12 Inch Nails
Because 9 inches is not ambitious enough.
In 1996 or 1997, there was a team tournament at Origins — for a big prize (even by standards back then — a Beta box maybe) — and those from no clear affiliation joined forces to compete against the sponsored teams of the day.
My team consisted of:
Rudy Edwards (Limited)
Me (Limited)
John Slaughter (Type 1.5)
Kyle Rose (Type 2)
David Adams (Type 1)
We all knew each other from mid-Atlantic tournaments — David was the reigning Type 1 World Champion at the time, Kyle later won a Pro Tour and was obviously very strong, and Rudy and John were crafty Pro Tour regulars.
Blame John for the team name. :)
He was the ringleader.
I only remember so much about this tournament, but the things I do remember do matter.
First, while I’m sure I played more than two matches during the tournament, the only two I remember were against my brother, Justin, who was the Junior World Champion at the time and in reality probably my primary rival.
If you drive to the same tournaments together and face off in the finals much of the time that’s likely to create some sort of dynamic.
I don’t know that it was especially unhealthy, but I definitely enjoyed beating my brother in tournaments more than I enjoyed beating anyone else.
We once played in the finals of a tournament in High Point for a Legends Set, which today is worth something on the order of $10,000 to $20,000.
I won. :)
I gave the set to my dad, as he paid for us to make the trip, and I am happy to say that he still has it today.
But more than half of the time, Justin won, and he ended up being the #1 ranked player in the world at some point based partly on my losses to him.
So perhaps we’ll share that minor victory.
Our team clicked in the swiss, had good rapport, had a nice underdog mentality, and also played against a team we knew well, twice:
Tongo Nation.
There was a real chance we could win this event, and we could feel it.
We were good together.
In addition, Tongo was our frequent enemy in local tournaments, a group we had to compete against often.
I really wanted to beat them. :)
We all did.
It was not to be, however.
We lost 3-2 in the finals, it was close.
I’m sure we got a good prize from the event, if anyone remembers.
But I still really wish we’d won.