/Comments Off on The 2016 US Tak Open Tournament Winners
The 2016 US Tak Open tournament wrapped up early in January of this year, but we’re now pleased to be able to announce the results here on our new website! This was the first major Tak tournament, made possible by sponsors Cheapass Games and Wyrmwood Gaming.
The tournament began in September of 2016 with 149 players. After 8 rounds in a Swiss format, the top 32 qualifiers moved on to the playoffs. After an incredible 791 total games, the tournament was decided and we crowned our first Tak champion.
The Top Finishers
First place, and the title of World Tak Champion 2016, went to Sami Sultan! (aka SultanPepper) He fought hard throughout the tournament and went undefeated in the playoffs on the 6×6 board to win it all. As the first place prize, Sami received the US Tak exclusive Year Zero box from Wyrmwood Gaming. The set is an amazing creation made from Purpleheart, Wenge, and Sycamore.
Second place went to A.J. Hough (aka Simmon). A.J. played very well and was a major force throughout the whole tournament. In the Swiss rounds, he was the only player to go completely undefeated in 5×5 play. Then in the playoffs, an early loss knocked him into the loser’s bracket, giving every game the potential to be his last. Despite that pressure, he progressed all the way to the final match through sheer determination. Though in the end he fell to Sami, A.J. no doubt earned his place in the finals. A.J. recieved a Year Zero board from Wyrmwood Gaming.
Third place went to UnSweet. UnSweet faced both of the finalists by playing in both of the semifinal matches. Though he put up an impressive run in the playoffs, he unfortunately just missed the cut for a prize. Still we’d like to commend UnSweet for many excellent games, and we look forward to seeing what he can do in future Tak events.
The Next Year
The coming year is going to be a busy one for us here in the US Tak Association. We do not yet have concrete plans for the 2017 Tak Open, but keep an eye out here and you can be sure you’ll be kept up to date. There are many other ideas and plans for Tak being worked on as well, and we hope to begin announcing some of them soon.
Finally, thank you to everyone who helped with tournament commentary, whether live or written up afterwards. Thank you to Brandon Weaver especially, for streaming so many matches that would have otherwise been missed. And most of all thank you to the players and spectators who made the event worth running. See you all at the next US Tak event!