Three times on the bounce. That’s what we’d achieved over the past few years at Disco Inferno. Since they introduced a Mixed Division, we’d won 24 consecutive matches at the event. Before it went mixed, we’d enter Inferno with a mixed team and still finish in the top four. Couple our track record with Mike Lewis expertly helming the ship, and it’s easy to see why this is many of Shake’s favourite tournament.
A number of the team had thought that getting three victories on the hop would be a pretty unlikely feat as well, but we did it. However, in achieving the gold the third time, we seemed to paint a massive target on our collective backs as one of our mates vowed to put a team together with the aim to derail us. I’d like to say we were unfazed but we were bricking it. Especially as the event approached and we got wind of who Jess Taylor had on her team. With the likes of Cosmic Manatees entering the fray along with the likes of Ultimate Dougal and former finalists Patriots, we resigned ourselves to just getting as far as we can as we were almost guaranteed to find our streak shattered this time around.
Shakedown’s squad included myself, Chubby, Mop, Jamie, Becky, Slen, and Hannah – with Catherine and Meat Train helping us out on the Sunday.
After picking up Hannah in Tiverton and stopping off for the traditional McBreakfast, we got to the venue with plenty of time to spare and waited for our first match.
The Reading Knights graduate team had performed admirably last time around. With two squads this time, we expected a tough first game. While they worked hard, our zone and iso play did its job and we swiftly piled the points on the board. Before we knew it, the game was done and dusted and we’d emerged victorious at 10-2.
Game 2 – UWE Disco
The main bulk of the UWE squad were at various tournaments around the UK, as such this team consisted primarily of freshers led by one or two experienced players. We took the opportunity to focus on our tactics but, having not been pushed that much, it was difficult to tell how well we were playing. The game ended with us winning 11-1 or something along those lines.
Dougal gave us one hell of a fright last year when they took us to sudden death in the semi-final. This year they’d already seen off Cosmic Manatees and so we were worried. Opting not to go with zone, we played a hard man defence and had a fair amount of joy as we converted a bunch of turns. They manage to get 4 on the board by the end of the game but we’d stuck 8 on our side. A strong performance allowed us a sigh of relief before the next and last match of the day.
Game 4 – Cosmic Manatees
The Brighton squad looked strong on paper but we knew they’d already been dispatched by Dougal and struggled against South Wales Storm. We’d played a similar Brighton outfit two years back when they called themselves Swingers and so we knew this would be far from a breeze. We quickly go two points up and everything goes to shit. We struggle to get into a flow and they are venomous in their conversions. This high intensity game sees both squads battling for supremacy and Manatees take a healthy lead at 5-2. During the match Hannah gets tripped accidentally and somehow regains her composure. We turn it on and for the last 4 or so minutes of the match begin devouring the deficit. At one point there’s an incidental foul after a disc has whizzed over one of their players’ heads and there’s a minute and change left and we’re down by one. None of it affected the turnover though and so Mop got slightly on the wrong side of them for trying to hurry the ensuing discussion. Everything is dealt with and we drill in the goal to level things. With about 30 seconds left they launch it and Becks gets a D, passes to Mop (I think) who returns it to her. As the seconds tick away, Becks thinks we’re ahead and waits for the final moment to unleash a disc to Jamie – but he’s not in. The buzzer goes just as he pops it over for Sophie but she seems to have landed out, Final score was either 5 or 6-all and our winning streak ended on the 28th game…but the unbeaten streak continued.
After the game, we headed off to Sainsbury’s after dropping Hannah at Parkway. We bought food, costumes and beer and headed to Slubb Manor to watch the rugby before drinking games after Old Spice arrived. We headed to the party and arrived back very worse for wear before retiring to bed.
Game 5 – South Wales Storm
Storm have been training regularly since their evolution from the Cardiff Storm that Mop set up many moons ago. We’d watched them all Saturday and they were looking impressive, using their experienced players ably. Their main tactic seemed to involve exploiting Ro Pullen’s height advantage – this wasn’t a worry for us though as we had our own tall player to combat it. The worry was more about dealing with their handlers and good female players, plus the fact that we were hanging while they opted to forego the party. With the draw against Manatees not sitting comfortably, we were a tad nervous.The game begins, we play well but an uncharacteristic drop in the first point sees them swiftly one point ahead. From there, we continue to play safe and pull out a blisteringly good performance as we apply pressure, get turns and convert them with slick offence. The game lays out with us scoring two for every one of theirs, and the buzzer signals the end of a fantastic performance from us as we’d won 8-4. We topped the pool and maintained 1st seed, so we could breathe a sigh of relief.
Game 6: Quarter Final – Disco Biscuits
For this game, Sam and Catherine arrived and we raced out of the blocks to go up against our regular Inferno opponents. Biscuits played well but we piled on the pressure and swiftly racked up a hefty 5-1 scoreline which allowed us to relax…maybe a little too much. All the Bristol outfit needed was a whiff of complacency in their nostrils and they swiftly punished us for every mistake and proceeded to chew up the points gap. The game entered the final stages and we were five a piece. We hold our nerve, score and put the game to bed with seconds remaining. We took the hard-fought match 6-5 and were taught a valuable lesson in the process. We’d elbowed our way into the top 4 and were once again face-to-face with familiar opponents.
Le Huc consisted of a bunch of Plymouth-based Shakedowners and some Brighton, Clapham and Picnic peeps. Last year we’d applied a zone and it worked amazingly as we won something like 14-0. This year, they has their talisman, Phil Garner, back. The Clapham D-line captain bolstered Le Huc and they were a completely different outfit to the one we faced in 2018 – more like the finalists from 2017. We worked hard, got our shit together and put in another hard shift to ensure we went ahead early and refused to look back. Slick iso play and a combination of zone and man defences saw us take the game something like 8-4, getting us into our fourth consecutive final.
We watched the last three matches that Old Spice had played and they seemed to struggle a bit against Disco Biscuits, Dougal and Patriots. They were absolutely dogged in their tenacity as Jess aimed to climb from bottom seed to first seed, cashing in on the threat she’d made the year before. We’d had a hefty break since the semi and were very nervous about how well we’d do. Old Spice had done homework and discussed each of us and we’d since lost Sam and Catherine while they picked up GB player, Rich Fenn. It was going to be a tough game to say the least, but we weren’t prepared to roll over and let them take our title from us.
The game begins and we waste no time in jamming two on the board. They score their O and convert a D to level it. From there though, we pile the pressure on and creep ahead. I’m nervous as hell and opt not to grace the pitch that much. With about 2 or 3 minutes left, we’re up 4-3 when we get a turn. There are some mismatches on our players and Hannah and Becky seem to be relatively free a lot of the time, so we assume it’s some sort of zone. As I move across pitch into a swing position, I notice the chase, Nom, comes with me. I dump and it’s swung to Jamie on the wing before I realise I’m in an good position to hit the line. Sophie realises the same thing too and urges me to cut from the sideline. I hit the line, Jamie launches the disc and I jump in to put us two ahead. The team team erupts, knowing that should be the final nail in the coffin of the game. Next point, we turn them, take our time and jam it in to make it 6-3. With the seconds drying up, we keep the pressure on and they go for a shot that doesn’t come off. Jamie jams the disc to Becks in the zone, it falls short but still somehow comes through the gap but she’s long since resigned it to not getting to her as it falls to the floor as the buzzer’s echo hangs in the air. We’d done it. We’d finished Disco Inferno once again with the gold in a tournament that was tougher than ever and against great finalists that we’re good friends with.
After the match, we learned that ProTM had finally managed to bag their elusive Inferno victory after downing Frizee Rascals in the Open Division final – meaning that technically Sam won two tournaments. Mike went through the presentation and gave us a bunch of stickers for water bottles. They announced MVPs of the final and Sophie claimed the ladies’ prize while I claimed the men’s – somehow (though it did look like an on-the-spot decision). Sophie also won the overall team MVP award.
Jamie – superb performance that we’ve come to expect from you. You not only brought down the high stuff but cut hard and made yourself a nightmare for opponent defence. Mop – more amazing on-field leadership, rescuing any high stall counts and threading through some daring stuff, it’s no wonder we all play better when you’re on pitch. Chubb – great in the air as always and a veritable workhorse. You showed the opposition that we had more than one aerial threat. Sophie – even with an injured leg, you ran hard and continually offered us handlers an option. You showed positivity that gelled the team even more and you stuck to your marks like glue – especially in the final where it was integral to our victory. Becks – you showed off your fitness with aplomb as you also refused to let anyone get away from you. You cleaned up with point blocks, forced throws out of the pitch and bust out some breaks to your partner-in-crime Chubby, like never before. Hannah – you are like lightning. I remain perplexed as to how so many teams underestimate you for some reason, and allowing you to score about 80% of our points in the process. You produced an extraordinary performance.