Champions and Bids at Show Me Qualifier: 16 Open
Let’s keep those Show Me Qualifier recaps going. 17 Open was the subject of yesterday’s summary as we introduced this series, and now we’re checking out the champions and bid winners on the 16 Open side. Once again, we had…
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Continue ReadingLet’s keep those Show Me Qualifier recaps going.
17 Open was the subject of yesterday’s summary as we introduced this series, and now we’re checking out the champions and bid winners on the 16 Open side. Once again, we had a lot of action in this group.
Here’s the breakdown.
Championship Monday
The first Gold pool of 16 Open had Dynasty 16 Black, Six Pack 16, OT 16 O Roberto, and NKYVC 16-1 Tsunami all vying for the top spot in this stacked group.
Monday opened with a contest between a couple of NLQ competitors in Dynasty and OTVA. After some back-and-forth action, NLQ champion Dynasty continued its strong run in home territory and notched a quick win in Gold pools.
NKYVC and Six Pack were next to take the court. We had already seen some strong performances from NKYVC in the Kansas City Convention Center this year, and that continued in this contest. 16-1 Tsunami’s bid hunt marched forward with a two-set win.
The next contest in this Gold pool was perhaps the match of the day in any division. NKYVC and Dynasty were pitted against each other once again after facing off for the Triple Crown NIT championship in the same building in February. This matchup would feature a stronger, healthier NKYVC squad, though, and that turned out to make a huge difference. 16-1 Tsunami took an emotional three-set victory to even the series with Dynasty and move firmly into position for a Nationals bid.
Though a 2-0 record for NKYVC would be tough for any other team in this group to surmount, matches for other positions would be important with Dynasty 16 Black already having a bid from NLQ. OT 16 O Roberto returned to the court and took a hard-fought 2-0 win over Six Pack. OTVA would then stay on the court to take on the NKYVC team that was still riding the high of a huge victory over Dynasty. These two high-flying squads exchanged blows, went all the way to a third set, and battled in extra points. In the end, though, NKYVC would prevail again. After fighting off a match point, 16-1 Tsunami seized a match point opportunity of its own and took a 16-14 triumph in the third. A 3-0 Gold pool record would seal the Kentucky team’s place in the Show Me 16 Open finals. Dynasty swept Six Pack to claim second in the pool.
Absolutely clutch from @NKYVC!
16-1 Tsunami fights off a match point and wins 16-14 in the third set to secure a pool win, a trip to the 16 Open title match, and a Nationals bid! pic.twitter.com/MqxjXNClcz
— Austin Kingsley (@KingsleyATK) April 11, 2022
Some comparable drama would permeate our other 16 Open Gold pool that featured Circle City 16 Purple, KC Power 16-1, Premier Nebraska 16 Gold, and HPSTL 16 Royal.
The three-set nailbiters would start right away in a matchup between Circle City 16 Purple and Premier Nebraska 16 Gold. Circle City eventually pushed forward to take a 15-9 win in the tiebreaker and increase the prospects of having another Indiana squad join the Nationals field in Indianapolis.
One team that will be in Indy’s 16 Open field, KC Power 16-1, opened its Monday stretch with a win over HPSTL. Circle City followed suit with a win over HPSTL to move to 2-0 in Gold pools and assume a prime position in the bid race.
Next up was NLQ Gold pool redux between KC Power and Premier Nebraska. Premier took a 2-0 win in the Minneapolis meeting, and, after facing some stiff resistance in the Kansas City rematch, the Nebraska team rallied to take a three-set win to bounce back from an opening loss.
A huge comeback late in the third lifts @Premier16_G past KC Power! pic.twitter.com/DGZcETpm3y
— Austin Kingsley (@KingsleyATK) April 11, 2022
A win over HPSTL concluded Premier Nebraska’s day with a 2-1 record. This pool’s finale would be another three-set thriller between Circle City and KC Power that went to another deuce result in the tiebreaker. But, once again, Circle City 16 Purple came up clutch to win the match — and the pool — to clinch a trip to Nationals this summer.
The championship awaited. NKYVC 16-1 Tsunami and Circle City 16 Purple met up in the day’s final Open match. It was a contest that clearly delivered on the promise of more excitement to close out the tournament. And, fittingly, it was another three-set affair in extra points. Are you surprised?
Enjoy the video below as Circle City posted a huge block to take a 17-15 win in the third to take the Show Me Qualifier 16 Open championship.
That’s a championship ROOF.@circlecityvbc 16 Purple comes from behind in the third set to win the 16 Open title at Show Me! pic.twitter.com/hjEQMyeecs
— Austin Kingsley (@KingsleyATK) April 11, 2022
The Bids
Here’s the bid breakdown!
Both of 16 Open’s championship participants had not yet picked up a bid this season. So, NKYVC 16-1 Tsunami and Circle City 16 Purple get bids by simply beating out the competition and being Kansas City’s top 16 Open competitors last weekend. Impressive.
Now, we hunt for the recipient of that last bid. The second-place finishers in Gold pools, Premier Nebraska and Dynasty, both earned Nationals bids at NLQ last month. Moving along.
On to the third-place finishers. KC Power snagged a bid at MEQ, so we’ve got to check out the other pool to find OT 16 O Roberto. OTVA takes this third bid without the need for a fifth-place match.