Texas State Teams Defend Against Outside Teams in the 2022 Texas State Champs

May 1, 2022

From Donna McGuire

     GRAPEVINE, Tex. _ Sixty-six men’s teams from nine states converged here hoping to emerge as Texas State Champions and winners of 2023 Tournament of Champion invites.

     Four out of every five teams that entered the April 26 through May 1 event hailed from the Lone Star State. And though Texans won most of the divisions, teams from Iowa, Tennessee, Colorado and Missouri also claimed championships.

     Rock N Legends of Texas swept Vivid/Easton/MadCap in a best-of-three format 21-20 and 7-0 to win the 50/55+ Major Plus championship.

     GeoCrete/Power House of Texas (photo below) finished a 6-0 tournament run by defeating the Originals of Texas 18-11 in the title game of the three-team 50+ Major division. The Texas Mavericks took third.

     The 12-team 50+ AAA division featured the tournament’s largest bracket. Texas Steel won the title as the unbeaten winner’s bracket team. Creed of Texas, the 12th seed, finished second. Undisputed Truth of Texas, placed third.

     Texas Crush 60s (photo below), the elder statesmen in the 55/60+ Platinum division, edged Escobar Body Shop of Texas 23-22 to win that five-team bracket without a loss. Escobar finished as the top 55+ team. ManCave of Texas finished third.

     In the 10-team 55/60+ Gold division, Texas Rush 55 (photo below)did not lose a bracket game and beat ETX 55s 20-15 in the championship. The Texas Bulldogs finished third.

     In the two-team 55+ AA division, Manifest swept Team LBK 17-13 and 20-19. Both are Texas teams.

     A Colorado team, Club Tilt/Haus (photo below), reigned supreme in the three-team 60+ AA division. It edged the Austin Wizards 16-15 in the title game. The Scrap Iron Rockies finished third.

     The Houston Fire 65s Major team bested eight 60+ AAA teams to win the 60/65+ Gold division after starting bracket play as the second seed. The Tex/Ark Legends earned a TOC invitation as the top 60+ AAA team. The Texas Legends won two elimination games before finishing third.

     The best-of-three 65+ Major bracket went the distance, with the KC Kids 65s of Missouri rebounding from a first-game 15-14 loss to win the title. The Kids beat Mayhem of Oklahoma 20-10 and 22-17 in the second and third games.

     In the two-team 65+ AAA division, Texas Thunder swept Triple 2 of Texas 19-4 and 16-6 to win the title.

     The same story unfolded in the two-team 65+ AA bracket. The Electrifiers of Texas swept Robson Ranch Texans 65s 20-18 and 25-18.

     Three teams battled for the 70+ Major crown, with The Grind.com of Tennessee defeating the KC Kids 70s 23-8 for the title. The San Antonio Silver Streaks finished third.

     The six-team 70+ Silver division went to an “if” championship game, which the top-seeded Texas Raiders won. Robson Ranch Texans 70 finished second. The Texas Rattlers placed third.

     Midwest Express of Iowa won the best-of-three 75+ Gold bracket by sweeping OK-ARK in two games,17-16 and 21-19.

     The Texas 75 Knight Riders swept the Antiques of Kansas City 18-14 and 10-4 to win the best-of-three 75/80+ Silver bracket.