2/11/24
ACO WORLD SINGLES - When it comes to shining in the face of adversity, no one does it better than Team Blueprint. Our Top 10 lineup includes first year Pro Richard Jones, and rising stars Jody Thurman and Noah Dennis.
Looking for an example of how to work hard toward your individual goals while also maintaining family, business, and school? Look no further than Richard, Jody and Noah. All three are so well-known for their genuine smiles and laidback personalities, it can be a bit of a shock when they kick players in the kneecaps and move through the bracket oblivious to the hurt feelings left behind. Let’s see how they do it.
Jody Thurman Takes 5th place in World Singles
As a non-pro, Jody started his day with the sunrise, arriving at the venue just as the doors were opening for pool play. In his bracket of 30, Jody was the No. 3 seed, and was able to easily make it through his first two games, victoriously securing a spot in the coveted Main Bracket.
Once in the Main Bracket, Jody ranked 15 out of 41 singles and was paired against the No. 18 seed Eric Daughtery for Game 1. After 20 rounds averaging 10.05 ppr Jody was able to pull out a win 21-11.
Next up, is what would become Jody’s most memorable game of night – Game 2 against Isaac Hurt. Isaac was the No. 2 seed and is a kid that’s just known for winning everything. He’s fearless and largely unstoppable. So, Jody drew quite the crowd when he was up 20-4 after 13 rounds. But unfortunately for Jody, he stayed on 20 - for 10 rounds - as Isaac closed the gap slow and steady, scoring 2-2-1-2-2-3-2 and finally 5 to end the game 20-21 after 23 rounds and thrusting Jody into the losers bracket where he tore through games with Jayden Gamblin (21-0); Tommy Bandanaman Huyck (21-9); Russell Tabers (21-19); and even fellow Team Blueprint member Richard Jones (21-16) before finally falling to Brandon Earls 21-17 after a respectable 16 round match averaging 9.25. Jody Thurman finishes in 5th place. Nice job Jody!
Richard Jones Takes 7th place in World Singles
Not far from Jody, Richard Jones was able to skip pool play and came into the Main Bracket ranked No. 6 where he immediately faced off with fellow Team Blueprint player Dennis Wheeler! That game ended in a win for Richard 21-11 after 16 rounds.
From there Richard also fell to Brandon Earls 21-11 after 15 rounds. In the losers bracket, Richard made good runs against Jamie Underwood (21-12); Kaz Barkley (21-18); Austin Douglas (21-19) before finally meeting up with Jody Thurman where he would fall 21-16 after 19 rounds.
Ultimately Jody and Richard would finish side by side in the bracket in both ppr rankings, (Richard 9.43 and Jody 9.48) as well as standings in 7th and 5th place , respectively. Way to go guys!
Noah Dennis Takes 7th place in World Singles
Closing out the Top 10, Noah Dennis made it out of pool play and into another stacked bracket, where Mason Higgins would ultimately take 1st first in the bracket and 2nd overall in Singles.
Noah, however, had some good wins against family member Ricky Dennis (21-13); Zach Dawson (21-20); and Parker Burgett (21-2) before falling to Kelsie Heitert (21-17). Unfortunately, after 17 rounds averaging 8.94 ppr with Kelsie, Noah would then be hammered for 8 rounds with Tyler Amos’ 10.25 ppr before closing the tournament out in a very respectable 7th place. Great throwing kid!
