Aces, One and All!

September 2004 marked the return of Circular Invitational Rotational Euchre to the Snowman Series line-up and what an exciting night it was!

Right out of the gates the points began to fly, with all five matches of round one closing out before the buzzer, meaning bonuses for all the victors, plus the first three (of 23 total) lone hand points being awarded. Division 'A' held an even spread with half the group tied after round one. Flip to the 'B' side where two players managed to take a single point lead over the pack, with lone hands going to Julia "Trump" Vamos and the Snowman himself.

In round two, Vamos would leap ahead by way of her second lone hand of the night, while Snowman (caught in a renege) would slip to 2nd in a tie with Jomo "Both Hooks" Benjamin, who chalked up his first loner. In the 'A' race, Trevor "Two Suits" Hockham along with newcomers Jon "Lone Hand" Nyholt and Rebecca "Queen" Shelley would step forward in a 3-way tie for the lead.

Round three would bring the biggest upset game of the night, with Giovanni "Skunk" Caicedo living up to his nickname, along with partner Jamie "Ace" Brewer. Their 10-0 match lasted only a few minutes, needing just 3 hands to take down Beverly "Diamonds" Kowbel and previous 'B' Division leader Julia "Trump" Vamos. Including lone hand and skunk bonuses, Caicedo & Brewer each tallied a whopping 14 points to jump back into the race!

With Vamos knocked from the pole position in Division 'B', round four saw the battle for supremacy begin with lone hands going to Bobby "Bauer" Kyriazis, Judy "Jump the River" McIlveen, Mark "Misdeal" Irwin, and new co-leader Jomo "Both Hooks" Benjamin (now tied with the Snowman at the front of the pack), plus TWO loners for John "Guarded" Gerontzos, making a striding run for the top. The spread in Division 'A' had Rebecca "Queen" Shelley in the lead, with Trevor "Two Suits" Hockham and Giovanni "Skunk" Caicedo dueling it out for the second spot.

Round five would be harsh on "Guarded" Gerontzos who would take yet another lone hand, but fall short of the win with partner Debbie "Hearts" Horovitch, handing the points instead to "Trump" Vamos and "Lone Hand" Nyholt, both trying in desperation to reach the top spots in their division. Meanwhile, leaders "Queen" Shelley and "Both Hooks" Benjamin would clinch their standings with a victory over Dennis "Dirty Pass" Lim and Bobby "Bauer" Kyriazis. In a last-ditch effort, Beverly "Diamond" Kowbel along with Dave "Spades" McIlveen would take down their respective spouses Michel "Shoot It" Plourdes and Judy "Jump the River" McIlveen, but to no avail.

The big story of the fifth would be the fate of 'A' Division's Trevor "Two Suits" Hockham, who, along with Eric "Shake the Bush" Snow would take the win over Jamie "Ace" Brewer and Jerrott "the Dutchman" Mitchell, but would still be eliminated from contention by a sweeping lone hand victory by Giovanni "Skunk" Caicedo and partner, previous title-holder Andy "Defender" Moore, over Mark "Misdeal" Irwin and a discouraged George "Joker" Apap. ("Joker" handed over big points, having been euchred TWICE on lone hand attempts, just minutes after trying to convince tournament coordinator, the Snowman, that there should be a penalty for exactly that.)

So into the finals representing Division 'A' were "Queen" Shelley and "Skunk" Caicedo, facing the 'B' team of "Both Hooks" Benjamin and defending Champion, the Snowman, trying for his first ever title repeat.

The 'B's dominated the first game, chiselling point after point from their opponents, and tallying a 10-1 win to open the Best-2-of-3 match. Backed into a corner, the 'A' team would bring out their A-game, to fight for 10-6 win, and even up the match, forcing the third and final game for the trophies. Facing the challenge head on, both teams would go at it the hard way, with nary a lone hand to be had, but instead climbing single points at a time, and often with risky trump calls. Finally, the marathon battle would end in a 10-5 decision in favour of the Snowman and "Both Hooks" taking the title on behalf of 'B' Division, while "Ace" and "Skunk" of the 'A's would have to settle for second.

Congratulations to Jomo Benjamin for his first Snowman Series Championhsip title, and to The Snowman for a repeat CIRE victory!

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