Ultimate Handball Showdown Qualifier

Peixoto Qualifies for Seattle as Irish Players Dominate the rest of the Field

CONCORD, Calif., Dec. 7 - Second chances are few and far between, especially in sports. In an era of "one loss and you're out" tournaments, Saturday's qualifier runner-ups found solace in the fact they would play for the fifth qualifying spot. Sean Lenning seized the opportunity on Sunday morning, earning the fifth spot by trouncing Dan Armijo, 3, 12, 1. If he had given Armijo the second game, the outcome may have been different. "I'm happy, but a bit more relieved." said Lenning. "After not making it yesterday, but to be able to pull this (match) out, I can just breathe a sigh of relief."

Amrijo's second game surge would make most players nervous. At 41-years-old, the cagey veteran made incredible gets and kept the younger Lenning on the run. At 11-10, a possible Armijo game-ending killshot missed just inches from the front wall and provided Lenning the break he needed. Lenning only yielded one more point, but took three, winning 13-11 and taking the momentum into the third game to seal the win.

On Saturday a display of firepower and stability helped four of the tournaments best players claimed their rightful places in the Ultimate Showdown. Eoin Kennedy, the No. 1 seed took the first invite with a convincing win over Dan Armijo, 2, 4, 5, and Emmett Peixoto qualified by stopping Tommy Little in four games, 6, (5), 8, 5. James Komsthoeft was unable to maintain his early leads, as Dessie Keegan took the match in three games, 9, 7, 9. In the final qualifying match, Sean Lenning controlled the first game at 10-3 before Ciaran Curran went on a 10-1 tear and kept the momentum for an 11, 10, 3 win. See complete results below:

Bracket A
First Round: Bear Meiring (Golden, CO) d. Jim Tamagni (Salinas, CA), 6, 1, 2; Kevin Pettus (Maplewood, MO) d. Shane Mc Gregor (Minot AFB, ND), 0, 0, 0.
Bracket A Quarterfinals: Eoin Kennedy (Dublin, IRELAND) d. Meiring, 3, 2, 1; Dane Szatkowski (Itasca, IL) d. Eddie Chappa (Commerce, CA), 10, 8, 5; Pettus d. Andy Schad (Tucson, AZ), 6, 8, 9; Dan Armijo (Albuquerque, NM) d. David Vincent (Redding, CA), 7, 3, 1.
Semifinals: Kennedy d. Szatkowski, 8, 4, 3; Armijo d. Pettus, 6, 6, 9.
Final: Eoin Kennedy d. Dan Armijo, 2, 4, 5

Bracket B
First Round: Miles Paine (Santa Barbara, CA) d. Ray Cole (Lafayette, CA), 2, 4, 10; Stas’ Hammond (Westminster, CO) d. Jerry Fagundes (Pleasanton, CA), 11, 5, 1.
Bracket B Quarterfinals: Tommy Little (Mound City, KS) d. Ricardo Diaz (San Jose, CA), (0), (6), 5, 1, 1; Michael Gregan (Co. Wicklow, IRELAND) d. Bill Mehilos (Chicago, IL), (5), (1), 2, 2, 8; Pete Crouser (Minneapolis, MN) d. Paine, 6, (7), 9, (7), 8; Emmett Peixoto (Watsonville, CA) d. Hammond, (5), 5, 8, 2.
Semifinals: Little d. Gregan, 9, (9), 10, (1), 10; Peixoto d. Crouser, 8, 2, 1.
Final: Emmett Peixoto d. Tommy Little, 6, (5), 8, 5.

Bracket C
First Round: Eddie Silveyra (Commerce, CA) d. Michael Linnik (San Jose, CA), 6, 4, 2; Jay Balkenbush (Spokane, WA) d. Ray Graham (Oakland, CA), 1, 3, 1; Barry Goff (Wexford, IRELAND) d. Scott Morey (Pleasanton, CA), 2, 5, 11.
Bracket C Quarterfinals: Silveyra d. Sal SantaAna (El Paso, TX), 9, 7, (7), 8; James Komsthoeft (La Grange, IL) d. Ryan Grossenbacher (Hillsboro, OR), 1, 8, 0; Dessie Keegan (Co. Roscommon, IRELAND) d. Balkenbush, 4, 11, (6), 6; Goff d. Chris Tico (San Frnacisco, CA), 8, (4), 3, 6.
Semifinals: Komsthoeft d. Silveyra, 1, 2, 7; Keegan d. Goff, 9, (7), 1, 8.
Final: Dessie Keegan d. James Komsthoeft, 9, 7, 9.

Bracket D
First Round: Adolfo Monreal (Gilbert, AZ) d. Ken Moeller (Lafayette, CA), 1, 1, 4; Rick Christian (Pleasanton, CA) d. Vince Martinez (San Jose, CA), 5, 5, 6.
Bracket D Quarterfinals: Sean Lenning (Shoreline, WA) d. Leo Maciel (Morgan Hill, CA), 0, 9, 4; Allie Abdulla (Rancho Cordova, CA) d. Poncho Monreal (Gilbert ,AZ), 6, 2, 4; Matt Hiber (Roseville, MN) d. Monreal, 10, 2, 3; Ciaran Curran (Co. Tyrone, IRELAND) d. Christian, 3, 4, 1.
Semifinals: Lenning d. Abdulla, 7, (3), 3, 5; Curran d. Hiber, (5), 10, 0, 8.
Final: Ciaran Curran d. Sean Lenning, 11, 10, 3.

Fifth Qualifier Spot
Armijo d. Little, 4, (5), 6, 3; Lenning d. Komsthoeft, 2, 4, 10.
Lenning d. Armijo, 3, 12, 1.