$5K cornhole tournament brings some top players in state to Albion
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – There are 87 two-person teams playing cornhole in Albion today at Dubby’s Tailgate with $5,250 in prizes up for grabs, including $1,500 to the top team.
The “Cornhole Throwdown” is run by the Medina Rotary Club, and expects to raise about $3,000 for the club, said Peter Bartula, the club president and a cornhole enthusiast.
Troy Kingdollar, right, of Holley takes a warmup throw in the double-elimination part of today’s tournament. His partner is Mike Beach of Albion. The two are among the top players locally. After four games in today’s tournament they were in the C division, the bottom third of the teams.
Beach helped organize todays tournament and noted five professional cornhole players were in the tournament, and other top talent from western and central New York.
Kingdollar welcomes the chance for friendly competition.
“It’s fun,” he said. “It’s socializing with other people. There aren’t any fights.”
Joel Zawistowski of South Buffalo is next to Kingdollar at left. Many of the out-of-town teams heard about the tournament on the Scoreholio app that is used to run corn hole tournaments and leagues.
Zawistowski said he is impressed with the cavernous setup at Dubby’s Tailgate, a warehouse with 10,000 square feet of space. He said it’s much bigger than most of the indoor venues he’s been at for cornhole.
Mike Borelli of the Corny Fellows from Hilton thanked the cornhole players for coming out to Albion for the tournament today. Borelli said he is planning a tournament on March 9 to benefit his brother who was recently diagnosed with brain cancer.
Borelli said the cornhole community rallies to support people in need.
The cornhole players enjoyed other games and refreshments at Dubby’s when they weren’t playing.
Brian and Rebecca Alexander opened Dubby’s Tailgate about two years ago. Today was the biggest cornhole tournament they have hosted.
Dubby’s has a regular Wednesday evening league for cornhole players. Bartula plays in that league. He said the success of today’s event will likely lead to three or four cornhole tournaments run by local Rotary clubs during the year.
Brian Alexander said the Dubby’s facility impressed the players from out of area and he is hopeful the site can host more regional tournaments in the future. The players liked the space, and having the option for food and beverages from the restaurant at Dubby’s.
