Two weeks after our first successful qualifier tournament (QT), it's time to do it all over again. With a few plane rides and a short repose back in Toronto, we find ourselves back overseas. This time in Prague, Czech Republic, for the first male only event of the season. Hopefully without all those bikini's around distracting us, we might be able to do even better. We will need to eventually, so that we can skip the qualifiers and start our tournaments directly in the Main Draw (MD).
This event has a full 64 team quali. Which means no byes. No shortcuts. Every team present has to play a full 3 matches in order to join the top 24 ranked teams to complete the 32 team MD. And this is our life. Pretty soon the tournaments will happen week in, week out, and until we prove ourselves to be among that top 24, we'll have to get through the quali. Which is exactly what we intend to do.
A single loss is enough to send a team packing, but a single time though to the MD is extremely rewarding. And of course, as soon as the Main Draw starts, it's still anyone's game. Casey Jennings and Kevin Wong came out of the qualifier and finished first in the MD in the Nederlands last year. There really isn't much difference between the top 24 and the rest of the field, every team is beatable. Sure Phil and Todd haven't lost in a while, but they'll probably be shaking in their boots if we match up with them out of the qualifier.
First match is tomorrow at 1:15 pm. 7:15am in Toronto. 5:15am for Mom and Dad. We play Greece on Center Court, so hopefully we can give a strong performance to all those who watch on bwin.com or FIVBtv. I'm not sure which is the best for viewing, if either. Tournament schedule and results can be found HERE.
This event has a full 64 team quali. Which means no byes. No shortcuts. Every team present has to play a full 3 matches in order to join the top 24 ranked teams to complete the 32 team MD. And this is our life. Pretty soon the tournaments will happen week in, week out, and until we prove ourselves to be among that top 24, we'll have to get through the quali. Which is exactly what we intend to do.
A single loss is enough to send a team packing, but a single time though to the MD is extremely rewarding. And of course, as soon as the Main Draw starts, it's still anyone's game. Casey Jennings and Kevin Wong came out of the qualifier and finished first in the MD in the Nederlands last year. There really isn't much difference between the top 24 and the rest of the field, every team is beatable. Sure Phil and Todd haven't lost in a while, but they'll probably be shaking in their boots if we match up with them out of the qualifier.
First match is tomorrow at 1:15 pm. 7:15am in Toronto. 5:15am for Mom and Dad. We play Greece on Center Court, so hopefully we can give a strong performance to all those who watch on bwin.com or FIVBtv. I'm not sure which is the best for viewing, if either. Tournament schedule and results can be found HERE.
Hey Ben,
ReplyDeleteI just wanted to say that this post was really energizing and I'm cheering for you all the way!