Tournament Roots

Cameras Rolling, Routines Crumbling 📹

adjusts headset Welcome to Week 7 of Chain Man @ Roots, where seven players braved 42°F of cloudy pressure-cooker conditions for what the sponsors are calling a "tune-up tournament." Translation: Vegas is two weeks away, and this was the dress rehearsal nobody asked for but everyone needed. The cameras were rolling—metaphorically, because this is still just Tuesday league—and routines got tested by the kind of chaos that separates the prepared from the panicked. Spoiler alert: some counted every chain. Others forgot chains existed.

The Savant Counted Every Chain 🔗

Landon Adams walked onto Roots with a calculator for a brain and walked off with a -11 (999-rated) wire-to-wire masterpiece that made the rest of RPA look like they were playing a different sport. Twelve birdies. One bogey. A 43-point overage that says "I saw every link, did the math, and the course had no rebuttal." That five-under stretch from holes 12-16? The chains didn't stand a chance—they just rattled in submission like they'd been programmed to cooperate. This wasn't just a personal best; this was Raymond-level precision, the kind of round where every disc knows its destiny before it leaves the hand.

Brian Hansen held down second place with his own -6 (931-rated) performance, threading eight birdies across two separate hot streaks (holes 3-4 and 13-14). A clean 8-8-2 card kept the bogeys rare and the scorecard honest, even if two rough holes reminded everyone that Roots always collects its due. Fernando Cortez surged from 4th to 3rd with a back-nine charge, banking the only birdie on Hole 17 for some clutch solo conversion drama. Meanwhile, Malachi Vazquez found their rhythm early—holes 4-7 were a four-under clinic—but a double showed up to remind us all that disc golf's a humbling sport. Seven birdies and a bogey-free front half suggested something dangerous was brewing, but that -2 finish at 876 rated (85 points below their 961 baseline) proves even the hottest streaks can't outrun the math. 🎯

Eric Pearson Remembered How Cards Work

Eric Pearson came to Roots with unfinished business after last week's collapse from lead to 7th, and he settled that account with a bogey-free -5 (917-rated) clinic that says "I know what I'm doing for all eighteen holes now." Forty-nine strokes of pure par-and-birdie discipline, featuring a mid-round stretch (holes 14-16) where he went three under and reminded everyone what happens when the disc cooperates and the decision-making stays sharp. Five birdies, thirteen pars, zero mistakes. The arena appreciates precision, even in a two-player division where Skyler Kunz led through hole 10 before fading to 6th overall. Sometimes the best redemption arc is just playing the back nine like it counts. 🎯

Bryant Adams Learned to Count Again

Bryant Adams showed up to Roots carrying last week's +11 disaster (759-rated) like a Vegas hangover, and left with a -6 personal best (931-rated) that represents a 172-point rating swing and seventeen strokes of "I remembered how chains work." Back-to-back birdies on holes 3-4 set the tone, seven birdies total kept the momentum rolling, and a bogey-free front nine proved that sometimes you just need a week to relearn the links. This is the kind of redemption arc that the booth lives for—when the savant stops struggling with the math and starts making the course do the calculations instead. Solo division? Sure. But this wasn't a self-portrait; this was a statement. Three weeks to Vegas, and Bryant just reminded everyone he can count when it matters. 🔥

Personal Bests Are Contagious Apparently

Both Adams brothers posted personal bests this week—Landon's -11 and Bryant's -6—which means either the tune-up tournament brought out career rounds, or everyone's peaking two weeks early and Vegas is going to be a letdown. Multiple clean front nines across divisions (Eric, Bryant, Landon, Brian) suggest the course was generous early before collecting its due on the back. Malachi Vazquez banked the only birdie on Hole 5 (The Hustler's Table) for some clutch solo conversion, while Fernando's Hole 17 heroics kept his back-nine surge alive. The real story? When pressure gets simulated and cameras start rolling (metaphorically), some players rise and some remember they left their A-game in the parking lot. 📊

The Stacked Deck Doesn't Shuffle 🃏

Brian Hansen just notched his fourth consecutive week defending the #1 tag, and at this point the Stacked Deck isn't a bag tag—it's a lifestyle. Despite Landon Adams dropping an absurd -11 performance that would've threatened any mortal's reign, Brian held the throne with his -6 showing and the kind of golden-hour glow that makes every movement feel cinematic. The tag's lore promises "chains rattle more welcomingly on approach" and "wind patterns stabilize during crucial moments," and honestly? Four weeks of defending suggests probability has been curated into destiny. That 2-0 head-to-head legacy from Week 6's Kent Moos challenge? Still intact. The house holds, the deck remains stacked, and Tag #1 stays right where it belongs.

Two Weeks to Vegas (Definitely) 🎰

drops announcer voice Look, the tune-up tournament passed. Routines got tested, some crumbled, and a few players—looking at you, Adams brothers—proved they can count chains when the cameras roll. Two episodes remain: Charlie's Choice (Week 8) where commitments solidify and hustlers decide if they're all-in or folding, then Definitely Champions (Week 9) for the Vegas finale where we find out if anyone learned the hardest lesson about splitting the win. Can Brian's Stacked Deck streak survive two more weeks? Will the Adams brothers maintain their personal-best momentum? And more importantly, will Raymond's routines hold when the real pressure hits?

adjusts headset The broadcast booth will be watching. Definitely watching. See you next Tuesday at Roots, where the math gets harder and the chains keep counting. 🔗