Pearl Vodka Tournament Of Champions

By Elizabeth Bowers

“WOW!” describes the 1st Annual Pearl Vodka Tournament of Champions in Kansas City, MO, October 19-23, 2012.

The KCI Expo Center is a huge venue with a great set up. The tournament was well-run, and the payouts were awesome. Ten Northwest darters traveled to Kansas City, and all agreed it was well worth the trip. And for the record, that famous Kansas City BBQ was pretty darn good too!

We took part in what was reported as the biggest one-day payout EVER in the history of soft tip darts; $200,000 paid out in the Finale. $10,000 of that came home with just our group!

Taking advantage of the today’s technology, the finals matches were being streamed live on the Internet for everybody to logon and watch.

There were six events per day, except for the last day of Finals. None of the events ran past midnight. The charts and board assignments were displayed on huge-screen TVs that let you know right away what board you were on and where you stood in the bracket.

Everyone that made it into the Finale, earned their way there. Some by finishing in the Top 8, days earlier in a qualifier, and some were awarded a ‘Golden Ticket’ from their Operator for points/games at home. The Finalists were paired together by Blind Draw in the Finale. Men and women played Doubles separately.

In talking to participating shooters from around the country, I learned to play as many Singles as you can to prepare for this event. This league has two to four Singles matches per night. Also, play Blind Draws at home since almost all of the tournaments in the Midwest are Blind Draws. This way, you’ll get used to playing with strangers. Earn as many points as possible at home, and maybe you’ll earn a ‘Golden Ticket’ into the Finale. All qualifiers are Singles, and are not seeded. Be sure to play as many Triple Elimination tournaments as you can to get use to the format, gain some endurance, and settle into the flow.

I am confident that there will be many more players trying to earn the points needed to earn their way to the qualifiers next year. And those four ‘Golden Tickets’ awarded by RJB Amusements, by gender, will be highly sought after.

Participate, earn your points, and get ready for a really fun event in October 2013.