Bowen Kerins wins Showdown at Slabtown III!

On February 18-20th, the third annual Showdown at Slabtown took place at Portland’s Slabtown Bar. The first two days were devoted to the qualifying round ($3 an entry, or four for $10), with finals on Sunday.

Machines were brought into Slabtown for both banks. The Classics line-up: Sky Rocket, Royal Flush, Zip-A-Doo, Super Soccer. (all were set to five ball.)

The Open line-up: Spider-Man, Creature from the Black Lagoon, Indy 500, Sorcerer, Eight Ball Deluxe, Nine Ball.

Over 60 people entered the Classics Tournament and the Open Tournament. Competition was fierce! From the moment the doors opened to the closing bell at midnight Saturday night, folks were lined up to play. Several hearts were broken between 11:45 and midnight on that night (the sign of a good tournament!). Seven top 30 players entered, as well as a whole lot from the top 200. And there was a strong turn-out by out of towners (especially from Seattle and Vancouver, Canada, and with a couple strong contenders coming from California).

The money pool was substantial: $700 to the winner of the Classics (with 2-8 paid out, as well), and $1000 to the winner of the Open (and 2-16 paid out).

First up on Sunday was the Classics finals. The 12 qualifiers played three four-person games, with the top eight advancing. Then that eight got wittled down to four: Keith Elwin, Bowen Kerins, Mike Mahaffey, and Bob Matthews.

In the end local Mike Mahaffey emerged triumphant! Congratulations, Mike.

In the Open tournament final (same format as the Classics), after hours of intense competition four players advanced to the final round: Keith Elwin, Cayle George, Maka Honig, and Bowen Kerins. Bowen finished with two strong games (on Sorcerer and Spider-Man) to come out the winner. Congrats Bowen! He was the only east coaster to come out for the event, and I’m sure he’s not regretting the decision.

Thanks to everyone for entering, and to the Portland organizers/techs. See you next year.