Kendama USA

Posts Tagged ‘Kevin DeSoto’

Dama to the Death 3 Recap!

On the last day of February 2020, Dama to the Death 3 went down in Orlando, Florida at Dead Lizard Brewing Company. Pros as well as many local Kendama players travelled out for this event, including Christian Fraser and Bjorn Reece from Sweets Kendamas, Alex Mitchell, Chad Covington, Lyndon Whalen, and Kevin DeSoto from Sol Kendamas, Isaac Turner from Lotus Kendamas, and Zach Magnuson and Josh Kim from Kendama USA!

The weather was perfect for jamming Kendama outside all day. After some announcements and vending, the event was kicked off with the Amateur Ken Tournament. If you are unfamiliar with Dama to the Death, the event consists of an Amateur KEN Tournament, and a Pro Freestyle Tournament, both double elimination style. The twist though, is that once you are knocked out of either tournament, you have to cut your Ken from your tama and burn it at the end of the event! Controversial? Maybe. A lot of fun and a new way to play? Absolutely.

As the Amateur KEN Tournament came down to the finals, the event moved from outside to inside the venue, with a stage and seating for everyone to watch. In the Amateur finals were Troy Monteagudo and Jacob Ogden AKA Squid. Troy had won all of his matches so far, and Squid had been working his way up the losers bracket for another chance in the finals! The first match went hard. Squid was able to beat Troy the first game, extending the match to a second game to crown the final champion. As the final match played out, Troy was able to take the final game, winning the Amateur KEN Tournament! Congrats to Troy for placing first, Jacob for second, and Ean for third! So awesome to see Florida take the entire podium for this tournament!

The next part of the competition was the Pro Freestyle Tournament. The nine freestyle players went head to head, each with two rounds of forty seconds to show off their hardest and most tech moves to the judges. As the bracket began thinning out, Kendama USA Tribe team members Zach Magnuson and Josh Kim were the ones to make it to the finals. Finally the time came for the judges to pick a winner. The crowd went silent waiting to see who would take first. As the flags went up, the crowd roared as the returning Dama to the Death Champ Zach Magnuson was able to defend his title! Congratulations to Mags for placing first, Josh Kim for second, and Kevin DeSoto for third! Zach used a Nobu Pro Model to win Dama to the Death 3! Click here to purchase your own Nobu Mod!

 

 Dama to the Death 3 Tournament Podiums

Finally the Tournaments were over, and the moment everyone was waiting for was about to happen. The event moved outside with the fire pit and all the Kens ready to burn. Troy and Zach went up to the mountain of Kens and together started the blaze marking the official end of the event. Dama to the Death 3 was one of my favorite events to go to, with a much more laid back vibe and unique take on competition. Special thank you to Honed Media for throwing this event, especially Ryan Reese, Marley Griggs, and Monika Knotts for all the hard work they put into making Honed Media what it is today! Make sure to check out the Honed Media Documentary here! If you ever have the chance to make it out to the next Dama to the Death, make sure to pull through for an awesome day filled with fun and Kendama!

- Josh Kim


Dama to the Death 3 Group Photo



 

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Battle at the Border 2019 – Kendama Tournament Recap

Battle at the Border Kendama Tournament 2019 - Rocketown, TN USA

Was there an earthquake in Tennessee this weekend? No. That was 150 + Kendama players popping off in Nashville for the 7th annual 2019 Battle at the Border! #BATB went down Jan 4th and 5th in Nashville Tennessee at Rocketown!

This year was the FIRST EVER doubles tag team freestyle competition where we witnessed some of the most high energy performances to date. Judges Bryan Scagline, Kota Kagoshima, and Damon Kirchmeier scored the competitors on tricks, tag style, team flow, and creativity. Each person competing in freestyle had to pair up and throw down with another player of their choice!

1st place was awarded to Liam Router and Alex Mitchell from Sol Kendamas,

2nd place Lyndon Whalen from Sol Kendamas and Adrian Estaban from Grain Theory, and

3rd place was held down by our boy Zach Magnuson and Kevin DeSoto from Sol Kendamas.

Sol Kendamas also premiered the Lyndon Whalen SOL PRO video and dropped the Lyndon Whalen Pro Model! The design screams Whalen’s style and is the first kendama off its kind. Big ups to the WHALE-DOG! Do yourself a favor and pick one up on SolKendamas.com!

Lastly, we had Open division. Liam Router (Sol Kendamas) and George Marshall (Sweets Kendamas) went head to head in an intense final battle for first! Liam wasn’t missing a trick, and neither was George. The energy in the room was at an all-time high. The epic match concluded with:  Liam taking the W George took 2nd place & Zach Magnuson bagged 3rd for KUSA!

Much love to all of the sponsors, players, parents, supports, and everybody that helped make Battle at the Border an EPIC start to 2019! Special thank you to Chad Covington and Sol Kendamas. Much respect and see ya next year!

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