2/11/2024
Nate Stevens
Determination. Focus. Grit. Whatever you want to call it, Nate Stevens brought it – all of it - to Clarksville, TN. This past weekend Nate fought through the ACO trenches the hardest way possible– virtually unranked, as a high seed in a huge field of cornhole players from around the country.
To start, Nate braved the early morning battles of pool play in a gauntlet of 242 players. Out of 30 players in his bracket, Nate was ranked 25th and pitted against the number 8 and number 9 seed in his first 2 games. Fortunately, he was able to win both and advance to the main bracket with ease.
In the main, Nate was blessed with Bracket A - the bracket choice for the live stream and arguably the toughest of all the brackets. Game 2, Nate faced off with No. 7 seed, Gary Bearpaw on center court. In this instant classic, the two players battled for 31 rounds. Nate, at one point commanding a powerful 16-3 lead. However, a questionable airmail shot, and the resulting momentum switch led to an amazing comeback from Bearpaw that sent Nate to the losers bracket with a 20-21 loss and fiery determination to never let it happen again.
After that, a rampage ensued in which Nate tore through the losers bracket taking no prisoners. In fact, Nate racked up 6 victories with no opponent able to score more than 6 points against him until Todd Gammon (21) ....
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...gave him some resistance in a 21 round brawl that ended with Nate prevailing 21-15. Next Nate was able to rally off wins against Xzavien Williams 21-11; a rematch with Gary Bearpaw 21-8; Lane Cruse 21-0; and the Bracket A championship where he double dipped Spencer Garner 21-8 and 21-9.
From there, Nate went on to the Playoff bracket where he was the only player to have a loss on his record, sending him to the losers bracket. There, he faced off with Darryl Macon and prevailed 21-8. Next up was Gary Ferguson where Nate also prevailed 21-5 before meeting his final opponent, Mason Higgins. In the final games to crown the overall Singles champ, Nate doubled dipped Mason winning 21-0 in game 1 and 21-17 in game 2.
When all the smoke cleared, the final stats are unbelievable. Nate Stevens played a total of 19 games, consisting of 314 rounds. He scored 399 points while only 137 points were scored against him. Amazingly, Nate Stevens consistently averaged 10.2 throughout the entire tournament and was the PPR leader in all 3 brackets that he played in. There is no question that Nate earned this victory and will not be taken lightly in the future.
When asked about his goals this season in cornhole, he proclaimed, “I’m coming for the King of Cornhole,” and when asked who to thank for his success he replied, “God and my family for their support.”
There you have it. Nate Stevens takes down Clarksville, TN with his Blueprint Wolverines. Great job!!
