The next monthly tournament will be held on January 8th. See you next year!

November 2016 Tournament Results

13 players attended the tournament for this month. This time, we were honored to welcome a visitor from the Ohio State Backgammon Club in Akron – Ray Cifani. Edwin Jones won his first even tournament with us in a very exciting Main Bracket final over current Masters Points leader Chris Yep. Jim Weitthoff won an impressive 5 matches in a row to take third place in the Consolation bracket over fellow finalist Trevor Dierkes.

The full tournament bracket for this month can be found here.

In the Master’s Points race, Chris still hold onto the top spot by a margin of only 49 points over Mike Rezai. Next month will determine our champion for the year! The full current Masters Points standings can be found here.

Thank you again to all who came out to play today, and congratulations as well to our top 3:

1st – Edwin Jones
2nd – Chris Yep
3rd – Jim Weitthoff

The next monthly tournament will be held on December 11th. See you then!

October 2016 Monthly Tournament Results

A total of 12 players attended this month’s tournament, including a pair of brothers playing with us for the first time – Dejan and Milen Mitusev. David Rearick was this month’s winner, who earned his victory with a finals win over current points leader Chris Yep. Mike Rezai kept the points race close by winning in the consolation final over Maron Cury.

The full tournament bracket for this month can be found here.

In the Master’s Points table, Chris currently occupies the top spot, but by a margin of only 16 points over Mike Rezai. The only other player that is still contending for the top spot is Trevor Dierkes, though that window of opportunity is closing fast. The full current Masters Points standings can be found here and in the attached file.

Thank you again to all who came out to play today, and congratulations as well to our top 3:

1st – David Rearick
2nd – Chris Yep
3rd – Mike Rezai

The next monthly tournament will be held on November 13th. See you then!

September 2016 Monthly Tournament Results

Chris Yep took the Masters Points lead in the standing with a victory in this month’s tournament, over a field of 10 players. Chris secured first place with a win against Edwin Jones, who was plying in his first main bracket final. In the consolation final, Jon Stephens took third place with a win over Mary Hickey.

Chris currently holds a lead of 30 points over Mike Rezai in second place on the Masters Points table. With only 3 tournaments left in the year, there is a lot of potential for movement. I would like to remind everyone, too, that the top 6 or 7 places can qualify to represent Columbus in the OVCC next year (which will be held here!), so there is plenty for all to compete for! The full current Masters Points standings can be found here.

Thank you again to all who came out to play today, and congratulations as well to our top 3:

1st – Chris Yep
2nd – Edwin Jones
3rd – Jon Stephens

The next monthly tournament will be held on October 9th. See you then!

August 2016 Monthly Tournament Results

Heavy rains seemed to encourage people to come inside to play this month, as we had 13 players for the tournament on Sunday. At the end of it all, Jason Marshall ended up winning the main bracket final to take first place over Trevor Dierkes, who places second for the month. Third place was won for the third month in a row by Chris Yep, who won in the consolation bracket final over Jon Stephens.

Podium finishes by Trevor and Chris this month caused the top 3 in the Masters Points standings to tighten even further. Chris moves into second place overall, lurking only 40 points behind current leader, Mike Rezai. Trevor moves to within 44 of the top spot. Less than one tournament win’s worth of points now separate the top 3, making for a very interesting race! The full current Masters Points standings can be found here.

Thank you again to all who came out to play today – your participation is really appreciated. Congratulations as well to Jason, Trevor and Chris!

The next monthly tournament will be held on September 11th. See you then!

July 2016 Monthly Tournament Results

We had another great turnout of 12 players for our tournament this month! Those still in attendance by the end saw David Steinberg earn his first win of the year over Maron Cury. This was Maron’s first main event final, and an excellent result for him as well!

In the consolation final, Chris Yep earned third place over challenger Jon Stephens.

Looking at the Master’s Points standings, Chris’ result moves him into a tie for second place with Trevor Dierkes. Both are within a single tournament win of the points total of our current points leader, Mike Rezai. It’s shaping up to potentially be a tight stretch run to the end of the year!

Congratulations again to our top three for the month: David, Maron, and Chris!

Our next monthly tournament will be held on August 14th. See you then!

June 2016 Monthly Tournament Results

For the first time this year, we held a tournament with no first-time players! In spite of this, we had a strong attendance of 12 players at this month’s tournament.

This month’s winner is Jon Stephens, who notches his first tournament win of the year with a victory over Mary Hickey in the main bracket final. The consolation final had another pair of veterans squaring off, with Chris Yep coming out on top for a third place finish over Trevor Dierkes.

The pack continues to close up, with 2nd-6th place all gaining points on the current leader, Mike Rezai. Trevor has pulled to within 70 points of Mike, a gap which can be overcome with a single tournament victory. Chris lies just 101 points back. The full Masters Points standings can be found here.

Congratulations again to our top 3 finishers today – Jon, Mary, and Chris!

The next monthly tournament will be held on July 10th! See you then!

May 2016 Monthly Tournament Results

Another strong showing of 11 players were present for the May Monthly Tournament today – including another newcomer (to us, not to backgammon): Joe Calvaruso. This month, Trevor Dierkes came out on top for the first time this year by defeating Chris Yep in the Main Bracket final. The bounty on 4-in-a-row winner Mike Rezai was claimed today by Howard Shirey. Now eyes turn to Trevor – will he see enough success to see a bounty on his head next?

The consolation final was won by Howard Shirey over the aforementioned Joe Calvaruso, giving Howard a thrid-place result for the month.

The relative places of the top 5 players on the Master Points list did not change, but the spread of points closed up a little. Trevor’s win today puts him back within 100 points of Mike for the year. Chris Yep also pulled within 150 points of first place. The full Masters Points standings can be found here.

Congrats to our top 3 finishers today – Trevor, Chris, and Howard, and welcome again to Joe!

The next monthly tournament will be held on June 12th! See you then!