HOWE THE BLITZ WAS WON

Blitz Tournament - March 25, 2022 

A rally here, a point there... a mis-hit… a lucky framer… an easy unforced error… a fortunate bounce… an unfortunate bounce… a beer too many… a beer too few…? Just a handful of many factors that could / would change the outlook of a Blitz Tournament. An event where - by design - matches very often come done to the last couple of rallies, the desired scenario of that all-encompassing and exciting “sudden-death” rally!

Desperation often takes over. As does panic… and nerves… the overthinking… in some cases, the underthinking… the what-ifs… the “Oh-no’s!” … peer pressure… the nefariousness of these handicaps (as is typical, the first complaint of the handicap came even before the first ball was struck!) … the call of the keg begging to be consumed (“Paaa-uuul… driiiiink me…!!”) It is interesting the added stresses when a player is starting off a game either (up to) 13 points in the rears, or even that far ahead. Mind games. It’s borderline cruel. (“Muwahahaha!!”)

With 20 players, they were split into 4 groups of 5 players each. In the first group, it paid off to be fashionably late. Both Iain Prendergast and Schuyler Hamill made their entrance well past the start time and had to make up matches quickly. Iain took it all in stride, he lets his squash racquet do all the talking. A recent welcome addition to the DAC squash family, Iain is one of our top players and it appears there isn’t much that ruffles his feathers. As cool as the other side of the pillow, he systematically chopped through just about all 4 of his opponents. He lost only 2 rallies in three of the matches, but strangely stumbled against Schuyler losing 15-8 - Schuyler started with 11. Not that it made a difference to the results - both Schuyler and Iain advanced to the knock-out rounds anyway.

Group 2 was a toss up. Seven of the 10 matches were either 15-14 or 15-13. Every player in this group experienced at least one sudden-death point and won at least one match. This is where if we had just one different outcome in one of those matches, the winner of this tournament could have been someone else.  The two players that advanced int this group - Tom Howe and Alex Parker  - both won 2 matches 15-14. Alex actually ended up undefeated, not something I was expecting. It has been a while since I have seen him play, he has improved - where he picked up his backhand-volley-straight-drop half an inch above the tin and kissing the wall is a mystery! He needs to teach me.

Group 3 was also a competitive bunch. Once again, every player picked up at least one win. There were only 2 matches that ended up 15-14. Robbie Biskup picked up three wins and in doing so managed to blow out one of his squash shoes. Luckily for Robbie, we had some shoes in the pro shop that fit him - a rarity these days since the hardest item to find in the squash world are shoes - so Robbie was able to continue into the knock-out rounds without having to run around in socks. Mike Parker also advanced with three wins as well, his one loss was to rookie Brian Weitzel 15-13. Special mention to DJ Boyd in this group. He has been struggling to get on court over the past year or so with a persistent knee injury. It was great to see him back on court and getting involved again!

Group 4. Clear winner here - Henry Gembis. He went 4 for 4 in his matches, and is turning out to be a little thorn in my handicapping side. Once again, Henry refuses to acknowledge or respect the handicaps that I apply and swats them away with a subtle look of disdain - just like the look I get when my wife tells me we are having couscous for dinner. There were four matches that suffered through a sudden-death rally, Mike Jenkins won 2 of them, Viveka Mishra and Henry the other two. Jon Diewald lost two of them, and of course had he won them, he may have been in the finals. As it turned out, three players ended up with 2 wins and we were forced to rely on pure chance to see who would advance… the dreaded drawing of the straws! A 33% chance, Mike was very gentlemanly to allow Viveka to draw first. Not that it helped her. Whammy. Mike drew next and struck gold. His delight was short lived however - he had to play Iain in the first round of the finals.

Making up the handicaps now as we go along, the knock-out finals does turn out to be a drain on the fitness. Even though it’s just 1 game per match, once we stretch out into the 5th game and beyond, the legs and lungs start to protest. Naturally, the one (or two.. or let’s be honest 3+) beers that have been consumed by now aren’t exactly helping.

Henry Gembis once again didn’t care two hoots about the 8 points I gave him against Robbie Biskup, nor that Robbie had to break in his new pair of Stellar ‘Redback’ Squash Shoes (cool name). Thanks for coming, 15-9, is that all you have? He was taunting me.

Next in line for Henry was Schuyler Hamill. Schuyler, with a 9 point head start, did very well to eliminate the dark horse Alex Parker 15-11 in his quarter final. I had both players starting at scratch for this one. I figure that Henry cannot possibly make a mockery of a handicap that isn’t even there, right? Wrong. He’s an evil genius! Henry scored the 15-10 win and advanced to the final.

Henry Gembis and Tom Howe

The other side of the finals draw had Iain Prendergast take out Mike Jenkins 15-11 in the quarter final where he then met up with Tom Howe. Tom, for his part, squeaked past Mike Parker 15-13, a tough win in reality since Mike started with 10 and picked up a quick couple of points early on to really ramp up the pressure. Iain and Tom put on some great squash for the crowd. Tom’s seven point head start did turn out to be too big a hurdle to climb for Iain, he did close the gap by a couple of points but he needed the game to stretch a further than 15 if he was eventually going to catch up. Tom 15-10.

An exciting final. Henry v Tom. I gave Henry 9 points handicap wishing - praying - imploring - in fact genuflecting - for a close result. “Don’t make me look bad, don’t make me look bad…” Phew. I was saved. It did end up coming down to the last few rallies. Tom was catching up quickly, but the occasional point to Henry kept the pressure on just enough to cause significant tension. All the way to 13-all. Henry almost caused the upset, but Tom was simply too steady in the end. 15-13. Tom Howe takes his first Blitz Tournament title - winning 6 of 7 games, 2 of them 15-14, 3 of them 15-13. Henry for his part gets to the podium for the first time as well. Iain ended up winning the 3rd / 4th play-off. It was terrific to see many new faces to the event - let’s hope that trend continues!

BRANDON BLITZES AGAIN

Blitz Tournament - October 11, 2019

As the day of the tournament rolled around, we had 24 players registered which was an acceptable number although I still can’t quite figure out why we don’t receive more. It’s an easy, quick event, doesn’t cost anything to play (except a couple hours of your time), there’s a great chance you will play against and meet new people, there’s a keg (you simply cannot argue with that one!) and it’s the perfect kick-off activity before hitting the weekend.

However, three cancellations came in over the day, whittling the number to 21, creating multiple scrambles to rearrange the draw. This seems to happen just about every single time, but it doesn’t change the fact that it is still somewhat irritating to say the least. They just miss out on all the fun I guess!

The players were split into 4 groups of four and 1 group of five. The top 2 players in each group then pass on to the knock-out bracket where then the they play out for 1st, 2nd and 3rd. The fate of the players very often lies in either the result of one solitary sudden-death rally, or completely with karma - meaning that if there is tie on the group stages, to determine who advances to the next stage is determined by pulling straws.

Let’s take Henry Gembis. Despite winning 2 of is 3 group stage matches, he failed to advance. He can blame Mario Ferrini for a third of that, given that if Mario had not won the 14-all sudden death rally against Jeff Rogers, Henry would have automatically have ended up second. A third of the blame can lie with Jeff Rogers as well after he won his sudden-death point against DJ Boyd. Had he not, Henry would have also qualified. Since Jeff and Mario squeaked out those victories, it created a 3-way tie for 1st place. Since only 2 of the players can advance, straws were then pulled. Henry can now blame Lady Luck for the other third, since he drew the short straw and was eliminated. I suggest Henry lay off playing the lottery this week.

DJ Boyd and Chuck Doyle

Henry’s brother Mack Gembis was a little more fortunate in his group. His 15-14 win against Chuck Doyle was the difference making point that awarded him second place and a place in the finals. Had he lost it, Chuck would have taken his place.

There was no need to draw straws in the third group, although each player did end up with one win. The Jon Diewald and John Rogers result was, however, the one 15-14 score that may have changed the outcome. Had Jon Diewald won it, it would have forced a 3-way tie just like the first group and who advanced to the finals would have been left to the stars once again. But it was not to be. Which makes me think… would a player prefer to be eliminated by simply not winning enough matches in their group, or be eliminated by drawing the short straw? Henry may have an answer to that…?

The fourth group had the 5 players, so they did have to work harder to qualify. Michael DiFrancesco probably was delighted that his path would be more strenuous, and he dominated the others taking all 4 games and not having the pressure at one single sudden-death rally. In fact, out of the 10 games in the group, there wasn’t one single 15-14 result. A little strange. Second place was not so clear cut. Paul Gormley and Brandon Tasco both ended up with 2 wins so the Squash Gods would have to make their choice. It appeared that Paul hasn’t been putting in the praying hours needed to curry favor, the Squash Gods clearly frown upon such misgivings and awarded the long straw to Brandon instead!

The fifth group ended up with two 15-14 results, both of which would have avoided the ‘agony’ of leaving the decision of who advances out of the hands to three plastic, cocktail stirring instruments of fortune. Peter Shumaker avoided that scenario by winning all three of the games, but the other 3 players all had 1 win each. Had Cathy Lysack beaten Han Peng - or had Ted Morris beaten Cathy Lysack - on that winner take all rally at 14-14, second place would have been clear. But back we were at the straws… only one would survive… Han takes the first guess and… loses! Cathy then takes a deep breath… it’s a 50/50 chance now… and… wins! The good news is that as the event moved along, Henry Gembis was feeling less lonely.

Knock out rounds where the handicaps are made up on the spot, bribes to the organizer are readily accepted, and the underdogs are clearly the crowd favorites. This also starts to test the fitness levels of the players. Even though it may not appear to be overly taxing, this event takes a little over 2 hours, by the end of the the finalists would have between 6-7 games. That’s actually a fair amount, especially since rest times between games in the knock-out round can only be a couple of minutes at best. Andrew Miller won group 2, which in reality doesn’t at all guarantee an easier run that what he would have received had he come second. His quarter final match was against Mario Ferrini. Andrew started with 8 points and held off Mario just enough to edge the 15-13 victory. His semifinal was just as difficult: Brandon T. Brandon - you remember - only qualified through his successful straw drawing and was only in the semifinal as well after beating Robbie Biskup 15-14 in the quarter final. Brandon likes taking things to the edge it appears. He was giving Andrew 8 points handicap as well, but by this stage Andrew was feeling the effects of all his previous matches. His legs wouldn’t cooperate as freely and Brandon took the match 15-10 earning is spot own the final. For Andrew, he wasn’t quite done either - he had the 3rd / 4th place to contend with still.

Michael DiFrancesco and Andrew Miller

The other side of the knock-out draw had the ‘dark horse’ of the event Jeff Rogers frustrating his opponents. Easy to underestimate, Jeff is proving to be quite the bit better than he looks (no offense intended of course!). His first match was against Mack Gembis and I offered Jeff 9 points head start - which to Jeff was a clear insult and he insisted on taking just 3 instead. I was somewhat surprised but if that is what we wanted to do, then he would have no one else to blame but himself. Three it was. And three was all he needed. He proved me totally incompetent by pulling out the 15-14 win! A great win to say the least. His next match, the semifinal, was against Michael DiFrancesco. I wasn’t about to make the same insulting move here - not with these two - so the match would start at 0-0. Both readily agreed. A scrambling feast had Jeff take the 15-7 win. In my mind I wasn’t surprised with the score, I may have offered Michael 4 or 5 points to start, but knowing he probably wouldn’t have taken it…

Brandon Tasco and Jeff Rogers

The 3rd / 4th play-off: Andrew Miller v Michael DiFrancesco. Straight up. No handicap here. I would like to see these two play when both are fresh. I think it would be a ball-buster. However, Michael was holding the fitness edge after all the games over the evening and although Andrew was pushing himself hard, he fell just a few pints short. Michael takes 3rd place with a tough - and overall terrific performance - 15-10.

The final. Jeff Rogers v Brandon T. In my head I was leaning towards 6 or 7 points for Jeff, but before I could even start to announce it, Jeff was walking on court declaring it would be a straight up contest. 0-0. He wanted not part of any help. The crowd tried their best to influence him to take at least some handicap but Jeff was defiant. Nope. Not happening. Brandon - for his part - wasn’t about to argue! The game started off point for point - to 4-all. Up to that stage, it looked like Jeff would once again prove all the critics wrong. But then it was pretty much one way traffic for Brandon who grabbed the momentum and wasn’t letting go. He rolled the rest of the game and walked off the 15-6 winner. This would be Brandon’s second Blitz title - he won this event in March of 2018. Congratulations to all who competed, maybe you could influence your fellow members into playing the next one!

DOING THE GREG JONES BLITZ

Blitz Tournament March 15, 2019

A lower than expected / wanted turnout for the 22nd running of the bi-annual Blitz Tournament. Unlike October’s event where all 28 players registered actually turned up, this one was a roller-coaster of entry numbers. On the morning of, there were 22 players. By lunch, we were down to 20. A half hour before the start, another cancellation had us at 19 and my patience fuse was burning hot and getting rather short. When the official start time was upon us, we had an extra person who thought they had registered - but didn’t - turn up, bringing the number back up to 20, and defusing my frustration-bomb somewhat, happy to re-organize the draw (again) to end up with 4 even groups of 5. Phew!

It is surprising more players do not take advantage of this format, you are guaranteed games against members who would normally never step on court with, and everybody does have some chance of winning because of the handicapping. But maybe the low numbers this time could be attributed to the fact that the Edge Challenge - “The Gauntlet” - was scheduled early the following morning and a handful of squash players were taking part in that torture obstacle course. (Helping out for that event, I have never been so many people so miserable yet having a blast at the same time!)

Greg Jones, Greg Allare, Mike Parker, Tony Sorgi, Sky Hamill

The measure of the perfect handicap is of course when the score ends up as 15-14. It would be utopian to expect every single match having to finish with a sudden-death rally as there is nothing more exciting in sports. Of the 40 group matches played, 8 of them (20%) ended up with that scenario, so I can’t be too upset with that number. Another 16 of them ended up 15-13 (40%) and that is also more than acceptable as even the underdog still thinks they have a chance of victory when the score is 13-all, just 2 points away.

It’s amazing that with this format, so often the result of just one rally can change the entire outcome of the tournament. Greg Jones kept to that script beautifully in his group as all 4 of his matches ended up 15-13. He won 3 of them to advance to the finals round, his only loss came at the hands of Greg Allare. Greg, however, only managed 2 wins, faltering on his last match against Sky Hamill where - lo and behold - he lost the 14-all sudden death rally. A point, if he had won, would have had him in the finals. The pressure of a do-or-die rally I believe is greater on the higher ranked player as the underdog doesn’t have any pressure on them - they aren’t expected to win anyway. That can make them throw caution to the wind, whereas the higher ranked player may tighten up, get a little tense and nervous and play overly cautious… just what Greg seemed to experience here! Sky’s win forced a 3-way “drawing of the straws” to see who would end up second in that group (behind Greg Jones), and his good fortune continued. He drew the lucky straw, rubbing that extra salt into Greg Allare’s already festering wounds.

David de la Chapo-Nacho-Guapo-Torre also squeaked by the group session with 3 wins. One of those was also a 15-14 defeat of Jeff Jorge where had Jeff not whiffed on the return of serve at 14-all, we may had seen Jeff advance instead of Dave. I think Jeff had 3-4 chances to take the game as well. Jon Diewald is clearly not Irish as on this St. Patrick’s Day weekend, he had zero luck closing out any games. He went 0 for 4, two of those were 14-15, the other two were 13-15. Again, if he had won both of those sudden-death rallies, the finals list may have been different. Next year he may change his name to Johnny O’Diewald.

The third group seemed to have some whacky results. I’d probably blame the handicapping here, but it can’t possibly be my fault, so I won’t even consider it. Kevin Prather seemed to get the worst of it, but in true Kevin form, he took it all in stride. Not even 4 back-to-back spankings can wipe that smile off his face. And where one suffers, one takes the advantage. Henry Gembis plowed his way through his first 3 matches, completely disrespecting the handicaps and trying (successfully) to make me look bad.  He did lose his last match against Steve Smihal 15-13, so I did gain a little reverence back on that one. Speaking of Steve, his 15-14 win over Andrew Peleman was another rally that changed the finals contenders.

The fourth and final group was also decided through a couple of sudden-sudden-death rallies. Mack Gembis had both of them, and on both occasions he ended up on top as well. Losing just one of them would have had him eliminated from the finals round. Brian Bartes was the second player to get through this group, but he also earns the “Sante" award, a new title to the one that complains about their handicapping but wins anyway! I presume since Brian lost his first game to Blake Roller 15-10, it was incontrovertibly the poor handicapping against him that caused it, so all future handicapping was without doubt there to ruin his chances as well! I wonder how he won the next three games then? (All in good fun, of course - !!)

Han Peng, Jeff Jorge, David de la Torre

On to the knock-out finals round. Let’s stay with Brian for now. His first match was up against Henry Gembis. After I asked the question out loud to the crowd what Henry’s handicap should be, in perfect protection of her husband, Heidi Bartes suggested a modest 6. She was of course thoroughly and one hundred percent wrong, and the 9 I was going to give Henry suddenly turned into a 10. And it was spot on. Henry made Brian work hard for the 15-14 win. Next challenge for Brian was Sky Hamill. Once again I asked the crowd for the handicap, and suddenly there was a loud silence coming from the Bartes camp. I wonder why that was…? Anyway, Sky received 11 points head start and again it was on the money. Another exciting down to the wire exchange, and once again Brian scraped through 15-14. He was on to the final.

On the upper half of the bracket, David de la Torre started his campaign with a crushing win over Steve Smihal. Steve’s 10 points did make any dent into Dave’s psyche as he rolled to the victory losing just 1 rally. Seeing that emphatic result, for Dave’s semifinal against Greg Jones, I handed Greg an 11 handicap. Now I have no idea what happened during the few minutes between the games, but Dave went from channeling his inner Egyptian against Steve, to channeling his inner Muppet Movie against Greg. It what was one of the fastest ever results ever to be recorded, Greg won his four straight rallies in probably less than 20 seconds to claim the 15-0 bagel and send Dave packing. In fact, Dave must have been so shook up, he also lost the 3rd / 4th play-off to Sky 15-13. One cerveza too many, Dave?

Greg Jones and Brian Bartes

So we were left with Brian Bartes v Greg Jones for the title. Greg walked on with a 10 point lead, again not hearing any objections about that either… It was another barn burner for Brian, he again was forced to work very hard, Greg inspired by the fact he could see and smell the finish line even before the game started! Brian never stops hustling - he is by all means a vicious competitor. As much as Greg made him run, Brian was more than happy to oblige. No easy points either way, Brian slowly closed the gap. And just when you thought he was inches away from completing the comeback, Greg snagged the final couple of points needed to snuff out the challenge. The 15-13 win was well deserved! So Greg Jones is our new Blitz Champion - one step better from his second place finish from just 12 months ago! He won 6 matches, 5 of them 15-13 (one of them 15-0…!) and lost just 1. And Brian takes second place, he no doubt covered the most miles on the court of anyone else this evening, a true fighter to the end. He also got up at the crack of dawn the next day to take part in the Gauntlet… I guess he is a masochist at heart!

A QUICK SERVING OF CURRIE

Blitz Tournament - October 5, 2018

What a memorable moment in DAC Blitz Tournament history! I write this with watery eyes, a slow shedding of the joyous tear as I look back to that Friday evening of October 5, 2018, where… wait for it… not only did ALL the 28 players that registered turn up, they were ALL ready to go in the court area at exactly 5:07 pm, a mere 7 minutes past that start time. It’s a moment that may never be repeated, so I wanted to take that blip in the matrix and share it with you. A moment of silence please…

As I throw my damp tissue away, (sniffle…) I thank you.

Four groups of 5 and two groups of 4 were sent on their merry way to fight over the 12 knock-out round spots. Players ranging from raw novice to our current esteemed club champion Vikram Chopra - another rare treat as a few select players got to experience the effort of returning a squash ball that’s being ripped at you like it’s coming out of a bazooka. I didn’t make it easy for Vik. He entered every game he played 13-0 down. He went 2 for 2, both of wins at 15-14, both of his losses not quite as close. The 2 wins wasn’t enough for him to advance.

For the raw novices, it was never going to be easy either. Full credit though for both Laura Collier and Brady Savage who stepped into the lion’s den after playing only a handful of times between them. But it is one of the best things to do, a great way to learn, experience, watch, and of course meet some fellow squashes and share a frothy beverage! Brady did manage to win one game though - against Dane Fossee who immediately branded him a ‘ringer’, but with a 15 -4 (!!) score line, the only ‘ringing’ Dane was hearing was his own shots crashing into the tin. Laura was not so fortunate, but she did hold at least 1 game ball against Paul Gormley.

Matt Paradiso almost fell into the ‘raw novice’ category, but he did play the Cross Border Challenge last month so he has earned his promotion to the next level: 'blossoming neophyte’. Matt can already nail the scalp of Vikram Chopra above his mantelpiece as he took down the club champ 15-12, and in fact went through the group stage with 3 wins and just 1 loss to earn his way to the finals round.

The Mr. Consistency award for the round robins goes to 2 players. Firstly, Jason Currie won 3 of 4 matches, every single score was 15-13. That’s a pretty decent effort, considering he lost just 4 rallies total in the 3 victories (and 7 in the one he didn’t!). Sam Fogleman collects the other one, although he no doubt doesn’t want it. He lost all 3 of his matches 15-12, but understanding all of his opponents were significantly higher ranked, he actually faired rather well.

For the first time in a long time (since I can recall anyway… which maybe not that far back considering I’m lucky to remember to wake up in the morning these days!) we did not need to draw straws in any of the 6 groups to see who would advance to the knock-out round. There is an asterisk to that statement however, since we we’re supposed to draw straws in group 4 between Dane Fossee and Justin Winkelman, but Dane conceded the short straw and bowed out. He blamed his lack of ‘straw-drawing’ practice. I, however, have a slight feeling there was another reason.

On to the finals, where the handicaps are made up on the spot and the beers everyone has consumed by this point don’t factor into it. I did voice my willingness to be bought however - $5 a point - but nobody seemed prepared to take me up on the offer.

Paul Gormley and Jon Diewald. The 592nd meeting.

Paul Gormley matched up against Jon Diewald, a couple players very familiar with each other since they played 437 matches in the summer league. It felt like every time I checked my email, another result between the two was staring at me. Paul won most of them so I gave Jon 4 points head start. However, he must have misunderstood my incredibly generous $5 per point offer and insisted he start with only 2. I wasn't giving him $10 though. It was a sporting call. It was a brave call. It was the right call. Jon took the game 15-13. I then gave him 10 points against Joey Gaylord, and he decided to be believe me this time not even debating handing any back. Another good decision as it turned out and he won that game as well 15-12.

Han Peng took on David Zack in his first finals game and the two started 0-0. Han has been playing well lately and he took control of this one quickly, David not able to catch up from an early deficit. Han advanced with 15-9 win to then contend with Brian Ellison. I gave Han 6 points to start and this was arguably the most exciting game of the tournament. The hustling from both players was great to watch, the 6 points a perfect handicap as it turned out. Han held 2 game balls at 14-13 and desperation squash kicked in, Brian flying around the court, diving into the corners, his bright orange Salmings often higher in the air than his squash racquet. He won that rally when he really had no business doing so and on the sudden death point… he nicked out the serve.

The joy of that escape was short lived, a minute later he was back on court in the semifinal with Jon Diewald. Again, Jon accepted his 9 point handicap without a squabble and did all he could to cause the upset. Brian continued to play urgent squash, he did not have much margin for error. It got close, they got nervous, but in the end Brian avoided the tin just enough to take it 15-13 and move on to the final.

The lower half of the knock out draw featured the current Blitz Tournament title holder - Brandon Tasco. Making his push for back to back titles, a feat not achieved since way back in Oct 2013 and March 2014, Brandon’s first match was against Greg Allare. Greg’s never-say-die attitude makes him one tough cookie, but Brandon’s 8 point handicap was just little too much to overcome - even for Greg. A 15-10 win and Brandon was now in the semifinal facing his biggest challenge of the event so far - Jason Currie. This game would be another candidate for being the best one of the evening, Brandon stepped on with a 9 point lead, and the rallies long and punishing. It was fantastic to see how Brandon stepped up his game and went toe-to-toe with a player quite a few rungs up the ladder higher than him. On the other hand, Jason accepted the challenge that was thrown at him and kept his errors to an absolute minimum - there were no easy points. Huffing and puffing, plenty of bent bodies with hands on the knees, Jason was able to outlast Brandon and take the 15-13 win.

Jason Currie and Brian Ellison

The final: Currie v Ellison. Ellison was given 9 point handicap. Currie was given a beer. Ellison had the support of his wife and new born, on the sidelines, Currie had the support of his racquet to help him stand up. But, to be honest, it did look like Brian was the worse for wear between the two. He too had run rivets into the wood to get this far and his legs were not happy with him. Jason’s plan was the same - run that ball down, and do not make an error. Make Brian earn every darn point. He did, but not enough of them. He managed 3. Jason, who has twice been the bridesmaid in the Blitz, finally picks up his first title with the 15-12 victory!