NOVI, MICHIGAN – Only five days after the 2018 Preseason Kick-Off Tournament, a few weekly warriors were chomping at the bit to get back on the court and play. To nobody’s surprise, Barker and JV sat out week 1 as they were still basking in championship glory.

Paul and KP, respectively, were hungry to redeem themselves after deep runs in the Preseason Kick-Off, only to come up short to Everybody Poops. Coach Mike and Erik were both bounced from the Preseason Kick-Off much earlier than anticipated, while Adam had to leave the tournament early because of poor planning with his wife.

All five guys battled extremely windy conditions during the opening regular season week. Despite the difficult conditions, the level of play from all five guys was incredibly impressive. Everyone had a KPM above 8, which is an indicator of an average night, but four of the five guys were above 9.5 on the KPM, which put them on the fringe of a great night.

The Game of the Night featured Erik and Coach Mike vs. Paul and KP in game 3. The game was a dogfight through the first three rounds until KP blew things open in the fourth round with a 6-1 advantage over Erik, helping his team take a 13-7 lead. Paul and KP stayed hot over the next few rounds and built the lead to 19-8. Coach Mike outscored Paul 4-0 in the eighth round, but KP registered a 2-1 advantage over Erik in the same frame to push the lead to 20-12. Paul and KP were on the verge of a big win, but in the ninth round Erik and Coach Mike showed how clutch they are by combining to outscore their opponents by 5 points (Erik crushed KP 7-3, while Coach got the best of Paul 3-2) to pull within 20-17. In the 10th round Coach Mike got the back-handed taint tickler right where Paul didn’t want it, besting him 5-1 to cap a fantastic comeback victory, 21-20.

Erik led the way with 7 total cornholes in the game, and also added 2 foot snags, while Coach Mike also knocked in 6 cornholes during the match.

The first Mushroom Stamp Moment (“MSM”) of the 2018 season goes to Erik, which also happens to be his first MSM of his career. In game 1 Erik dropped a 10 point round in Paul’s face to propel Erik and KP to a 15-11 advantage in the match. Paul had been talking shit all game, trying to get in Erik’s head, and he responded with force. Paul and Adam ultimately rallied to win the game 21-16, so Paul got the last laugh. However, Erik’s 10 point round was the most impressive moment of the night.

Congrats on your popping MSM cherry, Erik!

News and Notes:

• KP started the night losing his first two games, but rallied with four straight wins to close the evening at 4-2. He also posted the highest KPM of the night at 11.9, driven by what might be the highest accuracy week in league history at 73%. His accuracy was aided significantly by hitting 14 straight tosses at one point…pretty impressive numbers considering the wind was a major factor for all players on this night.
• Erik not only earned the MSM, but he also registered a 9.9 KPM, which was second-highest on the night. Keep in mind, a KPM of 10 means you’re having a great night, and Erik certainly did. As mentioned, Erik knocked in a 10 point round, but he also had two additional 9 point rounds, each of which he slammed cornholes on his first three tosses and had two chances to record a 12 point round, but caved to the pressure. Erik had the most total cornholes on the night (32) as well as the highest cornholes per round (0.59) and hit 44% of his tosses, which was very solid in the strong winds. He finished with a 3-4 record, but his individual play took a huge leap forward this week. He also showed off his versatility with 4 foot snags.
• Coach Mike finished the evening with a 3-3 record, and an impressive 9.7 KPM. Coach was very accurate, at 49%, and continued his high cornhole rate at 0.51 cornholes per round. Maybe the most impressive thing about Coach’s night is that he finally recorded the first foot snag of his career! We didn’t have a “CoachFeed” session this week, where Coach share’s the latest in celebrity gossip and pop culture, but he did bust out his dance moves all night, which was worth the price of admission.
• Adam also had an excellent night, finishing with a 9.5 KPM and a 4-2 overall record. He also picked up where he left off in 2017 with his foot snag game by gathering 5 snags. He’s the early favorite for the 2018 foot snag championship, which we know he desperately wants after falling just 1 snag short of the 2017 title to JV. Adam might have been the most accurate he’s ever been, going 46% on the night. Normally Adam’s night would be one of the top two mentions in News and Notes, but everyone had great nights, which makes it seem like Adam is a bit overshadowed. Don’t be fooled though…Adam was ballin’ in the Preseason Kick-Off before he had to leave, and he was playing extremely well in week 1. Adam looks primed for a big jump in the 2018 season.
• Paul’s overall record was only 2-5, but he actually played well, recording an 8.2 KPM, hitting 43% of his tosses and finishing with more total cornholes than KP (23 vs. 21, respectively). Also, Paul’s crushing loss in the Game of the Night flipped a 3-4 record to 2-5. Again, everyone played very well in week 1 and Paul was one of them.