Armageddon Gear has announced their first ever match. Instead of a typical PRS match, however, this is going to be a 20-person, invite-only match hosted at Arena Training Facility in Blakely, GA on the 28-30th of October (Yes, that's 3 days). There is no prize table, instead the winner walks away with $20,000 in cash. In addition to $20k for the winner, each stage winner will get $1k (and there's 20 stages) for the highest score in the shortest time.
Did I mention the whole thing is going to be televised on Shooting USA?
The official announcement video from Armageddon Gear is on Youtube and in this brief blurb from Recoil. There's more details coming on the match format, so expect more info to be released throughout the summer.
Shooter roster:
Regina Milkovich
Brian Allen
Bradley Allen
Brandon Hembree
Tate Streater
Jon Pynch
Jake Vibbert
Tyler Payne
Ken Sanoski
Matt Rooks
Matt Utroska
Joe Walls
Austin Orgain
Dan Jarecke
Jason Greene
Dave Preston
Clay Blackketter
Derek Love
Robert Brantley
Keith Baker
Edit - mid-July Update:
Tom did a video with Ryan Castle earlier this week for the MPA Academy and he released some addtional details. I can't link to the video from where I am right now, so here's some details from memory:
The shooters are broken into 2 squads of 10. Shooters will be briefed on a stage and given 5 minutes to locate targets, observe wind, etc. They will then be put into a dedicated holding area out of sight of the shooting area, and they will shoot the stage in a given order. As shooters complete the stage, they are moved to a second holding area. As a result shooters that have yet to go on a given stage cannot see the current shooter or the targets, and after shooting the stage, they cannot pass info onto shooters that have not gone.
Shooters will not know other shooters score per stage - so yes, mind games are bound to happen between shooters. "Ah, man, I bombed that stage, I am not doing well..." - Shooter that cleaned it
Once each squad completes the first stage, they will flip-flop and repeat this process. After both stages are complete, both squads will move to the next 2 stages and so on.
Each pair of stages will be at similar distances to minimize advantages based on distance and conditions. IE: One squad can't get lucky and shoot a long stage in a low wind condition, etc.
Stages will be similar to stages at PRS matches (roughly 90 sec par times, average of 10 rounds per stage), but expect greater difficulty.
No human-shaped targets will be used, and competitors will not be referred to as 'shooter' - this is being done to present a better image to the public at large and potential sponsors from outside of the shooting world.
There will be two lead ROs, hand selected by Tom due to their experience as ROs - both for spotting and their ability to handle shooters under pressure. Additional staff will be provided to assist, but the lead ROs are handling stage briefings and primary spotting role. Since there's only 2 stages running at any given time, very few ROs are needed.
*ALL* targets will be videoed using PhoneSkope adapters, in addition to cameras to video the shooters. If a shooter believes they scored an impact that was missed by the RO, they have the right to challenge via video review. If the shooter wins the challenge (After review of the recording by Tom), they are awarded the point and retain the right to challenge. If they lose the challenge, they do not get the point and they receive a 15 second penalty on the next stage. (I believe they also lose the right to challenge any calls the rest of the day)
The scoring will be similar to PRS, but in addition to score, time will be kept via shot timer for every stage. The shooter with the highest score in the lowest time (Just like PRS skills stages) will win $1,000 for the stage (...remember that 15 second penalty for a lost challenge?). Overall time for the entire match will be used as the tiebreaker in the event of a tie for first place.
There is no prize table. $20k for the winner, $1k for the winner of each stage. With 20 stages in total, that's $40,000 up for grabs.
The match will be open to the public, but spectators will not be allowed to have contact with the shooters during stages to prevent spectators from providing any assistance to shooters. Details for spectators will be provided closer to the match.
Tom does want to continue this match in the future with they eye to growing it and bringing in outside sponsors similar to NASCAR, golf, tennis, etc. He made the comparison of a furniture store sponsoring a NASCAR driver because that company is getting visibility on TV, even though their product has nothing to do with racing or cars. More planning will go into future match growth (possibly more shooters, bigger cash prizes, etc) after this year's match.
27 Aug Update:
Photos of the Cup at AG Headquarters have been posted to the Facebook page.
10 Sep: Details for spectators
2 OCt: Webcast from the Grind this weekend with an update
Did I mention the whole thing is going to be televised on Shooting USA?
The official announcement video from Armageddon Gear is on Youtube and in this brief blurb from Recoil. There's more details coming on the match format, so expect more info to be released throughout the summer.
Shooter roster:
Regina Milkovich
Brian Allen
Bradley Allen
Brandon Hembree
Tate Streater
Jon Pynch
Jake Vibbert
Tyler Payne
Ken Sanoski
Matt Rooks
Matt Utroska
Joe Walls
Austin Orgain
Dan Jarecke
Jason Greene
Dave Preston
Clay Blackketter
Derek Love
Robert Brantley
Keith Baker
Edit - mid-July Update:
Tom did a video with Ryan Castle earlier this week for the MPA Academy and he released some addtional details. I can't link to the video from where I am right now, so here's some details from memory:
The shooters are broken into 2 squads of 10. Shooters will be briefed on a stage and given 5 minutes to locate targets, observe wind, etc. They will then be put into a dedicated holding area out of sight of the shooting area, and they will shoot the stage in a given order. As shooters complete the stage, they are moved to a second holding area. As a result shooters that have yet to go on a given stage cannot see the current shooter or the targets, and after shooting the stage, they cannot pass info onto shooters that have not gone.
Shooters will not know other shooters score per stage - so yes, mind games are bound to happen between shooters. "Ah, man, I bombed that stage, I am not doing well..." - Shooter that cleaned it
Once each squad completes the first stage, they will flip-flop and repeat this process. After both stages are complete, both squads will move to the next 2 stages and so on.
Each pair of stages will be at similar distances to minimize advantages based on distance and conditions. IE: One squad can't get lucky and shoot a long stage in a low wind condition, etc.
Stages will be similar to stages at PRS matches (roughly 90 sec par times, average of 10 rounds per stage), but expect greater difficulty.
No human-shaped targets will be used, and competitors will not be referred to as 'shooter' - this is being done to present a better image to the public at large and potential sponsors from outside of the shooting world.
There will be two lead ROs, hand selected by Tom due to their experience as ROs - both for spotting and their ability to handle shooters under pressure. Additional staff will be provided to assist, but the lead ROs are handling stage briefings and primary spotting role. Since there's only 2 stages running at any given time, very few ROs are needed.
*ALL* targets will be videoed using PhoneSkope adapters, in addition to cameras to video the shooters. If a shooter believes they scored an impact that was missed by the RO, they have the right to challenge via video review. If the shooter wins the challenge (After review of the recording by Tom), they are awarded the point and retain the right to challenge. If they lose the challenge, they do not get the point and they receive a 15 second penalty on the next stage. (I believe they also lose the right to challenge any calls the rest of the day)
The scoring will be similar to PRS, but in addition to score, time will be kept via shot timer for every stage. The shooter with the highest score in the lowest time (Just like PRS skills stages) will win $1,000 for the stage (...remember that 15 second penalty for a lost challenge?). Overall time for the entire match will be used as the tiebreaker in the event of a tie for first place.
There is no prize table. $20k for the winner, $1k for the winner of each stage. With 20 stages in total, that's $40,000 up for grabs.
The match will be open to the public, but spectators will not be allowed to have contact with the shooters during stages to prevent spectators from providing any assistance to shooters. Details for spectators will be provided closer to the match.
Tom does want to continue this match in the future with they eye to growing it and bringing in outside sponsors similar to NASCAR, golf, tennis, etc. He made the comparison of a furniture store sponsoring a NASCAR driver because that company is getting visibility on TV, even though their product has nothing to do with racing or cars. More planning will go into future match growth (possibly more shooters, bigger cash prizes, etc) after this year's match.
27 Aug Update:
Photos of the Cup at AG Headquarters have been posted to the Facebook page.
10 Sep: Details for spectators
2 OCt: Webcast from the Grind this weekend with an update
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