BEVERLY HILLS, MICHIGAN – The anticipation for week 9 has been building for almost one month thanks to finally implementing Galz’s idea from 2019, which is to have a monthly “Belt Challenge.”

Let me explain. Every season we have three “majors” in the form of tournaments: 1) Preseason Kick-Off Tournament, 2) Singles Tournament at Midseason, and 3) Postseason Tournament. The beginning and ending tournaments are traditional doubles format, while the midseason singles is exactly as it sounds, a one-on-one tournament.

The doubles tournaments are played for The Cup, while the singles tournament is played for The Belt. The reigning Singles Champ is Dibble, and implementation of the “Belt Challenge” means Dibble will have to ward off the top challenger.

Galz’s idea was to have a monthly “Belt Challenge” to begin each season, and we’ve been slow to capitalize on this great idea until now. The challengers were determined by the top two KPMs from weeks 7 and 8 combined. Players had to play both weeks to be eligible, and that list included:

• Nick
• KP
• JV
• Turley
• Erik

Galz, Barker, Paul and Jack were not eligible because they only played in one of either week 7 or 8.

The top challengers were Nick and KP, who averaged KPMs of 16.0 and 14.1, respectively, across weeks 7 and 8. The two guys would play a one-on-one match this week with the winner advancing to play Dibble for The Belt.

With the 2020 Singles Tournament just around the corner on Labor Day weekend, this was an opportunity for the belt to switch hands before it’s back up for grabs to crown the 2020 champion.

THE BELT DRAMA

If tonight’s singles matches are any indication of what to expect Labor Day weekend, it should be an ultra-competitive tournament.

In the challenger match, Nick and KP squared off yet again. Nick has not played anyone more than he has KP during the 2020 season, with the two of them facing one another head-to-head in nine games. Things couldn’t get much more even between the two of them with Nick’s teams owning a 5-4 record during those games, including winning the last four games. On the other hand, KP owns the head-to-head scoring advantage against Nick, 286 – 275, and is the only player this season who has cumulatively outscored Nick head-to-head.

KP started the challenger match on fire, jumping out to a quick 14-5 lead. But KP knows how explosive Nick is, which means he’s never really out of a match.

KP continued to throw well, consistently posting rounds of 5, 6, and 8 points after his hot start. But Nick shifted into overdrive and began throwing rounds of 7, 8 and 10. In the blink of an eye Nick erased the nine point deficit and went on a 16-0 run to comeback and beat KP, 21-14.

With the late surge Nick earned the opportunity to challenge Dibble for the belt, which is fitting considering these two men are the only Singles Champions in LEG history (Nick in 2018, Dibble in 2019).

The championship match had a similar feel to the challenger match. Nick’s hot hand continued as he pounced on Dibble early, taking an 11-2 advantage. Dibble looked rattled because he had never faced that large of a deficit in his brief one-on-one career.

But then Nick lost his touch, leaving the door cracked. The big bad wolf (Dibble) didn’t have to huff and puff to blow the house down. He walked right through the front door with a four-bagger, registering an enormous 12-2 round to take a 12-11 lead.

Things were never the same after that. Suddenly Nick was shaken and couldn’t regain the focus needed to hang with Dibble. Dibble successfully defended his belt, finishing the game on a 19-0 run that was assisted by his 12-point round. He knocked Nick off, 21-11, and strapped the belt around his waist one more time.

Dibble will roll into the Singles Tournament in three weeks with an opportunity to repeat as Singles Champion.

PINCH ME, I MUST BE DREAMING

Speaking of big, bad wolves, Erik Wolfe continues to ascend toward the top of the LEG animal kingdom. He jumped one spot in the Power Rankings this week, rising to #9 overall. But more importantly, he raised his cumulative KPM by half a point!

He jumped from 10.2 to 10.7 after posting a 16.1 KPM this week! Only four other players have exceeded the 16.0 KPM mark in a given week – Dibble, Galz, Nick, and KP. Erik becomes the fifth player, joining exceptional company.

He solidified his KPM by going 3-0, which included team and head-to-head victories over Nick and Dibble. He outscored Nick head-to-head in Game 8, 26-25 (including 7-5 in cornholes), and outscored Dibble in Game 10, 43-40 (kept pace on cornholes, losing just 10-8).

Erik shot a blistering 76% while *also* dropping 1.06 cornholes per round. He added a 10-point round to his night, and continues to improve at a rapid rate.

MYSTERY MACHINE

Paul also had a great night, going 2-2 with a 12.3 KPM and 63% shooting. The highlight of his night was leading Jimmy to a win over Dibble and Turley in Game 1. He dominated the head-to-head with Turley, winning it 41-23 and dropping more cornholes, 10-6. Paul was brilliant down the stretch of that game.

Heading into the fifth inning the score was 12-11, advantage to Paul and Jimmy. Paul won his half of the fifth inning, 8-3, by using his final toss to push one of his other bags into the hole for three points, giving his team a 17-11 lead.

Turley answered right back in the top of the sixth inning with an 8-point round himself (winning 8-4) to cut the lead to 17-15.

Jimmy chipped in three more points against Dibble in the bottom of the sixth inning to make it 20-15, and then Paul locked it down with a 9-4 seventh inning to win the game, 21-15.

Paul was inches from a 12-point round to close things out. He made his first two bags. His third bag was on target, hitting just before the hole and hopping over it before dribbling off the back of the board. He recovered nicely by sinking his last bag of the round.

GAME OF THE NIGHT

The week 9 Game of the Night pitted Nick and Bushie against Galz and Dibble in Game 7. Nick started the game blazing, posting rounds of 8-5 and 10-4 against Galz, helping his team to a 10-4 advantage after two innings.

In the third inning Bushie dominated Dibble by sinking three cornholes on his way to a 9-0 win, upping his team’s lead to 19-5.

Nick and Galz had a hard-fought top of the fourth inning with each player dropping two cornholes, but Nick ultimately outworked Galz, 8-7, for one point. He put his team on the doorstep of victory, leading 20-5.

Dibble began chipping away at the deficit, scoring a 10-point round in the bottom of the fourth inning. As impressive as his round was, he only managed three points because Bushie knocked in two cornholes and scored seven points. It was now 20-8.

Galz earned one point in the top of the fifth, followed by another great round by Dibble that produced three points (he beat Bushie, 8-5). It was now 20-12.

In the top of the sixth Galz and Nick played to a draw, while Dibble continued to hit the accelerator and gave his team five more points (he beat Bushie, 8-3). Dibble’s fourth, fifth, and sixth innings were awesome, scoring 10, 8, and 8 net points and 11 total gross points to get his team back in the game. It was now 20-17.

In the top of the seventh, both Nick and Galz were determined to deliver the dagger against one another. Galz threw first and drained a cornhole! Nick followed with a cornhole of his own to even things up.

Galz’s second throw also found the bottom of the hole for three points, while Nick’s second toss settled on the board just in front of the hole.

Galz fired a bully bag on his third toss and pushed Nick’s blocker out of the way enough to allow Galz’s third bag to fall into the hole for three!

Nick, facing a 9-4 deficit, needed to make a cornhole. He used his third bag to attempt a push shot, trying to push his second bag into the hole while also making cornhole with the other bag. He threw hard, but not hard enough, and his third bag piled on top of his second bag, both just short of the hole.

Everyone knew what Galz was going to do. He had a 12-point round on the line, so he pushed all his chips to the center of the table and splashed the f*cking pot by drilling a fourth consecutive cornhole on his final throw! What a four-bagger!

Nick had one more attempt to continue the game, but he was down 12-5 and needed to somehow make two cornholes on his final toss to extend the game. Good news for him was that he had two bags piled in front of the hole that were pushable (yes, I made that word up).

Once again, he threw hard hoping to blast into the blockers and take any combination of two bags into the hole. Unfortunately for Nick his toss was not hard enough and his two blockers held firm against his final bag. A three bag pile up and six points was not enough to offset Galz’s incredible 12-point Mushroom Stamp Moment!

Spoiler Alert: Galz wins this week’s MSM with his 12-point round, which capped his team’s 16-0 run to overcome a 20-5 deficit and claim victory, 21-20.

For those paying attention at home, that is indeed a “choke” for Bushie and Nick, their second of the season as partners and third of the season overall for each player. Galz and Dibble earned an incredible “comeback,” which was Galz’s first of the season and Dibble’s second.

Galz’s 12-point MSM was the perfect feather in his cap on an incredible night. He went H.A.M. with a 5-1 record and 17.0 KPM, shooting 74% and averaging 1.21 cornholes per round.

NEWS AND NOTES

• Nick added a third choke to his 2020 resume and lost his bid for The Belt. But he really was incredible, posting a 17.9 KPM as an encore to his 19.1 KPM in week 8. Those are numbers never seen in the history of LEG. He’s playing at an all-time level right now. The silver lining for the rest of the league is that his teams aren’t untouchable, despite the fact he’s playing at a historical level – this week he went 1-2. That said, all championship roads (The Belt and The Cup) will likely pass through Nick.
• Jimmy began tinkering with his throw, trying to work on the spinning pancake technique. He had some bright moments with it, including besting Dibble head-to-head in a pivotal round of Game 1. His KPM was just 5.7 this week, but the real disappointment was his inaccuracy – only 30% shooting. For the season he’s at 41%, and was at 44% for the year coming into this week. All rookies struggle, but most rookies don’t look to overhaul their throwing mechanics in the middle of their first season like Jimmy is doing. Keep chopping wood, Jimmy. It will pay off and the tree will eventually fall. You don’t have to look any further than Erik for proof of that. In his rookie campaign (2018) he had a cumulative KPM of 7.3, accuracy of 43%, and a 14-35 record (or 29% winning percentage). A lot of those numbers are like you looking in the mirror – 6.6 KPM, 41% accuracy, and 27% winning percentage.
• Turley has become steady Eddie lately, and this week was another “ho hum” 10.9 KPM, 2-2 record, and 53% shooting. Very solid night overall for Turley, and he maintains his #8 spot in the Power Rankings with a 10.9 overall KPM.
• Dibble retained his belt, had a thrilling comeback victory in the Game of the Night, and posted a 16.3 KPM. He finished with a 2-3 record and led all players with 1.29 cornholes per round.
• KP has been in a slump for several weeks. He started to crawl out of it this week with a 16.7 KPM and 2-3 record. His accuracy (68%) still isn’t where it needs to be, and he blew a golden opportunity in the challenger match for the belt. He has a lot of work to do if he’s going to get his game where it needs to be for the homestretch of the season.