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Everybody loves a good game of cornhole, and the Pros are back in action at the 2021 ACL (American Cornhole League) Cornhole Mania, which is the second ACL National event of the season, following the 2021 ACL Kickoff Battle, which happened just before the Super Bowl.
After starting in Florida in February, the season continues with this week’s event which will take place at Wichita State University in Wichita, Kansas, and will run from Friday through Sunday. The pool will focus on the Pro level, which features 256 players, along with the results from the men’s and women’s doubles event.
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How many #1 Seeds will advance to the Pro Singles final 4 playoffs?
Scoring for Pro level cornhole is pretty much the same as in most backyards, with three points for making it into the hole (Cornhole) and one for landing it on the board (Woody). The pros use “cancellation” scoring, meaning the points of one player cancel out the points of their opponent. Using this method, only one player/team can score in each inning and each contest consists of however many innings are needed for a player/team to reach 21. Each player gets four tosses per round for a max score of 12 points per round, but usually at this level, there is a lot of cancellation in each round. The field is divided into four double-elimination brackets with the winner of each bracket qualifying for the final four.
Seeding for all Championship tournaments will be based on ACL Points, which would mean the top four from the ACL Kickoff Battle will be the top seeds. Daymon Dennis was on fire in that event, which we’ll talk about below, so it would be disappointing if he doesn’t make it through his bracket. The other top four finishers were Cody Henderson, Tyler Poythress and Noah Wooten. The question is if one of them will manage to make it through their bracket to make it more than one. Based on the randomness of the results, I think it's most likely that only one of those four gets through, and it’s most likely to be Dennis.
Choice: 0-1
How many #1 Seeds will advance to the Pro Doubles final 4 playoffs?
The four teams that made it to the final four in the Pro Doubles in Winter Haven were Jordan Camba-James Baldwin, Noah Wooten-Matthew Sorrells, Matt Guy-Jamie Graham and Cody Henderson-Adam Hissner. Again, the huge size of the draw and randomness of the double-elimination tournament makes it seem unlikely that most of these players are back. I think it’s most likely to be two or fewer repeat finalists. The Camba-Baldwin teams and Guy-Graham teams have both been in dominant form, though, so I’m going with two of them to get back to the final four.
Choice: 2
How many players will throw 50 or more 4 Baggers across both Pro Singles and Pro Doubles?
A “4 Bagger” in cornhole is an inning in which the player makes all four bags as cornholes for three points each to total 12 points. Players can get on a roll and pile them up, but it's extremely difficult to throw 50 of them in a tournament. While the top players will likely get there with deep runs in both Singles and Doubles, it’s a great tournament showing if they reach 50 or more. There were 21 players who totaled at least 50 four-baggers in the Kickoff Battle, and I expect about the same number in this contest.
Choice: 16-25
Will #1 Ranked Daymon Dennis average above 10 Points-Per-Round (PPR) in Pro Singles?
Dennis dominated the Kickoff Battle, averaging 10.07 PPR with 83 four-baggers in the Singles competition over 198 rounds. No other player in the Singles tournament reached 70 four-baggers, and Dennis also posted a contest-high 78.28% BIP (Bags In Percentage). Dennis lived up to his nickname, “The Sultan of Swish,” and the grandfather is definitely an easy guy to cheer for. He was introduced to the game while he was the head cheesemaker at the plant that produces Babybel cheese and has had some very impressive highlights that have made him a YouTube sensation in the Pro cornhole world.
He averaged 10.07 PPR on his way to his win at the Kickoff Battle, but it’s a very tall task for a player to hit that average in back-to-back events. It’s not quite like asking for a no-hitter in back-to-back games, but it’s similar to expecting a complete game shutout in two straight starts: not impossible but more likely that the same player won’t totally dominate in consecutive events.
Choice: No
How many female players will finish in the top 50 in Pro Singles?
Coming into this event, the top 50 in Pro Singles include Kamryn Belvin at No. 5 and Sarah Cassidy at No. 37. Belvin is now the highest-ranked female ever in the ACL Pro division and had a great run that only came to an end when she took on Dennis in the final of their bracket. In addition to those two stars, there is a strong group of proven female competitors sitting just outside the top 50 with Cheyenne Renner at No. 65, Rosie Streker at No. 73, Kerry Mittermiller at No. 81, Courtney Coy at No. 89 and Jackie Sayasone at No. 93. While all those rankings are based on one event and will have a high degree of volatility as a result, I think at least one of that second tier will be able to jump into the top 50, making this a solid choice in the 3-to-5 range.
Choice: 3-5
How many players will qualify for both the Pro Singles and Pro Doubles final 4 playoffs?
In Florida, Noah Wooten and Cody Henderson made the final four playoffs in both Pro Singles and Pro Doubles. Wooten finished tied for third in Singles while Henderson was runner-up, and in Doubles, Wooten finished second while Henderson tied for third. Most of the top Singles players also compete in Doubles and are part of the best tandems. While 3-4 seems very unlikely, one or two are both solid plays. Since we just had two, I’ll go with one at this event due to the inherent randomness of the bracket-style tournament.
Choice: 1
Will #1 Ranked Jordan Camba and James Baldwin average above a combined 10 Points-Per-Round (PPR) in Pro Doubles?
On their run to the win in Pro Doubles at the Kickoff Event, Camba and Baldwin each averaged over 10 PPR, totaling 50 four-baggers in their 123 rounds. They came out of nowhere to stun the top Pro Doubles players in the world at that event, but I don’t think they’ll be able to do it again.
Choice: No
Noah Wooten is currently ranked #2 in Pro Doubles and #3 in Pro Singles. Will he make a final 4 playoffs appearance in Pro Singles or Pro Doubles?
Wooten and Matthew Sorrells are one of the top Pro Doubles teams coming into the tournament, and Wooten was able to make the final 4 in both competitions at the Kickoff Battle. The bracket format makes it tough to see him repeating the double-final performance, but I do think he and Sorrells will be able to post another strong showing and possibly even claim the win.
Choice: Pro Doubles Only
Which team will win Pro Women’s Doubles?
The three teams available for this selection are Cheyenne Renner-Sarah Cassidy, Maya Cupp-Allison Peters, Christine Papcke-Courtney Coy and any other team. Any other team is always an attractive play since you get the whole field, but there is a dominant duo right now in Pro Women’s Doubles, and that’s Cheyenne Renner and Sarah Cassidy. The Renner-Cassidy duo is the established favorite, and I think this is a place to go with the team in a dominant rhythm while differentiating your entry with other picks.
Choice: Cheyenne Renner and Sarah Cassidy
Which of these top 10 players will have the highest finish in Pro Singles?
Of the options listed here, Cody Henderson posted the highest finish in the Pro Singles in the Kickoff event, finishing runner-up to Daymon Dennis. Matt Guy finished second in his bracket to tie for fifth overall while Jamie Graham finished ninth overall after winning the 2020 ACL Singles World Championship and 2020 ACL Player of the Year in August of last year. Graham and Guy finished in the final 4 for Pro Doubles as well. Graham is 9th in Total PPR and 5th in Total DPR, and Guy ranks second in both categories, per the ACL’s Trey Ryder, so I think one of them is the better pick here. I’ll go with the numbers and go with Guy in this one. It’s also hard to pick against a player with nicknames like “The Champ” and “The GOAT.”
Choice: Matt Guy
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