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Worlds Pregame, Discmania's Week, and GOAT Ace
Hello and welcome, this is The Players Meeting. The newsletter you can depend on like a cage hit rolling your disc down the hill.
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If you missed the DMC primer, then I got you: DG's next super star?
Let’s get into it.
Des Moines Challenge
RESULTS - 🏆SIMON LIZOTTE & KRISTIN TATTAR
This was the final regular season stop on the Pro Tour and the last preview of players before the World Championships. Upcoming is either a Major (Worlds & USDGC) or a playoff event (GMC, MVP, Tour Championship).
MPO/ Like last year, the sky lit up and suspended play on Friday. Only 28 players finished their entire 1st round, while 28 hadn’t even started.
Those unlucky pros played 2 full rounds on Saturday and didn’t make out great. Matty O’s Friday hot -11 round (1070 rated) held strong while feature cards struggled with morning winds.
The situation caused a weird setup for Round 2. No cards were shuffled, so the leaders played separately, and Orum couldn’t continue his hot hand.
Winds were down in the afternoon, so Paul McBeth had had enough. He moved up 99 spots on Saturday with a -12 round (1082 rated). His new course record put him on Sunday’s chase card.
Final Round brought the heat. Evan Smith led by 1 over Simon Lizotte and 2 over Robert Burridge. But the Raleigh, NC native couldn’t handle the spotlight and a dramatic 2-horse race emerged.
Lizotte traded several 2-stroke swings with Burridge who started accepting cash less than a year ago. Then even with new mando rule coming into effect, the round finally ended in a tie.
The playoff saw big crowd energy, big putts, and a big smile on Lizotte’s face after 4 holes. The day’s hardest hole introduced “StumpGate” and awarded the champ his 3rd Elite Series win this year.
FPO/ Coming off her worst finish of the season (3rd), Kristin Tattar throws a heater of a 1st round (-9, 1033 rated). But blustery winds prevented her from shredding again on Saturday.
Tattar’s 6-stroke lead decreased to 4 over Eveliina Salonen going into Sunday. But the work was not finished yet. In the middle of Final Round, Salonen picked up 3 strokes in 2 holes.
This shrunk Tattar’s lead to only 2, but she hid her nerves well and sealed the deal for her 3rd Elite Series win this year. She was still dealing with elbow pain and a split finger, so the field should be scared come Worlds.
STANDOUT PLAYER
Ending in 3rd, Emerson Keith had his best finish on Tour this season. He hasn’t been attending all the stops since his son Elijah was born on Father’s Day (6/19).
Three weeks later, they had to take their newborn to an ICU due to unknown, severe problems. Just last week, Elijah was still at the hospital undergoing testing.
Fighting through mental stresses back home, Keith’s performance is nothing short of amazing. And his timing couldn’t be better on the eve of the most important event of the year.
HIGHLIGHT
There were plenty of ace runs and highlight putts, but this shot stood out.
Question of the Week
The forever battle between Live vs. Post-Produced feels like it’s shifting. OR is that a perception of those talking heads in the media?
Regardless, The Upshot & others believe popularity is moving from post to live. This could stem from the increased quality of DGN (minus DMC’s pixels) or a natural progression of the sport’s growth.
It’s a fact that most people still watch post-produced (JomezPro, etc.), but compared to the past there are fewer views this season. DGN’s live final rounds free on YouTube could be a factor.
JomezPro is aware of this trend. Their contract to film DGPT events is up after 2023, and it’s unclear if it’ll be renewed. One day, it’s very possible that DGN cuts out all the post-produced channels and takes it under their control.
Fresh Plastic
Sponsored by Powergrip USA… A PRETTY GOOD disc golf shop.
👉 Powergrip’s Highlight: James Conrad’s MVP Zenith (11|5|-0.5|2)
Nowadays, it seems like all new releases are designed for each team’s stars. This week is no different with MVP & Conrad releasing his latest go-to driver The Zenith.
This Friday (8/26), the 1st distance driver in Conrad’s lineup will drop in Neutron plastic. The Zenith is the consistent, controllable, and workable disc Conrad has been waiting for.
Since joining Team MVP, Conrad has relied on the Photon in all stages of wear and plastic. Now he has the perfect counterpart with slightly less stability.
Like the Innova Wraith (his previous go-to) or Discraft Crush, the Zenith is both powerful and reliable. Choose from the stock stamp, special edition stamp, and blanks for all your wants & needs.
Following his win, Simon Lizotte perfectly timed his new Creator Series Lux Vapor Full Tilt release tomorrow (8/24, 11AM ET). There’s not much more to say about this disc than what you already know.
Pick up your newest distance driver or get-out-of-jail-free disc this week. Use code PLYRSMTGAUG22 for 10% off your Powergrip order.
Random Dubs
1️⃣ Discmania is having a hell of a week. If Lizotte’s win and Tilt drop wasn’t enough, they released a vague statement about Jussi Meresmaa being convicted by the Swedish court and taking an extended leave of absence.
Jussi shared on Instagram that he was convicted of “buying sex” in Sweden back in May. Shocking the DG world, it’s unclear how long and how much his absence will affect the company he built from the ground up.
2️⃣ On a different note… You’ve seen this already, but it’s worth mentioning the details.
Caleb Hall aced Hole 14 of North Cove Boulders with a Destroyer. This was a 611ft PAR 4. Watch it again on his Instagram.
Tweet of the Week
Thanks for reading today. Get out and decide your fate this week!
- Charlie
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