King of the jungle, becomes King of the court!

 A retired DSM controller, and active TowerTennis competitor is famous for saying: "It's not bragging... if you can back it up!" Today... MG backed it up!  In the 1st match of the 2012 TowerTennis Championship... MG (The self proclaimed "King of the Jungle"), can now call himself "King of the Court" also!  MG took on ZP, and took with him a 6-1, 6-1 victory!  This is MG's 1st-year playing in the TowerTennis Championship.  MG's true skill level is beginning to reveal itself!  Is is possible that lurking beneath his bragging personae is a true contender?  Is it possible, that MG is another Sopcic?  MG plays the victor of the DH/TR match in the next round.  We'll see if he can keep his crown as the competition gets tougher.

Battle of Lions -- Who will win?

On Monday April 30, at 6pm in Harmon Park -- a battle of young lions will take place.  MG vs ZP could prove to be every bit as much a battle, as another skirmish was, twenty years ago between two other young lions.  Who will be Scar... and who will be Mufasa?  Will they play with honor, or will the desire to be King cloud their lines calling?  

This will be MG's 1st year playing in the TowerTennis Championship.  His abilities are mostly unknown, but were tested by TB in a recent practice match.  Meanwhile, ZP has returned to play after taking a break from competition last year.  In his last appearance ZP was defeated by the eventual two-time semifinalist CG in the 2010 tournament.  

Is the reading material MG holds proudly a tell?  Does he plan on consoling himself with a romantic novel?  Or does he have another plan in mind?

Come out and watch for yourself, as these two go at it! Monday, April 30th, 6pm, Harmon Park.

Championship Rematch!

In a rematch of last year's finals -- SV will defend against the young contender.  Sopcic is poised to take his 1st tournament victory against the reigning champion.  SV feels his game is strong, but is concerned about recent injuries which could limit his mobility.  Meanwhile, Sopcic builds upon successful practice wins against both SV and Dynasty Champion-JT.  Can Sopcic go the distance this time?  Can SV recover from a recent sprained ankle to be 100%?  The winner of this match faces the victor of the DR/JT match.  These early matches could prove to be quite competitive!  Match is scheduled for: Tuesday, May 1, 2:30pm, Harmon Park.

The wait is over -- Bracket Set!

Although there was a unanimous response to allow spouses/family members to play in this year's tournament. The total was only 5-votes, and no one stepped forward to express a desire to play. Remaining tower personnel have either declined, or have never participated in the past. Therefore, I see no reason not to proceed with the match-ups, and set the bracket for the 2012 TowerTennis Championship! Players are placed within the bracket based on their relative order from past competitions. Either head-to-head, or performance against common opponents. The top ten players are placed in the upper-bracket, then the lower-bracket is filled before returning to complete the upper-bracket. If the bracket is set correctly, and there are no upsets -- this will permit the top 12-players to make the playoffs. This will vary based on actual results, but I wanted the underlying structure to provide a means to accomplish a showdown of the best players, while preserving the tradition of making competitive match-ups. The odd number of participants this year required 1-player to receive a BYE. Placing the BYE with "BY", provided the greatest number of competitive 1st-round match-ups.

Please note that the Playoff seeding of regional champions is different on the published bracket, then the poster at the tower.  I was unable to stop production of the poster soon enough to make the desired changes.  I'll update the poster as time permits -- Meanwhile, the published online bracket is the master reference.

Fantasy TowerTennis!

Both players and non-players alike can participate in the fun by playing Fantasy TowerTennis.  The winner of Fantasy TowerTennis will be awarded a trophy at the conclusion of the tournament.

Play Fantasy TowerTennis by matching players with a point value.  Each time a player wins a match, you earn the number of points that you selected for that player.  Follow the action as the tournament proceeds, and see how your points grow!

Debuting new poster:

A new TowerTennis poster is at the printers, and will be delivered to the facility soon.  The new poster/bracket was designed to serve several functions:

• To serve as a promotional tool... hopefully encouraging both new and reluctant players to participate.  
• To acknowledge those who have participated and contributed to TowerTennis in the past.
• To serve as seeding guidance.
• To be the official bracket at the facility for all to reference.
• To be reused year after year in hopes TowerTennis will continue long after it's creators have retired.

The seeding positions for both the initial start, and the playoffs were tested extensively.  The goal was to provide players with competitive matches, while preserving a structure were the top players would meet in the playoffs.  The number-1 seed's path to the championship is just as difficult as the number-12 seed.

Producing this poster took the efforts of several people -- from photographs taken by various participants to the graphic designer, all of you played an important role!  I hope that you can all take pride in your contributions, but more importantly... that you will enjoy yourself as you play the sport!

Special acknowledgement to CA for his graphic design work!  I hope you follow-up with your 1st TowerTennis victory!

Steve England

Tournament Director

Sopcic takes first step toward avenging his defeat in last year's finals!