Squash SMASH Tourney! Play new people Play under pressure
Play on different courts Home courts for locals
Get some squash fun!
On Saturday, November 4, at 11am,Lifetime Fitness - Sugarloaf (Lawrenceville) location will host a SquashSMASH tourney. All players of all skill levels are welcome. This is just like the squash SMASH tourneys in Atlanta ... just in Sugarloaf... and not Atlanta....
$20 entry fee - Cash only. Pay when checking in.
Cash prizes - Payouts for 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and maybe 4th ... and maybe some other loot too.
Handicapped, mixed skill level play - Completely random draw - Anyone can play anyone!
Double elimination - Even if you lose your first match you can still fight back to win the whole thing!
Matches are best 3 games - Fast and fun matches. Event should last about two hours.
She's a first time SMASH player and a first time winner. How'd she do it? Some might say beginners' luck others say she kept a cool head against some very intimidating players, calmly looked for opportunities to take, and patiently waited for them to make mistakes. Leslie went against some solid players like Nicholas G. (3.5), who I believe is 13 years old but owns a squash court like an seasoned athlete, but he was new to the SMASH format and the new kind of pressure that Leslie had in store for him. They played out three tight games before Leslie put him down into the losers' bracket. She then took on Fong Y. (4.5), who has played in many SMASH tourneys and is ranked #12 on the all time winners' charts, but even though he was able to pressure Leslie with hard serves, it cost him with the occasional mistake. Leslie beat Fong by waiting for opportunities and surprising Fong with unexpected winners. She then would face Rameez A. (4.0), who knows what he's doing on the court and is a solid player, but he didn't keep the ball far enough away from her and she was able to execute it. The Rameez vs Leslie scenario played out twice because she beat him the first match pushing him down into the losers' bracket only to beat him again with the same plays in the finals. Congratulations to Leslie B. (2.5) by taking the first place prize of $108 of everyone's cold hard money!
1. Leslie B. (2.5) - $108 2. Rameez A. (4.0) - $52 3. Alejandro C. - $20 Rameez A. (4.0) - $25 Marlow's Tavern Gift Card Assam J. (5.5) - Blue Moon Free Pizza
Final Tourney Bracket - Click to enlarge
TOPGUN SMASH lived up to the hype with 9 great players and an aircraft carrier load of fun. There were some great matches like when Assam J. (5.5) went against Fong Y. (4.5) where Fong had to use all the skills he had to hold back Assam's onslaught. Jeff D. (3.0), a regular to the SMASH tourneys, came in hot and with a purpose, was able to get three solid matches in before being pushed out by Alejandro C. (3.5). Speaking of Alejo, who was #14 on the all time winner's list, just pushed up the list to #9 by taking 3rd place with some very exhausting matches like the ones against Fong and Rameez. Fong Y. (4.5) also had a good run and got to play the full spectrum of players, Leslie B. (2.5), Alejandro C. (3.5), and Assam J. (5.5.).
Paul D. (3.5), who's always a fun player and was here looking for even more fun. Paul didn't know that his first match was going to be against a tiger and he got all the fun he could handle by matching up Assam J. (5.5)'s full power and competitiveness. It was close and even came down to the last point for each player to decide the match. Assam advanced and Paul was pushed down into the loser's bracket to play even match against Alejandro.
Then there's Nicholas G. (3.5), who I thought was going to snap this tourney off because he is such a force in traditional squash tournaments, but he got pushed out early on but did stick around to watch the action and play a few pickups. I'm betting he'll be back and my money will be on him. Johannes D. (2.5) who hasn't played in a while got a refresher on why he loves to play squash. Even though it was a tough Saturday morning, he picked up some great experience. All in all - it was a great Saturday morning with lots of squash! Thanks again to Marlow's Tavern, Blue Moon Pizza, and Sushi Nami for sponsoring the tourney and special thanks to all the players! Hope everyone had fun! Check below for all the pics and vids and even more terrible commentary. The next SMASH Tourney will be held 11am Saturday Nov 4 at Lifetime Fitness - Sugarloaf. Registration is open! Online Squash SMASH Tourney Registration Form. You can see all upcoming SMASH events on the SMASH Tourney Schedule.
Check the side bar for the latest Squash SMASH Tourney's Winner's Circle and other info about the EvenSquash handicap system and tournaments. Until the next event, you can always follow along with live updates and latest info on Twitter @EvenSquash, Facebook @EvenSquash, Instagram @EvenSquash. And you can always add your email address (see the left side bar) to get emails about the latest posts. Up and down the wall! - Bob -
Leslie B. (2.5) vs Rameez A. (4.0)
Finals: Leslie shows Rameez the 'Now you go home' shot
Alejandro C. (3.5) vs. Fong Y. (4.5) (Green shirt)
Alejo and Fong play each other frequently... but this time, no one is playing
Nicholas G. (3.5) vs. Leslie B. (2.5)
Nicholas with some quick points... but.... Leslie is waiting...
Rameez A. (4.0) (blue shirt) vs. Assam J. (5.5)
If you watch closely, you can see why Rameez thinks there are two Assam's on the court
Leslie B. (2.5) vs. Fong Y. (4.5)
Leslie's lesson: You better not get comfortable
Alejandro C. (3.5) (white shirt) vs. Paul D. (3.5)
Alejo had the advantage. Why? Paul just got done playing a tiger.
Alejandro C. (3.5) vs. Rameez A. (4.0)
This battle is for 3rd place and they eventually have to give everything to get the last point.
