Tianjin Open Recap

Greetings world, it's been a little while since i've rapped at ya.  I've been ridiculously busy with moving, working, frisbeeing, etc.  I finally feel like the insanity has passed a bit, and i have a ton to catch up on, blog-wise.  It's actually overwhelming, and i don't even know where to start.  Frisbee seems like a good place.

Big Brother played it's first team tournament of the year at the Tianjin Open last weekend.  We sent a pretty small team and had many key players missing.  With Jim, Chatikin, Gareth, and Joe unable to play, it left tao and i as the main handlers.  However, we made up for that with our four unstoppable women: Sandy, Alicia, Shan, and Tina.

Day one was shaky, and saw us losing our first game to a very young and athletic Tianjin Speed.  I think we went in assuming an easy victory and underestimated them.   Really, it's awesome to see all these new, local players picking up the game and playing at a high level.  We played pretty sloppy and they capitalized on our slow start.  Although we tied it after half, they got a critical break and pulled out the upset, 11-9.

On Day two, we lost Jesse, a key handler, and picked up Baby Girl and Jehan.  Those fresh legs may have made the difference for us.  Our first game against Tianjin Five Star was a good warm-up for our semi-finals game against the #1 seed and our China nemesis, Shanghai.

They came out in fine form and jumped up 3-1, before we went on a demoralizing 5 to 1 burst, taking half 6-4.  We were pumped.  It's been a long time since Beijing beat Shangai at a competitive tournament.  Tao switched to cutting, working Alec Hutson hard in the process.  Jehan,  Caleb, and Baby Girl took turns covering Nads, a big, strong player.  Our women dominated on all parts the field.  And yours truly provided the core of the handler offense.  We ended up winning that game 11-9 in one of the most heated and intense games i've playing in Asia.

In the finals, we played Tianjin Speed again, the same team we lost to one Day 1.  This time we were a bit more prepared, but when they took half 6-5, we were definitely worried.  In the second half, i had four deep throws to tao, three for scores.  Our women were getting open at will, and while their guys were ferocious, our zone D was disrupting their game.  We got the critical break points we needed and won 11-9.  That was Big Brother's first major tournament win since Singapore, 2004.  And it felt good.

Oh, Big Brother (meaning Gareth, Baby Girl, and Matt) also won the party.  We got trophies for each!

Tao has a write-up and a few pictures here and here.

Needless to say, i'm really excited for this season.

~Kev