 On August 17-18, the 4th annual Arizona State Cornhole Championships took place at Ability360 Sports and Fitness Center in Phoenix, AZ. The event included 15 different tournaments and attracted over 350 players from across the state with nearly $12,000 in cash and prizes award over the weekend. In the end, 22 different players earned the title of state champion and will receive a championship jersey at our awards ceremony on September 28 at the 4th annual East vs West tournament.
Player of the Year Bill Hadley won the Player of the Year award for the second time in three seasons. Bill finished the season as the #1 ranked Arizona and West Conference (AZ, CA, HI, NV) player. He also finished #32 and #34, respectively, in the ACL overall and singles rankings. Bill won five regional singles events and one conference singles event during the season. He and ACL pro partner, Doug Zafft, also won seven regional doubles events and one conference doubles event throughout the season.
Women Singles Sixteen players competed in a double elimination tournament for the Women's Championship. Angie Hallmark capped off her strongest season yet by winning her first Arizona State Women's Championship. Beth Hanson came up just short for the second year in a row, finishing 2nd. Melissa Felix finished 3rd, breaking into the winner's circle for the first time at this event.
Senior Singles Twelve players competed in a double elimination tournament for the Senior's Championship. Tino Mendoza knocked off reigning Senior Champion, Bill Hadley (2nd place), to win his first of two titles at this year's State Championships. Greg Stedman made an impressive run to break into the top three!
Junior Doubles Eight teams competed in a two-stage tournament for the Junior's 13U Championship. The teams first competed in a four game round robin to determine seeding into a single elimination tournament. Brock and Landon knocked off reigning champions, Christian and Izaac, to win the title of this second year of the event. Bryan and Javi rounded out the top three with their 3rd place finish.
High School Doubles Four teams competed in a two-stage tournament for the High School Championship. The teams first competed in a three game round robin to determine seeding into a double elimination tournament. Juju and Alex went undefeated to earn the title. Cody and Zach overcame a tough round robin to finish 2nd place and Ben and Louis rounded out the top three with their 3rd place finish.
Crew Cup A sold out tournament with 16 teams / 64 players competed in a two-stage tournament for the Crew Cup Championship. The team of Juan, Jimmy, David and Tony went undefeated to earn the championship in this second year event. The team of Jimbo, Larry, Tim and Migael came in 2nd place and Larry, KJ, John and Chrissy came in 3rd place.
Advanced Singles (Tier 4) Thirty-four players competed in a double elimination tournament for the capstone event - Advanced Singles Championship. Bill Hadley took down the championship for the third time in four years! Tino Mendoza came in 2nd place and Mike Torres finished in 3rd place.
Advanced Doubles (Tier 4) Twenty-two teams competed in a double elimination tournament for the Tier 4 Advanced Doubles Championship. Hector and Tino fought off Al and Torres in the sudden death game for the win. Andy and David made a strong run to finish in 3rd place.
Competitive Singles (Tier 3) In our last event of Day #1, sixty-one players competed in a double elimination tournament for the Tier 3 Competitive Singles Championship. Bobby Saenz was able to come back and double-dip Nick Favia for the championship. Larry Mora rounded out the top three with his 3rd place finish.
Competitive Doubles (Tier 3) Thirty-seven teams competed in a double elimination tournament for the Tier 3 Competitive Doubles Championship. Ryan and Luke went through the winner's bracket before getting pushed to the sudden death game by Jimmy and Pancho. In the end, Ryan and Luke came out victorious in a tight final match. Jimbo and Bryan had a strong run to finish in 3rd place, with their only loses coming against the top two teams.
Developing Singles (Tier 2) In our largest field of the event, sixty-four players competed in a double elimination tournament for the Tier 2 Developing Singles Championship (and survived the technical issues). Dan Gaylor, who was knocked into the loser's bracket by Juju Perez, came back to double dip the same opponent in the championship to take down the title. Bransen Lacy had a strong run to finish 3rd place finish, losing only to the top two players.
Developing Doubles (Tier 2) In our largest doubles field, forty-four teams competed in a double elimination tournament for the Tier 2 Developing Doubles Championship. KJ and Kade played Dan and Soon three close matches near or at the end of the tournament with KJ and Kade winning two of those games to take the title. Chris and Arizona survived an early loss to fight their way back for a 3rd place finish.
Beginner Singles (Tier 1) In our first time running this division, we had a full field of 32 players who competed in a double elimination tournament for the Tier 1 Beginner Singles Championship. Newcomer, Ky Wilbert, rolled through to the championship before battling Jose Palencia in two exciting matches 21-19 and 21-20 with Ky ultimately winning the final match. Shawn Soria followed up his Tier 1 Doubles win with a 3rd place finish in singles.
Beginner Doubles (Tier 1) In another first time event, thirty-two teams competed in a two-stage tournament for the Tier 1 Beginner Doubles Championship. The teams first competed in a four game round robin to determine seeding into a single elimination tournament. Shawn and Elizabeth went 8-0 to win the title. Lionel and Todd finished 6-2 to take 2nd place and Vicente and Henry finished 5-3 to win 3rd place.
Mixed Doubles In another first time event, thirty-four teams competed in a two-stage tournament for the Mixed Doubles Championship. The teams first competed in a four game round robin to determine seeding with the top 16 teams advancing into a single elimination tournament. Daughter-father team of Melissa and Gilbert finished 7-1 to win the championship, beating wife-husband duo Natalie in the finals. Monique and Bill rounded out the trophy winners with their 3rd place finish.
Copper Cup Invitational The Copper Cup Invitational was another first time event at this year's championships. The top 32 players in Arizona were entered into a free-entry blind draw where the teams competed in a single elimination tournament for a small cash prize. All players who earned a spot in the Copper Cup were given a Copper Cup t-shirt, sponsored by Becky Minks Realtor (findingparadiseinaz@gmail.com). In the end, Larry and Jose took the top spot, beating Bill and Scott in the final match!
Long Toss Easayas Tsiage won the long toss for the second time in three years hitting at a distance of 60' to win just under $500.
Event Sponsors Special thank you to all of our event sponsors for this year's event.  A few more event photos
5/11/2019
Recap: Solstice Stone Bags & Brews On Saturday, May 11, we ran the Solstice Stone - Bags & Brews: Cornhole Tournament for Charity. Forty-two teams competed in a two stage tournament where everyone first played three games in round robin. Once RR was complete, all teams with two or three wins advanced to a single elimination tournament where they were seeded by their RR results. In a thrilling championship match, Vance & Chris beat Mickey & Kirk 21-20 to win the grand prize. In our Consolation match, Kraig & Adam beat Jeff & Cheyne to win third place.
Upcoming Events Here are our upcoming public events for 2019. Many events offer different divisions so that you can compete against people with similar experience. Please check out our website frequently at kbkornhole.com/events to see a full listing. We are constantly adding new events and the site updates regularly.
Stay in Touch!Like us on Facebook (KB Kornhole Games) and follow us on Instagram (@kbkornhole). You can also sign up for our email list by going to www.kbkornhole.com and signing up on our homepage                                     5/11/2019 This one’s for you, Arizona! As we lead up to the biggest cornhole event to ever hit Arizona. a feeling of nostalgia came over me as I rummaged through four and a half years of event photos from our time organizing and directing tournaments (see images below). When we started KB Kornhole Games back in 2015 we had no idea where this side hobby would take us. Hell, we started in the garage mass producing cornhole sets—Well, only 10 sets but that was enormous for us. Fortunately, we found out that we were much better running events than making equipment.  About six months into running events, Doug Zafft sent me a message with a link to iplaycornhole.com and asked me to look into it. We were so new to directing tournaments that the idea of linking up with a national organization was really intimidating. But, despite my inexperience, one thing that I had quickly learned was that Doug is a highly respected part of the cornhole community and someone who I should listen to. His main point resonates with me to this day. He said, [paraphrasing] “Joining the ACL allows us to be part of something bigger”. So, I explored ACL’s site, contacted ACL Commissioner Stacey Moore and found that his philosophy to the game was something that I could buy-in to because it allowed players at all levels to the opportunity to experience success.  Since incorporating the ACL structure, the growth of this sport in Arizona has been nothing short of amazing over the past four years and even more so in the past few years since the ACL started broadcasting cornhole events on ESPN. The visibility of the sport on national TV has had a Tiger-Woods-Effect that has helped bump participation at every level of competition. Not a week goes by when someone doesn't approach us and say something along the lines of "I saw cornhole on ESPN and then Googled cornhole in Arizona". There’s no denying the ACL’s role in this growth. Now, you have the chance to earn a spot on an ESPN broadcast. Let me say that again…you could be relaxing and practicing at the QuartHaus on Thursday and then attempting airmails in an ESPN pressure cooker match a day later. Who would’ve envisioned that just a short time ago.  When it comes to National events, there are only a handful each year and the western part of the country typically only gets a single shot per year to host one of these premiere events. The infrastructure needed to run a national combined with the exploding number of players who attend make it challenging to find the perfect spot but with the passion and support Arizona Players have shown to the the sport and the ACL over the years, I knew that I had a responsibility to advocate for an event like this to come to our backyard.  For many of you, this will be your first and maybe only chance to attend a national event (hopefully that’s not the case). You will undoubtedly be nervous throwing against players from all over the county. That’s okay! Acknowledge it, understand it, and learn from it because you’ll grow from the experience. There’s no way to replicate this sort of cornhole stress other than to compete on the highest stage. You’ll be mentally stronger (in your cornhole game) from the the competition and when you go compete in local and regional events, it won’t seem as daunting. A few of you may even have deep runs and get your opportunity for some air time.  For those with national experience, you know what to expect. You’ve invested significant resources, both in time and money, to travel around the country to compete. Having this event in our home state is my token of appreciation for the dedication you’ve shown to the sport. I can only imagine that you want to put on a show and demonstrate to the country that Arizona can throw bags with the best of them.  For all, this is a great opportunity to meet new players from around the country. There are so many intriguing players and cornhole groups and they are coming to your house. Introduce yourself, strike up a conversation and continue to build the “cornhole family”. In whichever division you are competing, we’ll be rooting for you. We know that each player will represent Arizona well. For me personally, I’m glad I was able to play a part in bringing this event, the biggest one Arizona has ever hosted, to the desert.  I’ll end with this…make every effort to experience the broadcast on Friday and Saturday nights (hopefully we’ll have a few of our players in those matches). You won’t be disappointed. Aside from getting the chance to win the $500 Pitch for Cash just for sitting in the stands, it’s fun to watch it on ESPN days after and say “I was there”. It’s an intimate setting where you can hear Trey analyze each shot, Evan commentate his perspective, Stormy conduct her sideline interviews and Bernie getting the crowd going with his Airmail chant. This will be the eighth broadcast that I have been part of and it’s still exciting! I often think back to where we started and how far it’s come in such a short amount of time. While this is a national event, I see the Bag Brawl more as a celebration of the sport for our area. Soak in the experience, Arizona players. You’ve earned this one! Memory Lane Enjoy the pictures that we've pulled from our archives showing the various events that we've run over the years! (They are in no particular order.)                                                                                                                                                                                  On Sunday, May 5, we ran the Hamilton HS Girls Basketball Team Fundraiser Cornhole Tournament. Eleven teams competed in a two stage tournament where everyone first played four games in round robin with the results seeding each team into a single elimination tournament. Edward & James, who met each other just before the event, went undefeated throughout the event to earn the top spot! Additional money was generated for the team through a long toss competition. Aaron won hitting at 38 feet.
Here are our upcoming public events for 2019. Many events offer different divisions so that you can compete against people with similar experience. Please check out our website frequently at kbkornhole.com/events to see a full listing. We are constantly adding new events and the site updates regularly.
Like us on Facebook (KB Kornhole Games) and follow us on Instagram (@kbkornhole). You can also sign up for our email list by going to www.kbkornhole.com and signing up on our homepage  On Saturday, April 27, we ran the Kelly Cook Real Estate Group Client Appreciation Cornhole Tournament at Cactus Park in Scottsdale. Thirteen teams competed in the adult division and eight kids competed in the 12 and under division. In the 12 and under division, brothers Carter & Gavin won the championship and Ethan & Paige came in 2nd place. The two teams played in a nail-biter best of three series that came down to a few key shots! Congratulations!
In the adult division, each team played in a four game round robin. From there, the teams were seeded into a single elimination tournament with the winning team earning 55' Smart TVs. Mike & Tyler went through the tournament undefeated beating Skyler & Tim in the championship game.
Upcoming EventsHere are our upcoming public events for 2019. Many events offer different divisions so that you can compete against people with similar experience. Please check out our website frequently at kbkornhole.com/events to see a full listing. We are constantly adding new events and the site updates regularly.
Stay in Touch! Like us on Facebook (KB Kornhole Games) and follow us on Instagram (@kbkornhole). You can also sign up for our email list by going to www.kbkornhole.com and signing up on our homepage |
#kbkornhole
Click through the archives to see the past winners of our tournaments. 
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