Recap
Recap Round-Up: Summer Fantasy Edition
Curious about the results of the fantasy tournaments you were unable to attend? The USQ editorial team has compiled short recaps of each to satisfy you.
This summer has been littered with fantasy tournaments. With just three major ones left to unfold, the USQ editorial team decided to take the time to give you a series of brief recaps of what we’ve seen thus far. Recaps of THE Fantasy Tournament and West Fantasy will run later this week.
CANADA
Canada Fantasy 2014
Champion: Broad Beers - GM Alex Linde
On one of the hottest days of the summer, 10 teams descended upon Ottawa, Ontario for the premiere fantasy tournament north of America. When the dust had settled and the sun set, it was Alex Linde’s Broad Beers that took down the tournament with a snitch grab win over Jamie Lafrance’s Dead Beats.
The Broad Beers came out firing in the finals with the combo of Alex Linde (formerly NYDC Capitalists) and Shane Hurlbert (Rochester Institute of Technology) quickly getting the team on the board twice. The Dead Beats eventually settled down with the beater combination of Kyle Savarese (Rochester Institute of Technology) and Kara Levis (QC Boston: the Massacre) holding down the defense while the Beats’ deep chaser lines piled up points. But they couldn’t get far enough ahead after a slow start, and a Brian Wong (formerly Ottawa Maple Rush) pull was enough to get his team the win.
The Broad Beers had the more difficult path of the two finalists—a pool play loss to Mathew McVeigh’s Green Machine dropped them into a three-way tie at the top of the pool that only two teams would move on from. With the best point differential of the three—thanks to the dangerous passing hookup of Hurlbert and Linde throughout the day—the Broad Beers took the top seed and then disposed of Arlene Rosenberg’s beaten and battered Bloodbath and Beyond in the semifinals.
While Bloodbath and Beyond looked like a real threat early on, the team couldn’t recover from losing first-round pick Adam Robillard (North Star Quidditch) to an injury. More injuries followed, including one to Brendan Jacobs (Rochester Institute of Technology) severely limiting the team’s quaffle play. A bright 2-1 start to the day was tainted by the injuries, which preceded a pool play ending loss to Dávid Danos’ Beers Beats Battlestar Galactica and the semifinals loss to the Broad Beers.
The Dead Beats took a different route to the finals, cruising through their pool and avoiding a single snitch range match. Lafrance’s team had a plethora of scoring options, highlighted by Devin Sandon (University of Rochester), Patrick Callanan (University of Rochester) and Donnie Lynch (formerly NYDC Capitalists), and though the team took a while to click, they got it together as the day went on.
Things didn’t come as easy in bracket play though, as Samy Mousa’s The Wall did enough to stay in snitch range, and Mousa (University of Kansas) nearly had a grab to force overtime. But the grab was called off and, seconds later, Justin Kieber-King (University of Rochester) had the grab that put the Dead Beats into the finals.
Linde’s victory prevented Lafrance from becoming a two-time Canada Fantasy champion, a title he was attempting to defend with many of the same players that won him the crown in 2013. Linde also became the first general manager from an American team to win a Canadian fantasy tournament.
By Ethan Sturm, the Eighth Man Managing Editor
MID-ATLANTIC
Steel City Fantasy
Champions: Steel City Super Saiyans - GM Chris Champitto
Based Lords - GM Ron Coleman
Back in May, players from the Mid-Atlantic, Midwest and Northeast regions gathered to play in the Steel City Fantasy tournament held in Apollo, Penn. The tournament consisted of two pools with four teams each and GMs from the different regions. Unfortunately, the highly-anticipated final match between Chris Champitto’s (University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill) Steel City Super Saiyans and Ron Coleman’s (Steel City Quidditch Club) Based Lords was canceled due to inclement weather, resulting in the title of co-champions.
Pool one consisted of Coleman’s Based Lords, Zak Hewitt’s (Bowling Green State University) Big Black Roosters, Champitto’s Steel City Super Saiyans and Ted Stanton’s (University of Mary Washington) Ivy League. Long time fantasy veteran Hewitt approached this tournament differently than most. Rather than selecting a team of experienced, well-known players, Hewitt chose to fill his roster with underrated, less-experienced folks, in addition to three players that had never seen the pitch before. Dropouts and early injuries contributed to this team’s 0-4 finish, but Hewitt himself saw his team’s performance as successful, as it allowed these less-experienced players a chance to improve their game.
Ivy League had a strong offensive outlook with Ohio State University chaser Jeremy Boettner and Miami University of Ohio keeper Matt Mignery. However, teams were able to zero in on these two, which made scoring difficult. Ivy League’s 1-3 day ended with a loss to Eric Wasser’s (University of Michigan) Red Shirts in the first round of bracket play.
The Based Lords showed dominance throughout most of the day due to the aggressive beating of Penn State University’s Scott Axel and the excellent chasing performance put up by University of Richmond’s Austin Nuckols. This team’s only loss was to the Steel City Super Saiyans on a snitch grab in pool play. The team finished 4-1 by taking out Alex Amodol’s Blue Ballers in the semifinals but did not get its chance at revenge against Champitto’s squad in the final match.
The Steel City Super Saiyans were a clear favorite in the tournament with beaters Julie Fritz from Ohio State State University and Josh Kramer from Rochester Institute of Technology locking down the defense and Miami University of Ohio’s Matt Dwyer and Champitto controlling the offense. Although the team stayed within snitch range in several of its games, Champitto’s elite seeking skills drove this team straight to the final match. This was the only team at the tournament to finish 5-0.
Pool two consisted of Amodol’s Blue Ballers, James Hicks’s House Greyjoy, Wasser’s Red Shirts and Anthony Rieger’s (Christopher Newport University) Browncoats. Despite several drops, the Blue Ballers proved formidable with a 3-0 finish in pool play. With Rochester Institute of Technology chaser/seeker Shane Hurlbert, Penn State University chaser Jeremy Ross and the value pick of Virginia Tech University’s keeper Andrew McGregor late in the draft, this team dominated the quaffle game. The Blue Ballers’s successful run was ended when the team faced the arm of Axel in the semifinals.
Hick’s House Greyjoy had a significantly high number of Ohio State players with which Hicks hoped to derive some synergy. However, after several major drops including first round pick David Hoops from Ohio State, this team had a rocky road ahead of it. With power chasers Travis Fannin and Kelsey Franklin from Ohio State and a terrifyingly skilled beater in Lisa Nitzsche of the Philadelphia Honey Badgers, this team did not back down from any challenge. However, the lack of a true seeker caused this team to finish 1-3 with a loss to Coleman’s Purple Team in the quarterfinals.
Wasser drafted three seasoned beaters in Amanda Dallas (the Warriors), Matt Eveland (Ohio State University) and Carlos Metz (University of Richmond) to kick off his draft, which allowed his team to maintain a strong defense throughout the tournament. In addition, Damien Graham of Ohio State University and Wasser himself proved to be incredible scoring weapons. This team finished 2-1 in pool play but managed to make a run to the semifinals before falling to Champitto’s team on a snitch grab.
Finally, Rieger’s Browncoats did not manage to find their footing in the quaffle game and struggled to maintain bludger control, resulting in this team’s 0-3 finish in pool play. After the team’s best performance on the day, the Browncoats bowed out to the Steel City Super Saiyans in the quarterfinals.
By Matt Eveland, USQ Staff Writer
Gotta Train Them All - Mid-Atlantic League
Champion: Team Steel - GM Jeff Sherman
To quench the thirst of those in the New Jersey/Philadelphia area for a local quidditch tournament earlier in the summer, the Gotta Train Them All tournament arose. It was a simple tournament from a structural standpoint, given that it was five teams picked through a snake draft for a one-day round robin tournament. Everyone was motivated to play on time and have games go smoothly as they wanted to see the US FIFA World Cup game that evening, but it didn’t take away from how everyone played.
Chisa Egbelu (Rutgers University) was sadly cut short of his team’s full potential by being injured and unable to join the front lines. He made his debut as a GM and, as most new GMs do, picked several familiar faces, including Rutgers teammates beater Sonni Waknin, chaser Aamir Lalani and utility player Stanley Binmitende, as the backbone to his team. While lack of chemistry can break a fantasy team, having it doesn’t mean you’ll win. Egbelu found his team overwhelmed, even with Bowling Green State University keeper Zak Hewitt driving whenever possible, and only stayed in snitch range in one of its four games. Team Fire finished 0-4.
John Bridstrup (Philadelphia Honey Badgers) and Team Psychic did, in Bridstrup’s words, get its win to “beat expectations” but did not go beyond that. While Josh Kramer (former Rochester Institute of Technology) and Kerri Donnelly (formerly NYDC Capitalists) are strong beaters in their own right, the two spent the day overexerted, frustrated and unable to play to their full potential due to a need to compensate for their chaser line. Their only form of relief was in Rocco Riccardi (Horn Tailed Horcruxes) who played solid defense throughout the day. The offense on this team was unable to finish plays, resulting in it being down in quaffle points when the snitch was on the field in every game it played. Unfortunately, those in purple were left confused and wound up hurting themselves.
Scott Axel’s (Penn State University) fighting team came out the gate earning its name. But when squared off against Team Steel and Team Water, its players seemed to get frustrated with one another and turned the fighting spirit inwards. Axel was left out to dry by his beater partners and struggled to regain control against players he was expected to beat handedly. Additionally, the chemistry-driven Penn State chaser line found it hard to finish around the hoops, even with Warriors keeper Michael Parada drawing the attention of beaters to clear lanes. Fortunately for them, Team Fighting was able to focus during the break before the bronze medal match and come out with third. Not the result they wanted, but after the struggle the chasers faced around the hoops and a lack of consistent bludger control to supplement, they had to be content with the result.
Team Water (aka the Squirtle Squad) was led by Alex Amodol (the Warriors) to a silver finish. The only team to stay within snitch range against the eventual champions, the Squirtle Squad used a strong chasing game and an aggressive beater line to trade points with Steel in pool play. The team’s only downfall was a lack of a strong seeker, a necessity to deliver the finishing blow to opponents. While those in blue did a great job of working together and staying focused on the prize, lightning did not strike twice, and instead the squad found itself falling out of range in the final game due to a sudden inability to finish around the hoops.
Team Steel came in with one big name chaser in Max Miceli (University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill) and one beater in Mike Iadevaia (Hofstra University). While there is a school of thought that says in summer tournaments big names only get bigger, the reason behind Steel’s success was the ability of those willing to play support executing alongside those two “big names.” Rob Walsh (Hofstra University) put up his best performance to date. Walsh and Dante Close (New York University) pulled all five snitches that they encountered, and Leeanne Dillman (Emerson College) and Lisa “Calypso” Nitzsche (Philadelphia Honey Badgers) often found themselves with bludger control when on pitch. All that being said, this team’s biggest strength was its cohesiveness. It was one team working toward one goal: to be the best that ever was.
By Jeff Sherman, Guest Writer
I Want To Be a Princess Fantasy
Champion: Princess Leia - GM James Hicks
Saturday, July 12 saw James Hicks' Princess Leia team emerge victorious, coming away from the I Want To Be A Princess Fantasy Tournament with an undefeated record and Princess Diaries combo packs to go around.
After a full round robin, Leia defeated each of its opponents on its way to a 5-0 record before brackets were called due to the very real danger of heat exhaustion, which had already claimed a couple players and was showing in the faces of many others. A quaffle attack led by the dynamic drives of Max Miceli (University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill) and Andrew McGregor (Virginia Tech University) paired with a beating game that looked dominant at times behind the arm of Carlos Metz (University of Richmond) and the physicality of Kyle Bullins (University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill) made this team unstoppable. Steve Minnich's (Capital Madness) Schweetzlickers (playing for Princess Vanellope) had a chance to take the driver's seat in the tournament with an early lead and looked the better side against Leia, but a transfer of bludger control with the end of the seeker floor led to a quick goal and a snatch by Leia to send the game into overtime, where Leia won with a second grab. The Schweetzlickers then hobbled into a second place finish with a 3-2 record after a loss to Robby May's (Capital Madness) Pocahontas to conclude the day. Anthony Rieger's (Christopher Newport University) Mulan squad also finished 3-2, but a convincing loss to the Schweetzlickers in its first match of the day proved to be its undoing in the standings, coming in third place behind Vanellope. Erik Morlock's (University of Virginia) Kairi team finished 2-3 and in fourth place thanks in part to a convincing win over the fifth place Pocahontas team that also finished 2-3. Nathan Love's (Quidditch Club Carolinas) Rapunzel squad sorely missed its leader, who was unable to attend the tournament after sustaining an injury, and finished the day at 0-5.
By Steve Minnich, USQ Mid-Atlantic Correspondent
Mid-Atlantic Fantasy
Champion: House Jigglypuff - GM Matt Corder
On a day when most of the quidditch world’s eyes were set on Canada and the city of Burnaby, British Columbia, there was also Mid-Atlantic Fantasy, held in Kernersville, N.C. Spectators intrigued by coverage from the local media came out and eventually witnessed a tournament victory by Matt Corder's (College of Charleston) House Jigglypuff.
With a dynamic attack led by keeper Steven Schwark (College of Charleston) and a shut-down hoop and seeker defense greatly boosted by beater Racquel Jones (Appalachian State), Corder's House Jigglypuff was able to run away with a 80*-20 victory over Ted Stanton's (University of Mary Washington) White Walkers. More well-known for her snitch-running ability and chasing skill, Jones tried out a position switch to beater and looked at home in the new role.
Stanton's White Walkers looked great going into the final match, using a balanced passing led by keepers Matt Paesch (University of Maryland) and Ryan Martin (George Mason University) and often finishing with chasers Jon Nettles (Rollins College) and Abbi Pittman (Appalachian State). Still, the White Walkers relied heavily on defense to hold leads and keep the attacking legs fresh throughout the day. Stanton's team was firing and ready after getting comfortable with each other during the run of an early loss at the hands of Daniel Brys's (Tennessee Technical University) Fire Ferrets.
Going undefeated in pool play, the Ferrets brought dominant beater play to the table by pairing Joe Stephenson (Tennessee Tech) and Lisa “Calypso” Nitzsche (Philadelphia Honey Badgers). However, after beating Michael Malakoff's (Florida’s Finest) Cobalt Uranium Gallium Argon (CoUGAr) handily in pool play, the Ferrets lost to the eventual semifinalists in the knockout rounds.
After suffering an early injury to finishing chaser Austin Kruger (University of North Carolina - Charlotte), CoUGAr had trouble keeping up in most games. The team, however, picked up a big boost with the addition of beater Carlos Metz (University of Richmond) after Stephen Nettles' (Rollins College) tartan Highlanders dissolved due to injuries and players were re-drafted to new teams for bracket play. The addition gave CoUGAr an aggressive front beater to give beater/seeker Matt Eveland (Ohio State University) the chance to catch his breath and also focus on seeking late in games.
Nettles' Highlanders had a rough day, going winless and sustaining a couple injuries before dissolving a team that would have been unsafe to move to bracket play. Still, the unfortunate group had bright spots in the play of Metz and the dangerous driving chaser Michael Bourgault (Florida's Finest), who was selected to Dylan Meyer's (University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill) Night Fury for brackets.
The Night Fury had a hard time scoring all day and saw beater Kyle Bullins (University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill) step out of his star role to convert some goals as a chaser while trusting the bludger game to a pair of University of Richmond regulars Katie Rothert and Esther Outlaw, securing a pool play victory over Anthony Rieger's (Christopher Newport University) Tye Fighters.
The Tye Fighters struggled all day, failing to capitalize on some good performances from beater Kaylee Hooppaw (Quidditch Club Carolinas) and what could have been a dynamic attack with high-flying chasers Wyatt Minton (Winthrop University) and Austin Nuckols (University of Richmond). The group ultimately went winless and lost in a play-in game against CoUGAr for the chance to challenge the Fire Ferrets in the brackets.
Nathan Love's (Quidditch Club Carolinas) Mace WinDos also had a rough day, suffering an early exit from the bracket at the hands of Brian Nackasha's (Florida’s Finest) Blue Ballers. Despite stellar ranged beating from Tanner Morris (Quidditch Club Carolinas), the WinDos often found themselves out of snitch range toward the end of games and unable to capitalize on the finishing combo of chaser/seeker Brennen Lutz (University of Richmond) and seeker Tim Suddeth (Quidditch Club Carolinas).
Nackasha's Blue Ballers overcame an injury to keeper Haroun Azizi (Quidditch Club Carolinas) by swapping positions around in an attempt to fully utilize regular chasers Sean Snipes (Florida's Finest) and Bernie Berges (University of Miami), whose skills are better suited to off-ball poaching than they are to handling distribution. Still, the Blue Ballers were able to rely on seeker Ancrum Ballenger (Appalachian State) to give a fighting chance so long as the quaffle points could stay within snitch range.
Finally, Sam Thompson's (University of North Carolina at Greensboro) Stormborn had trouble making full use of University of Richmond seeker Kevin Alloway, a sure finisher who was pushed to defend the snitch often. Good play from keeper Dan McMahon (Christopher Newport University) and chaser Joey Galtelli (Winthrop University) didn't prove enough against the superior beating of its opponents.
By Steve Minnich, USQ Mid-Atlantic Correspondent
Northeast
Champagne Cup
Champion: Team Yoshi
In a fitting sendoff to what is believed by many to be the most enjoyable fantasy tournament of the summer, it was the man who started it all who took home the title. Jeff Sherman (formerly Rochester Institute of Technology) and Team Yoshi took the top spot in the third and final Champagne Cup with a 120^-110* win over Team Mario.
Team Yoshi was the heavy favorite from the moment the teams were randomly distributed, and while the squad had plenty of depth, it was Team USA keeper Tony Rodriguez (LA Gambit) who carried it to the crown. Rodriguez put on a show in the semifinals against Team Link, draining shot after shot from distance to put the match well out of snitch range and allow the team to cruise to the finals without breaking a sweat, 170*-20.
In the finals, Rodriguez once again led his team in scoring, proving a difficult stop defensively for even the likes of Devin Sandon (University of Rochester). In the end, Team Mario was able to keep things close enough for Mike Pascutoi (University of Rochester) to get a grab that sent the match to overtime. With Rodriguez seeking for Yoshi in the extra period, Mario began to pull away, but with a shot that would have put it up 30 hanging on the rim of the hoop, Rodriguez pulled to get his team the victory.
Team Mario’s run to the finals was more exciting than surprising to watch. With an impressive passing offense built around its Rochester core, with a particularly impressive effort from Pascutoi, the squad looked to be one of the tournament’s most dangerous. But a 70-point loss to Yoshi in pool play left it with a lower seed and a tougher path to the finals, culminating in a dogfight with a Wolf squad that could definitely howl. Led by Jayke Archibald (QC Boston: the Massacre) and Max Miceli (University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill), it had one of the most dangerous quaffle games in the tournament, which had earned it the No. 1 seed overall entering bracket play.
Like Yoshi, Wolf threatened to pull away from Mario, but the scrappy red team was able to stay just close enough to force overtime with a Pascutoi pull. In overtime, it was Abhishek Samdaria (Macaulay Honors College) who was the hero, with a grab that gave his team a 130*^-80 win.
The final pool winner, along with Yoshi and Wolf, was Team Pikachu, who topped the most even pool with a typically strong effort from Shane Hurlbert (Rochester Institute of Technology) and an impressive day from Emily Hickmott (Tufts University). But in a quarterfinals rematch with poolmate Link, it failed to come through and bowed out prematurely.
The tournament marks the third and final iteration of the Champagne Cup, which Sherman has run since its inception in 2012. Team Yoshi joins the 2013 Phoenix Army and the 2012 Purple Parrots as Champagne Cup champions.
By Ethan Sturm, the Eighth Man Managing Editor
