EXTRA PINT CROKINOLE CLUB

This was my third trip to the US Open, and the first trip for my partner Joe. In 2022, Richard Bush and I participated in the US Open only a month or so after starting the Charleston Crokinole Club. We made the quarterfinals that year before being eliminated by Team Ron Jeremy (Ron Langill and Jeremy Tracey). In 2023 I partnered with Michael Barth from the Windy City Crokinole club. Mike is the one who introduced me to crokinole during the pandemic. We finished somewhere in the middle of the pack. I had really hoped Joe would join us last year, but his schedule didn’t permit. Joe is moving to Okinawa in two months, so this was our last chance.

Prep and Travel

Joe and I had a 6AM flight to Syracuse Friday morning. To make the morning easier, Joe spent the night at our place Thursday night, and two other club members came over to help us practice. We played three games, rotating partners each time. That practice session gave me a ton of confidence at our chances going into the weekend as it seemed like Joe and I were both on our game and shooting well.

We had to get up before 4am to get to the airport in time, and our flight to Syracuse was quick and easy. We picked up our rental car and headed over to Albany to pick up our friends Michael Barth and Adam Ziobrowski from the Windy City Crokinole Club. Mike was my doubles partner for the US Open last year, and Mike and Adam beat me and Brandyn Osborne in the finals of the doubles tournament at Origins Game Fair last June. From there we made a quick stop for a beer and a poutine at a local tavern before heading to Voorheesville and the Stephen P Wallace disc golf course.

Soggy Shenanigans 

For the past couple years, the Extra Pint Crokinole Club has held a pre-Open disc golf scramble on Friday afternoon. Mike and I didn’t participate last year, but this year all four of us decided to play. It had rained about an inch the day before, and it’s Albany in April, so it was cold (by SC standards) windy, wet and muddy, but we still had a blast. The grill was up and running with brats, and Chet broke out and grilled some marinated venison, and the beer was flowing. We got assigned random partners and broke off into foursomes for a shotgun start.

I got assigned to one of the local Extra Pint players, Dustin Burton, who was very gracious as a partner, considering the last time I was on a disc golf course I was 20 years younger and used a frisbee. We were playing “best disc” and Dustin is a very good player and was on his home course, but we still played from my disc oh maybe 5 times. We were paired up with Ian Shaw from the Greater Boston Crokinole Club and Ehren Lewis from EPCC. I had met Dustin at the previous US Opens, though we’ve still never played a game of crokinole, and I’d met Ian briefly at Origins last year. We had a fantastic time slogging through the mud and getting to know each other. Dustin carried me to a 3-over-par total over 18 rounds which landed us somewhere in the middle of the pack. From there, we followed Chet’s tire tracks to the “crokinole dorm” to change before the evening’s festivities.

The Dorm

Chet was gracious to arrange accommodations for a ton of people who had travelled in for the Open. All we knew before we showed up was that there was a big AirBnB, a few beds, and a pool table, and a crowd of people who would be staying there. It turns out to have been a big maybe 4 or 5 bedroom house with a wide open unfinished basement. The people who could drive there all brought extra cots and air mattresses. Joe, Adam and Mike set up in a side-room off the main basement room on a couple mattresses, and I pitched the extra-tall Chet-sized cot in a corner of the main basement room. The occupants of the crokidorm for the weekend were a mix of Englishmen, Canadians, and people from all over the states (Denver, Chicago, both Carolinas, Maine, Boston, New Hampshire, and I’m probably forgetting a few). It was a rowdy bunch and when not at the tournament, people were all over the house playing pool, crokinole and Rocket League at all hours of the day or night. There wasn’t much sleeping to be had, but plenty of camaraderie.

After changing into fresh shoes and socks (except Adam, who didn’t get the “the course is wet” memo) we piled back into the car and headed to Indian Ladder Farms Cidery and Brewery. ILF hosts the Friday night pre-Open social every year. And the US Open itself always finishes at ILF (more on that later). ILF is located at the base of a picturesque ridgeline outside Voorheesville. They grow their own apples and hops (and maybe grains?) and their brewer Scott Veltman is a fantastic brewer, all around great guy and plays crokinole with the club.

TGIF at ILF

The Friday night social is my favorite part of the US Open every year. The club provides dinner for the travelling teams, there are several crokinole boards set up, and everyone spends a few hours just getting to know each other. And when you see a chair open at one of the boards and sit down, you might find yourself partnering up with someone like Andrew Hutchinson or one of the Beierlings.

At some point during the evening, they’ll start the 20-Hole Survivor tournament. This year, a huge number of people played… something around 60, I think. We were divided into tables of 4, and the survivor of each table advanced to the round of 16. We had ticket numbers, and I knew Joe had gotten his ticket in line one or two behind me. I also knew that Joe had been practicing 20s for about 6 months leading up to this weekend, with an astonishing success rate. I was the first number called out at my table and took a seat. The next number Chet called was only 2 higher than mine. Oh no. “It’s not Joe is it”? No, it was not. Thank goodness. Joe must have the number right after mine. A third person got called. Then a fourth….my number plus one. Crap. Joe didn’t miss a shot and made quick work of the rest of us.

Joe continued his success through the next round again with no misses. The final table was Joe, Jason Beierling, Jason Molloy, and Joe Revette. The final round was the most disappointing video of the weekend, thankfully surpassing one we’ll talk about later. They diddled for the middle to figure out who was going first. Joe won. He even sank a 20. He chose to go last. Everyone is only allowed 3 misses. Everyone missed their first shot. Then the first 3 missed their second shot, and Joe made his. Then the first 3 missed their third shots, and because Joe still had 2 discs, he automatically won. For his prize, he got a new crokinole carrying bag from Browncastle. Thanks to Steven Brown for sponsoring. Joe only missed 1 shot in the whole tournament.

I don’t think I really got any other photos of the night, I was having too much fun catching up with people I hadn’t seen in a year, and playing crokinole. There was one significant photo that was taken that night, though. Last year we took a photo of all the American club leaders present at the Open. The photo had 9 people in it. This year’s photo had twice as many. Amazing.

After the social wound down (well, actually I think we wound down before it did, having been up since before 4 in the morning) we headed back to the crokidorm to crash. At least, that was the plan. Instead, a couple crokinole boards got set up in the main basement room (my bedroom) along with a bluetooth speaker, and we were off. Sometime around midnight I decided to try to sleep. Sometime around 2 or 3 the last stragglers headed off to bed and I actually got to sleep. 

Pool of Death

Morning came early and we headed to the American Legion Hall in Voorheesville, where the US Open has been held every year. Due to the large number of teams, the tournament moved up from the basement to the hall upstairs (and the lunch tables moved downstairs). We got our swag and scoresheet, got our breakfast sandwiches, and got to warming up. We knew we were in the Pool of Death for the round robin portion of the tournament, but the scorecard lineup was grim. There were almost no breathers on it other than the 10 minute breaks. Our first of five games before the first break were my friend Nick and his partner Eric. I knew Nick is near about the same skill level as me, and I didn’t know Eric, aside from hearing that Eric just beat Nick at a tournament in Boston. After that we would have to face Dowrick and Boot, two regular players from the NCA tour. Then the Kansas City guys who I had no idea how good they were. Then Ian from Boston and Justin from Denver. I knew Ian had gotten good since we met him in Origins. Then Chet and Seth from Bowling, two top players from Extra Pint.

At the end of the first 5 games, I was really happy with the outcome. We had split with Nick and Eric, beat the tour players (!!!!), beat the guys from Kansas City, and beat Chet and Seth. Our only real struggles came against Ian and Justin. We were four games above average. Good.

Then I looked at our next game after the break. Beierlings. Well, we’d have to play them sooner or later. Then Dustin (my disc golf partner) and Adam from Extra Pint (no idea what to expect from them). Then Travis and Ehren. With the exception of Connor Reinman, I’d imagine Travis is probably the consensus best American player right now. He certainly is the non-Connor American with the most Tour experience. And I had seen how good Ehren was playing in March. Then Scotty and Jeff from Extra Pint. Then Josh and Justin from Houston and Dallas. They’d be tough too. The beatings will continue.

Results against the Beierlings were as expected. We beat Dustin and Adam. Tied Travis and Ehren (which I considered a huge victory). Then we lost our last two matches. Badly. And our mojo. We got swept by Josh and Justin. We should’ve at least tied them, I felt. We had fallen from 4 above average to 2 below.

And the beatings would still continue. After the second break, we’d still have to face Ron Langill and Paul Brubacher. Ron is a top player in the NCA tour, and is only getting better and better. Then we had Garret Tracey and his partner from Extra Pint. I didn’t really know what to expect there, but you know a Tracey isn’t going to be a cake walk. And then another team from Extra Pint.

The game against Ron and Paul was rough. Last year Mike and I split our round robin match with Ron and Paul, and Paul really hadn’t played very well in that match. This year, Ron was Ron, and Paul was on fire. We probably should have gotten 4 points instead of 2, but by the end of the beating I almost felt lucky we had the 2 we had.

We managed to split against Garret and Brian. Again, we probably should have managed more points. We weren’t playing very well. By the time we met the last team, I was angry. Then one of the players didn’t show up for the opening volley. Or for the start of the match. They forfeit 2 points to us. Finally he shows up. We took the other 6 for our only sweep of the round robin. We finished dead average with 52 points out of a possible 104. So we’ll seed somewhere in the middle of the pack.

The Bracket

We seeded 17 out of 42 teams. So pretty much what I expected. We were paired against the 16th seed. The 16th seed was Marc from Brooklyn and a partner (Connor) I’d never met. Marc is good. I’ve never played against him in competition, but I know he was somewhere around my level last year, and I know he’s much better now. He just won the Extra Pint singles tournament in February. He’s near automatic on open 20s. Thank God, so is Joe.

I didn’t take a picture of the score sheet (or of us with Marc and Connor, sadly). So I don’t remember how the score went, but we were in good shape after a few games. I think it was the second game both teams had a ton of 20s, and Marc shot a perfect game. Then I lost the ability to shoot. And that’s not an exaggeration. For 4 consecutive shots I missed wide on easy shots. I didn’t know what was going on or what to do. You’ll probably see the video, because Marc was recording. I was in full panic. I think I told Joe he was going to have to win it himself. And then I go to line up a shot, and my middle finger is on the disc…but I shoot with my first finger. I haven’t shot with my middle finger in 2 years. And why does my middle finger hurt like I’ve been flicking with it? Holy crap, I shot with the wrong damned finger those last four shots! On the one hand, I’m a freaking idiot. On the other hand, at least I know we can still shoot. So I shot. And we wound up tied and playing for the final two points. And we won. Thank God Joe kept us in it while I collapsed. I can’t wait to see that video. I want to see if I can see which finger I’m shooting with. I’m certain it was my middle finger.

Round 2. Irish Steel.

We know Irish Steel. Irish Steel is Jason and Magic Mike. I’ve played them in every US Open. Both of them played at our tournament in March; Jay with Ehren and Mike with Matt Hotopp. Irish Steel is ALWAYS in the semifinals at the US Open. They were in the finals two years ago after beating the Beierlings in an absolutely amazing semifinal match. And they had the #1 seed coming out of the round robin this year. But they didn’t have to make it through the Pool of Death. And they didn’t have to beat Marc. And we KNOW we can hang with them. Mike and I tied them in the round robin last year, and only a last-shot miss by millimeters by myself kept us from beating them 5-3. And Joe and Caleb had beat Mike and Matt in one of their meetings in March, and only narrowly lost to Jay and Ehren and then again to Mike and Matt later in the bracket. We can do this. 

I have little memory of this match, except that we had it handled. Jason and Mike were not hot, and we were. And Joe is a beast. We played to a 5-5 tie and were in sudden death. I remember confidence followed by elation. I hope there’s video.

Quarterfinal round. Boot and Dowrick again.

We’ve got this. Simon is currently ranked 23 in the NCA tour, and once the US Open results are posted, he’ll jump up a few places higher. Boot doesn’t have 4 tour results yet this year but he’ll finish somewhere in the mid-20s if he plays in the last tournament next month. They play with the St. Jacobs club. But we beat them 6-2 in the prelims. We’ve got this. Joe’s a beast. We’ve got this.

We wound up in a tie playing for the final points for our third straight match. But we won. We’re headed to the semifinals. We’re the last remaining American team in the tournament. The semifinals will be held this evening back at ILF. We’ve got time to relax. Looks like we’ll have to face Ron and Paul again. But we’ve got time to cool off and rest. I chatted with Joe for a bit. He mentioned that playing with Simon Dowrick and Mark Boot in two matches today was probably his favorite part of the day. Not beating them, just playing them. They’re great guys. I hope to spend more time with them in June.

Then Jason shouts. “Ben and Joe, you’re up on table 14!” Wait, what? I thought we were playing tonight. “No, now. Ron and Paul. Table 14.” Crap. I’m not prepared for this.

Semifinals. Ron and Paul again.

I like Ron. I think he and I have similar play styles. He loves angle-ins. He likes to use pegs. He has good control of his shooter. He’s just way, way better at all that than me. And Paul was still on fire. And we lost. We held our own for a few rounds. But we lost. Not much more to say. I don’t recall a lot of it. I’m looking forward to seeing the video. I want to see where we did well and where we didn’t. There’s stuff to learn there.

NOW we’re done at the Legion and can head to ILF, right? Yes. We left. This year ILF has expanded and built a new large gathering space in the back of the property. It’s a nice venue for the finals. Better than being in the bar. Everyone can gather round and watch, instead of having to watch on a screen. We get some food from the food truck. We avoid the beer. We’ve got work to do. We’re facing Jeremy and Andrew Hutchinson. We…can do this? Mike and I very nearly tied Jeremy and Reid last year in the round robin. Joe’s a beast. We can do this.

Third Place Match. The Canadian Cueballs.

We could not do this. Not against them. Not tonight. It just wasn’t there. I couldn’t hit anything, and I was using the right finger this time. Was it the crowd gathered around? Was it nerves? Was it pressure? Certainly, a big part of it was Jeremy and Hutch’s infuriating insistence on not giving us a damned thing worth shooting at. I’d miss. Jeremy would hide. Joe would be forced to play outside. Hutch would stay outside. I’d be forced to peel. Jeremy would sink a 20. Rinse and repeat. They’re not ranked where they are because they’re bad at crokinole. They owned us in that game, and it was embarrassing. There’s video evidence, and I’m sure it’ll get posted, but it should have a content warning on it, because it’s violent and bloody. I don’t want to watch it. I’ll watch it. I’ll try to learn from it. But I don’t want to watch it. I hope I face Jeremy and Hutch again at Worlds in June. I want another chance to not absolutely suck when I play them. Joe carried me through a lot of the tournament, but the steep slope up Canadian Cueball hill was too much.

I really wish we’d beat Ron and Paul and didn’t have to play Jeremy and Andrew…I think we could’ve taken those other guys. 

Losing sucks. 

Even when you take 4th place in the US Open. The atmosphere in the room changes. It feels like people who were chatty with you earlier won’t meet your eye…even when you KNOW that everyone’s being just as friendly as before and it’s all in your head. There were kind words of commiseration. Everyone in the room has lost to them before. Everyone has had bad beats. Some of them on camera. Jeremy and Andrew said very kind things. Jeremy said that they couldn’t let up on us. Not that they wouldn’t…they couldn’t. That’s a compliment.

We watched the finals. Ron and Paul put up a fight. We were really rooting for them. But the Beierlings are the Beierlings, and Ray is in a hunt for the Tour title. If he had lost, the title would be out of reach. No upsets in the final games.

Beierlings 1, Langill/Brubacher 2, Tracey/Hutchinson 3, Harding/Seifert 4. Losing sucks, but typing that out just now felt really, really good.

Aftermath.

We went back to the crokidorm. The fridge was still full of beer. The crokinole boards were still set up. More people came over to party than just the people staying in the dorm. Turns out Dowrick and Boot are both really good at pool. Photos were taken. People were tricked into drinking Malort. Passed-out Tracey boys were drawn on with highlighters. It was foolishness and fun into the wee hours. And then it had to end. In the morning, we said our goodbyes to people. Some of them I’ll happily see again in a few weeks. We took Mike and Adam back to the airport, along with our new friend Justin from Denver. I’ll see Mike again at Worlds. I’ll either see Adam again in June at Origins, or else sometime in Chicago. I’ll see Justin at next year’s Open. We headed to Hartford, had some airport hijinks, and got home only a couple hours later than expected.

I can’t express how much fun I have had with Joe over crokinole in the past two years. Or in the past few months as we prepared. Or in the past few days. And this feels like the last hurrah. Okinawa is way too far away. Three years is too long. Who knows where they’ll go after that. I’m so grateful that I have this amazing lasting memory of this weekend with Joe. Thanks, Joe.