MAKINGTHECASE

that are deemed unsuitable for statistical analysis due to abnormal scoring anomalies.

“When my friends and I would practice at the local 5-Stand, in order to bet lunch on a 4-round game of 5-Stand, I had to give my buddies points, otherwise they would not want to compete against me. So, we started spotting points and only then they all were in. When we handicapped it, they all had a more than fair opportunity to win, and to my surprise It took everything I had to beat them when I did, and I rarely won the free lunch. That’s how it started, a simple way to entice people who normally would never bet on themselves to wager with gusto.”

The Essence of the Competition is Now Chess with a Shotgun

This will be the most cerebral shooting game ever devised and will be the most apt to be watched on television: n Your job is to beat your squad mates at each station to earn the station points. It is like a snooker game in that you are playing a strategic game against your squad mates. No broken target score carries over to the next. You start all over every stand. n Your handicap assigned will be your most powerful weapon as you will add that number to the actual score to produce the best possible score. IE; If you have a six-target handicap, and you shoot a 15 on a station, actual broken target score, you then add the handicap and now your score is a 21. Whatever handicap is assigned to you will add to the score. See below for divisions and individual handicaps. n At every station you will have three different targets to choose from. This is nothing new, super sport already utilizes three machines. n Target number one will be a corporate style target. Target number two will be a medium difficulty presentation and target number three will be damn near impossible PSCA style. Designed to challenge even the most skilled shooter. n You may choose your targets in any order IE: 1 on report 2, 2 on report 1, 3 on report 1 or 1 on report 3, etcetera. n Note: Not all participants will take this challenge the same way. Some competitors will welcome a game that will challenge your skill as a shooter but mostly your ability to strategically call the right plays for the game. Those players will treat it as chess with a shotgun, those who are challenged by rudimentary math will find it difficult. n After shooting your chosen pairs, the high score in the squad will receive three station points. If there is a tie, they both get three station points, it is conceivable that all five competitors could tie then all five will receive three station points. You then move to the next station and you start all over again. This is the most strategic form of competition as you will be required to outsmart and out shoot the competitors. This will make Matchplay the most compelling sporting game to watch in existence, as you will never know what the shooter will do when faced with a target decision. Like golf …does he go for the green or lay-up? n The second highest score and all ties will receive two station points and third gets one point. There are no shoot offs in the main event, you simply get the same amount of station points and move to the next station. In the next station you start all over, no target hits are carried over. Clean slate with the competitors rotating the order. You choose the targets that will enable you to outscore your squad mates there will be no prescribed menu to shoot. n Consequently, the later you shoot in the rotation the better the advantage, which is why 10 stations is required to allow all five competitors to shoot last twice, and first twice. Adding to the squad number would make the rotation unfair and unbalanced. n At the conclusion of the 10 station round the shooters will tally their station point totals and the high score will advance to the playoffs. If you have two players with a tie score those individuals will continue the contest until you determine the winner. No matter how many more stations need to be shot. n This game is won with station points, not an accumulated broken target raw score. The reason for this is that in regular, main stream sporting clays when you have a bad station score you are out. In Matchplay you can have a zero on a station and on the next you could be tied with the leader. You are never out. It is one of the best parts about this game.

Qualifications To Participate

n First is to arrive with a print out or a pic of your scoring average from the NSCA posting. That will determine your handicap.

n A competitor must have a minimum of at least 1000 registered targets in the past year. 2000 in the past 2 years or 3000 in the past 3 years. You are eligible by combining years.

n YR. 2000- 1800 targets, YR. 2001200 targets in that year 2001 you qualify for the handicap.

n You do not have to have shot the targets to participate, you simply will get no handicap and will compete as a scratch shooter. n Cheating will not be tolerated. Banishment for life if convicted by our shoot panel or judges. n No known ability will be acknowledged must have a history that’s provable. n Random squading for all events much like the World FITASC. n All efforts must be made to register for a tournament prior to the date of the shoot.

Play Offs

At the conclusion of the 10-station tournament, all winners of the squad station scores will proceed to the playoff. If there is a tie after 10 stations, you will continue the Matchplay with only the two tied competitors at the next stations to determine the play off bound player.

The playoff will consist of three stations in the stadium or a designated field and all competitors will shoot the same format as in the field, applying handicap at every station. At the conclusion of every shooter taking a turn at the first station, the 50% rule will eliminate the bottom half of the scores/competitors. The second station will eliminate the field down another 50%, or down to the payout slots. If the payouts are list as top ten, then the final cut will be down to the top ten then the rest of the playoff will eliminate a player every station till there is only one left standing. The play off will last until all the competitors are eliminated or ranked for the prize pay outs.

In the perfect world, if you have 20 play off shooters and you are paying out top 10, the first cut will be the bottom 10. Then eliminating the low score at each station until one shooter stands alone.

Fun Facts

In a 100-entrant competition you will only have to beat 23 shooters.

Matchplay is the only competition in the world that theoretically allows you to come in second place at every station, and still win HOA.

You no longer practice to beat Cory Cruse, you simply have to shoot a little better than you did before.

If you only need to get a little better at the game, everybody will want lessons, and everyone will practice more.

In the future, we hope to have Matchplay Pro divisions where there are no handicaps and elite shooters play straight up. If you enjoy watching Make-a-Break, you’ll love this even more.