We had 6 players from the Portland Metro Backgammon Club attend the Wild West Shootout in Denver, Colorado this year – the most Portland representation at an ABT event ever, I believe. In addition to myself, people attending included Paul Swain, Dave Cohen, Jeremy Krieger, Bodger Millerd, and Leah Nash.
People arrived on different days, and most everyone was there before me. On Wednesday, Paul took part in the BMAB event, placing 7th on PR, a decent showing. Paul and Bodger both also took part in the Early Shootout.
On Thursday, Leah got her first ABT experience in the Annie Oakley Shootout, getting a couple of matches under her belt.
Friday is when I got in. After an early flight, I grabbed lunch at the airport and was getting the text message for my first round opponent in the Gunslinger Jackpot as the Lyft pulled into the parking lot of the hotel. I went straight to the playing room, and lost my first round match against Sabine, who went on to win 2nd in that event. After that, I got checked in, and then Leah and I signed up for Doubles. We did pretty well, making it to the round before cashing, and hedging at that point so we got our entry fees back. Our opponents recorded the match, and we did actually outplay them, but that’s backgammon for you.
Paul and Jeremy played in the Bison Jackpot, and Bodger and Dave were also in the Gunslinger. Leah played in the Warriors Jackpot, so we had the full field covered. Most people made it further than me, but this ended up being Paul’s best event of the weekend – he ultimately took 2nd in the Bison Jackpot, facing off against Brandon Macklin, who came in 2nd in the World Championships earlier this year. Well done, Paul!
Saturday the main events started, with Paul and Jeremy covering the Bison, Dave, Bodger, and I covering the Gunslinger, and Leah in the Warriors. Round 1 saw Paul knocked down to the 2nd bracket level, but everyone else still undefeated. Round 2 saw Dave and Bodger take their first losses, and then they were pitted against one another in the Main Fighter’s bracket. I was having incredible luck – in two different matches I won a doubled backgammon for 6 points (in a race to 9). At the end of the day, both Leah and I were still undefeated in our brackets, meaning we were guaranteed at least cash!
Sunday, I was a bit of a wreak. Sleep deprived and over caffeinated, I played a few 5-point Blitz matches, losing all of them. Eventually, I decided I needed to not be playing for a while. I watched the stream of Paul’s final in the Bison JP and periodically wandered back to the playing room to watch the score on Leah’s final. She was playing Mary, who we had faced off against in the Doubles Thursday night, so at least a known quantity. I know it makes her nervous to have people watching, so I didn’t want to join the small crowd hovering around that one.
Finally, the Fighter’s bracket resolved and I got to face my opponent – Ron Bruns. I’ve played Ron a half-dozen times at different events, and so I knew his style, which helped settle my nerves. While I was about half-way through the match (there was a lot of back and forth), both Paul and Leah were wrapping up. Leah ended up taking 2nd, which is a great showing for her first ABT event! Congratulations, Leah!
And in the end, I did pull off the win. I was, of course, recording the match, and Ben (the tournament co-director) had asked me to promise to post it to YouTube, which I said of course. But sadly, the camera died somewhere about 70% of the way through the match! I have no record at all of the last 3 games. Very frustrating. What I did have recorded was some damn sloppy backgammon play – both Ron and I were running on fumes at that point.
Still, a win is a win, and I am pleased – not just with how I did, but with how the club overall did. It was great to see the mutual support throughout, and I think we really made an impression on the other attendees as Portland having a strong club.
Dan, the Denver producer/co-director, will be coming to Portland in March for our BMAB event, and so stay tuned for more information on that!
Oh, I almost forgot to mention – Jeremy ended up winning the After Tourney. So between the 6 of us, we took home cash in 4 events – plus Paul and I happened to pick up the Bison winner in the Calcutta. Dave has expressed his regrets about not getting an equity swap set up. But at least he got paid out on his Calcutta buy-back due to my win. You’re welcome, Dave. 🙂
-Mark