Worlds Breakdown - Twenty Ten

With your host, AG!

Part 3: "Oh Brother, Where art thou?"

I don't think there has ever been a world championship that has had a talent pool as deep as this. Easily not from a technical stand point, that's for sure. My previous post listed the 6 most likely Contenders (as I see it) to win the world championship. I also listed a couple Dark Horses that i thought could be long shot winners. Even whittling down that list was difficult, but based mostly on their competition results. I didn't try to pick worlds finalists. Trying to pick the players that could potentially make the top 8 would have found me researching the past competitive history and tracking down youtube clips of half the damn field! Trying to pick the semi finalists, well... might as well have just got every registered player to send me their personal profile. It's really any body's game to get to that round. Have a look at the pools. Many qualifiers looks like "pools of death". For example, Pool G: Rory Dawson, Reid Strellner, Evan Gatesman, Tuukka Antikainen, David Clavens. No, that's not a semi finals pool. That's a qualifier. 2 Bappers, A tech wizard, and 2 very strong guiltless players. Rory is the lowest seed in the pool, and he was 13th at worlds in 2007. Wow. Or Pool B:Eric Chang, Rafal Kaleta, Szymon Kalwak, Anssi Sundberg, Arkadiusz Dudzinski. Rafal Kaleta, who ducks ps torques for breakfast is the 4th seed. Szymon ain't no slouch either. Add in Anssi and Norek... well. Wow. Perhaps this puts it in a better perspective: Only 1 pool doesn't have 2 Bappers in it.

And while this is all very interesting, what's even more impressive is the people who aren't there...
Here's a less than exhaustive list of individuals, past and present, who could have raised the quality of this year's worlds even higher.

Dan Ednie: While he's not competing much any more (he hasn't attended that past 2 Australian championships) he did a magnificent dropless routine in 2007. He had strong and consistent choreography, and wasn't afraid not to throw in big tricks like jani's, even back then.

Serge Kaldany: 2008 world circle champion, a routines 5th place finisher, and multi-time french champion. With a style reminiscent of Yacine Merzouk, he's a threat in any event. He's a champion bloke too!

Juho Marjo: Has 2 finals berths, including a worlds podium. One of Finland's finest, and the saviour in the BOTS video. While he is in Oakland, he has opted not to compete. (Regardless of his competitive status, he's still bringing the bar higher for the overall level of players at this years event)

Sergey Kozlov: He rose to fame so quickly. 9th at his first worlds in 2006, and 3rd at his next in 2008. And he disappeared just as fast. Last spotted surfing waves at Kuta Reef in Bali, chasing the morning of the earth. I hope Huey's good to you.

Felix Zenger: While he dropped out of the footbag scene to pursue his blossoming musical career, anyone who's following him on twitter (or lives in Finland) know's he's kicking again. In the mid 2000's i think he was the style most people wanted to emulate (maybe, after Vasek). He even had a request contest win, and a second placing at the Finnish Party Bombe comp. His return to the world stage would be a dream come true for many.

Olaf Piwowar: Better known for his incredible technical ability than his routine performance, Olaf is a force to be reckoned with. This sick 3 world champ is still kicking, but never made it across the pond. His presence certainly would have upped the technical ante.

Johnny Suderman: Style for miles, super tech, perfect execution, and legs that don't quit. While Johnny doesn't compete in routines, he shines in circle. If he put the time in and really worked on one, i can guarantee it would be phenomenal. He's got that X factor that most just don't have, and for that he'll sadly be missed.

Jorden Moir: Quite possibly the most creative footbag player ever. His inventions probably rank in numbers with those of Kenny and Rippin, who had the upper hand getting in at the ground floor. Jorden has the ability to think so far outside the box, you can't even see it from where he's shredding. And he's a hell-man competitor too!

The last one was a bit of a pipe dream. I checked to see if he was attending as the registration closing date loomed nearer. I don't even know where he is these days, or what he's doing. He'd come out of retirement before and went to a one-off event. The last i saw of him was a one off routine on youtube, that he did in pants with some massive bags...

Ryan Mulroney: It's come full circle. it was 9 years ago that the world changed. In 2002, in San Francisco no less, Ryan Mulroney passed the crown to the young Vasek Klouda. It still ranks as one of the greatest routines ever (IMO) and it would have been amazing if Ryan had come out of retirement one last time, in the place that the world changed, to give it a go.

Routines start in 12 hours.

Could you imagine if they all had come...?