Saglio Manhandles the First "DK Open" (Wildcard Qualifier #1)

June 23rd, 2013 - Unfortunately, time constraints have kept me from writing up a full report for this tournament, so I'll keep it short and sweet:

• What has up to now been the "Wildcard Rematch" is now (and from this point forward) an open field. Organizers Eric Tessler and John Salter decided at the last minute to open registration to all Donkey Kong players, including the "Top 12" competitors, who were excluded from the first two tournaments. The decision was made in order to allow players who are already in the Top 12 to establish a qualifying "wildcard score" to lock in a spot in the Wildcard Division in the event that they get knocked out of the Top 12 by the time of the Kong Off 3.
• To absolutely nobody's surprise, once registration for the Top 12 was lifted, Dean Saglio entered, and easily took first place, proving once again that the only Donkey Kong player who can beat Dean is Dean himself.
• Also unsurprisingly, Phil Tudose took second, while also achieving a new personal best and breaching the "million fifty" mark for his first time. Fear Phil.
• Ben Falls came very close to a first-man kill screen, surviving all the way from 1-1 through 20-4 (108 boards). He certainly earned the "first man" bounty.
• Twitch TV was down on Friday night, causing a delay in the start of the tournament to 9 AM PST and prompting another last-minute decision to extend it until 9 PM—a total of 36 hours of play time.

Final Standings

Rank	Player	Score	Gap
1	Dean Saglio	1,087,500	0
2	Philip Tudose	1,051,600	35,900
3	Jeff Wolfe	997,800	53,800
4	Corey Chambers	964,500	33,300
5	Dave McCrary	934,000	30,500
6	Ben Falls	869,100	64,900
7	Jeff Willms	865,500	3,600
8	Robbie Lakeman	851,300	14,200
9	Jon Mckinnell	753,600	97,700
10	Chris Psaros	696,800	56,800
11	Daniel Desjardins	688,600	8,200
12	Jeff Harrist	678,200	10,400
13	Brian Allen	637,800	40,400
14	Shane Mosher	637,400	400
15	Ethan Daniels	605,900	31,500
16	Steve Wiltshire	602,800	3,100
17	Eric Tessler	512,200	90,600
18	George Riley	471,900	40,300
19	Eric Martin	454,300	17,600
20	Aaron Rounsaville	416,300	38,000
21	Todd Lalonde	361,700	54,600
22	John Salter	318,500	43,200
23	Dustin Myers	317,400	1,100
24	Allen Staal	311,600	5,800
25	Chris Benn	301,500	10,100
26	Dustin Pease	268,200	33,300
27	Jeremy Young	256,000	12,200
28	Nick Sheils	226,300	29,700
29	Craig Ziegler	217,600	8,700
30	Jason Corey Brittain	183,300	34,300
31	Don Rubin	176,000	7,300
32	Andrew John Purkett	122,300	53,700
33	Ky Staal	120,700	1,600
34	Steve Grunberger	116,700	4,000
35	Stan Trazka	84,700	32,000
36	Eddie Tessler	17,200	67,500
37	Chuck Vess	14,800	2,400
	No Submission (8)
N/A	Craig Rout Gallant	N/A	N/A
N/A	Daniel Dock	N/A	N/A
N/A	Kayla Rose	N/A	N/A
N/A	Ken House	N/A	N/A
N/A	Mark Kiehl	N/A	N/A
N/A	Mike Groesbeck	N/A	N/A
N/A	Mitchell Elliott	N/A	N/A
N/A	Vincent Lemay	N/A	N/A
	No-Show (14)
N/A	Douglas Tessler	N/A	N/A
N/A	Edward Dietman	N/A	N/A
N/A	George Strain	N/A	N/A
N/A	Glen Updike	N/A	N/A
N/A	Hank Chien	N/A	N/A
N/A	John McNeill	N/A	N/A
N/A	Jonathan McCourt	N/A	N/A
N/A	Joseph Carroll	N/A	N/A
N/A	Matt Douglas	N/A	N/A
N/A	Michael Stastny	N/A	N/A
N/A	Mike Kasper	N/A	N/A
N/A	Robert Felstein	N/A	N/A
N/A	Ross Benziger	N/A	N/A
N/A	Svavar Gunnar Gunnarsson	N/A	N/A

Prizes:
$250 - Dean Saglio (1,087,500)
$100 - Phil Tudose (1,051,600)
$50 - Jeff Wolfe (997,800)

(None of these top 3 winners can win a prize in either of the two remaining Wildcard Qualifiers.)

Bounties:
$50 First 1 million point game submission - Dean Saglio
$50 Highest 1-1 score - Jeff Willms (12,900)
$50 Longest first man - Ben Falls (108 boards)
$25 Mystery bounty (25th place) - Chris Benn (301,500)

The 8 Wildcard Qualifiers (as of the end of tournament #1):
1. Phil Tudose: 1,051,600
2. Jeff Wolfe: 997,800
3. Corey Chambers: 964,500
4. Ben Falls: 869,100
5. Robbie Lakeman: 851,300
6. Jon Mckinnell: 753,600
7. Chris Psaros: 696,800
8. Daniel Desjardins: 688,600

Top 12 player Dave McCrary has earned "wildcard insurance" with his score of 934,000. He will take one of the 8 spots should he lose his Top 12 status by the time of the Kong Off 3. The same is technically true of Dean Saglio, but Dean cannot lose his status.

Coverage: Twin Galaxies tournament report.