Rain postponed our 2023 debut at The Winner’s Circle, but WCCC Wednesday Night at The Brook, presented by Route 1 Vapors. did not have a damper put on it, as some great competition ended with a thrilling finals.
WCCC stalwarts Wayne McCarthy & Tom O’Hara faced off in the finals against new WCCC member Greg Prescott and Bora Jean, the only two-time winner of The Ed Martin Memorial Classic.
The finals newcomers got off to a massive start in Game 1, erasing an early McCarthy-O’Hara 2-0 lead with with an onslaught of points, taking four rounds to cruise to a 14-2 lead after seven. Their momentum completely derailed, however, as McCarthy & O’Hara patiently chipped away, posting deuces in four of the next five rounds and then riding a couple of washes before putting up a 4 to improbably tie the opener at 14-14. They continued to ride the wave, with a deuce by O’Hara and a three by McCarthy put them on the brink with a 19-14 lead after sixteen rounds. Prescott & Jean didn’t roll over, though, as Jean was able to claim a deuce and first bags for Prescott, but the eighteenth round was decisive, a couple of Prescott bags off the board punished mercilessly by McCarthy, who recorded a 5 to take Game 1 by a 24-16 final.
Game 2 opened rather similar to Game 1, with Prescott & Jean flying out to a 7-1 lead after three rounds, but McCarthy & O’Hara didn’t bide their time here coming back, a single and a treble making it 7-5 after six rounds. The next six rounds they played to a stalemate, as each team posted half a dozen points to grind their way to a 12-10 Prescott-Jean lead after twelve rounds. Jean then exploded, his fourbagger swamping O’Hara’s 5, a 7 spot making it 19-10. McCarthy had a last gasp deuce, but Jean answered with one of his own to make it a 21-12 final after 15 grueling rounds.
This led to the decisive Game 3, where once again the opening was one-sided, but this time in favor of McCarthy & O’Hara, who bounced right back from their Game 2 defeat to race out to a 13-0 lead after five rounds. Although Jean was able to post a pair of 4 point rounds over the next five rounds, McCarthy & O’Hara were able to keep them at arms length with 3 points to sit at 16-8 after ten. After trading deuces, McCarthy faced a board where holing out would finish things, and hole out he did, taking the final 4 points in a 22-10 victory to score the well-earned victory.
The third place game saw two teams where a podium regular paired with a partner seeking their maiden cash of the year; Domenic Branden & Rachel Jean faced off against Rich Bushway & Sean McKinnon. This was a game of swings, as after Bushway opened with a single, Branden & Jean scored in four of the next five rounds to make things look like a rout at 13-1. Bushway, however, showed why he’s an ACL Pro, coming back with a perfect 10 to shrink their deficit from 12 to 2. Branden & Jean took this haymaker and went right back to work, scoring in each of the next four rounds to run out 22-11 winners after eleven rounds, Branden’s deuce putting them on the final podium spot.
Two of the top three PPR spots of the night were occupied by the night’s finalists, with Wayne McCarthy’s 8.65 and Bora Jean’s 8.39 sandwiching finals regular Chris Cole’s 8.41. McCarthy also topped the fourbagger charts with a lucky 13.
The ever-dwindling email settled at $1232 for $308 a bag, and first-timer Troy “Scooba” Megneys got the call. He left no doubt he was taking home cash by sinking his very first bag, and then doubled his pleasure with the 3rd bag also finding the mark, earning him $616 and leaving the same amount for next week.
We would like to thank our sponsors that make it all happen!
Jasmine’s Famous Roast Beef & Seafood
Rich Electric
We’ll see you next week!
