Forty-Three Teams Kick Off the New Year at the 2018 Winter Classic

Feb. 1, 2018

BULLHEAD CITY, Ariz. – The 2018 Winter Classic, held here at Bullhead City Rotary Park, Jan. 16-21, marked the first qualifier of the new year, as 43 teams looked to start 2018 off on the right foot.

The tournament began with the Men’s 65 through 80 divisions playing Jan. 16-18. The Men’s 50 through 60 divisions played Jan. 19-21, while the Men’s 40 and Women’s 40 and 50 divisions played Jan. 20-21.

In the seven-team Men’s 65/70 Gold division, Las Vegas Stars (NV) defeated Cut Loose 65’s (CA) 13-11 in the championship game of the Men’s 65 Gold division; while Sons of Pitches (CA) won the Men’s 70 Major division, coming out of the elimination side of the bracket, defeating Sidewinders 70 (AZ) 20-19 and 15-11 in the championship and “if” games. Sidewinders defeated Sons of Pitches 22-21 earlier in the bracket to advance to the championship game. Game On (CA) finished in third place.

Moving to the five-team Men’s 70 Silver division, Doughboys (NV) avenged their 20-10 loss in the championship game against Tequila All-Stars (CA), bouncing back in the “if” game with a 21-19 victory to take the division. Top seed Elite 70’s LVSSA (NV) finished in third place.

Concluding the first session of the tournament was the seven-team Men’s 75/80 Gold division.

In a best two-out-of-three game series for the Men’s 75 AAA division, Arizona Outlaws 75 swept Git-R-Done 75 (CA) by scores of 20-11 and 15-14, respectively.  

The Men’s 80 Gold division also featured a best two-out-of-three game series, as Fairway Ford (CA) swept Top Gun Diamond 80 (CA) by scores of 21-14 and 24-16.

Top seed Arizona Sidewinders won the three-team Men’s 75 Major division, double-dipping Scrap Iron Beams (CO) by scores of 24-22 and 20-12, in the championship and “if” games. Scrap Iron Beams defeated Arizona Sidewinders 30-18 earlier in the bracket to advance to the championship game. Las Vegas 75 Coyotes (NV) finished in third place.

Starting off the second session was the five-team Men’s 50/55 Gold Division, which saw L.A.F. 50 (CA) post an undefeated record, going 2-0 in seeding play and 3-0 in bracket play, including a 26-16 win over Advil Knights (CA) in the championship game. Desperados (NM) finished in third place.

In the four-team Men’s 60 Silver division, Baker Boyz (CA) defeated top seed Family (NV), 17-11, in the championship game. New Mexico Warriors finished in third place.

The weekend session was highlighted by the 11-team Men’s 40 Masters division.

The three-team Men’s 40 Major Plus division saw Desert Springs (NV) go undefeated on the weekend, going 2-0 in seeding and 2-0 in bracket play, including a 30-20 win over Flawless (CA). K & B Beverage/AG Painting (AZ) finished in third place.

The largest division of the tournament, the eight-team Men’s 40 Silver division, saw Wicked Sports/PT Express (CA) run the table, going 2-0 in seeding, before posting a 4-0 record in bracket play, including a 30-10 win over Lazer Sports (NV) in the championship game. Top seed Aces (AZ) finished in third place. After suffering an early loss in the bracket against Lazer Sports, 28-27, Aces won back-to-back games, defeating Sons of Thunder (AZ) 36-19 and Blue Pill Mafia (AZ) 34-23 before falling to Lazer Sports for a second time in a one-run thriller, this time in the third-place game, 25-24.

The four-team Women’s 40/50 Silver division was split into two best two-out-of-three game series.

In the Women’s 40 AAA division, Saints (AZ) swept Blue Heat (NM) by scores of 17-10 and 19-9.

In the Women’s 40/50 Silver division, Dames Got Game (AZ) swept Alaska Elite 50 by scores of 20-9 and 14-12.