Before the tournament began I was thinking that it should be called "the Impromptu Special a la Braiden", however, if you are allowed to name a tournament after it is done then it must be called "the Mike May Special".  Yes that's right, a new first-time champ was crowned today along with his consistently-at-the-top partner Trevor Braiden.

It has been a tumultous road for our new champ.  In fact, in phone conversation before the tournament he jested to Trevor to leave him out of the tourney.  He has endured years of frustrating finishes and self-doubt.  He has thrown from all angles and sides of the box and yet he just couldn't pull off a victory.  I was almost going to organize a tournament called "The lefty" in which ALL players would have to shoot left-handed, but the truth is that Mike has stayed true to the game of Washoos in the absolute spirit of the game.  Call it Washoo Karma or call it the blessing of Chuck, but whatever it was, Mike became a deserved champion today.

After working their way through the winners side of the bracket with long lasting difficult battles, Mike and Trevor met Bob and Kevin in the final.  With some clutch shooting from Bobby, the duo forced a game 2 in the final.  This is where play got interesting.  Trevor "double pipe" Braiden got an innopportune double-pipe and 1 when they were at 5 points.  This caused them to go down to -2 (yes that's not a typo: negative 2).  They clawed their way back and were down 9-5 when Braiden scored a double-pipe and 2 to claim the victory.  Simply amazing and unheard of.  This finish will be on top ten lists for years to come and may never, ever be topped.

The venue was majestic.  The play was extraordinary.  The bleachers were comfy.  What a tournament!  Why do we not do this every weekend?