Croquet Nation #10

CROQUETNATION OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE MIDWEST CROQUET ASSOCIATION

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2015 LEE’S SUMMIT T-BONE TOURNAMENT May 2, 2015 | Howard Park Lee’s Summit, Missouri

ISSUE 10

CROQUETNATION

The Official Magazine of the Midwest Croquet Association www.midwestcroquet.com

RECORD BREAKER: Welcome to the Lee’s Summit T-Bone Tournament and congratulations to everyone for setting another entry record with 28 players ready to storm the courts at Howard Park. Wanda Jackson and Darin Watson have early round byes in the Silver Division, but we do ask that they come in advance to help our our new players that will be learning the game in the newly formed Bronze Division. The Bronze Division has six brand new players to the sport and they will playing six-ball (cutthroat) nine wicket with no deadness in timed games.

BRONZE DIVISION LINE-UP: Game #1 will start at 9:00 a.m. for our bronze players. Roster: Trevor Adams Daniel Cooper Chrissie Cooper Kinder Cooper Aaron Rowden Tim Weimholp

GWM PRO POINTS RACE: The MCA and Goodwin World

Media announced an extension of the partnership agreement that recognizes GWM as the marketing and event management partner for the MCA. GWM provides website management, hosting, newsletter management, marketing and event management services as a partner of the MCA in exchange for sponsorship opportunities. In addition, to covering website hosting costs GWM is sponsoring the Pro Points race and providing a purse of $150/First, $75/Second, $50/Third and $25/Fourth.

KANSAS CHALLENGE UNDER CONSTRUCTION: Construction planned for Mission Trail Elementary School this summer will force the Midwest Croquet Association to find another venue for the 2015 Kansas Challenge.

The MCA Nine Wicket Series event has taken place on the Mission Trail soccer fields during the previous two seasons.

School officials informed MCA president Dylan Goodwin that the school grounds will undergo construction and be unavailable during the summer. The search for a new site for this event is underway.

improve. It’s a simple step, but it definitely helps. I like to start about 10-15 feet behind the ball and walk in line with the shot I’m planning to take, and I visualize myself making that shot. Visualize the shot, walk up to it confidently, and make it.

FOLLOW MCA ON TWITTER AND INSTAGRAM: The Midwest Croquet Association has set up accounts on Instagram and Twitter.

The MCA will post photos under midwestcroquetassociation on Instagram. On Twitter, the MCA’s handle is MidwestCroquet.

Tag your Lee’s Summit T-Bone Tournament photos and tweets with hashtag #TBoneCroquet15. Watch the MCA blog for event-specific hashtags for the rest of the tournaments.

The MCA does not officially have a Facebook page at this time; however, the Kansas City Croquet Club, which includes MCA members, has set up a Facebook page.

RULES RECAP #6 – NEW WIRING RULE: The MCA is experi-

menting with a new rule for wiring for the first two events of the 2015 season. The rule will be re-evaluated after player feedback. The new rule gives the striker the option on a wired ball to lift that ball to any open corner prior to the shot. An open corner must be fully open. If a lifted ball would be in contact with another ball, then that corner is not open and another corner must be chosen. See Rule on Page 12.

ON THE COVER: Stephen Jackson at the 2014 MCA Champion-

ship in Belton, Missouri (Septemeber 13, 2014). Photo by Dylan Goodwin.

MCA CROQUET RULES: Rules are printed at the back of the magazine, but as a primer, MCA events follow standard USCA Nine-Wicket rules. The Pro and Gold Divisions will utilize Options 1 - Deadness, 1B - Clearing Deadness regardless of score, 2 - Out of Bounds, 3 - Starting Deadness, 4 - Wiring, 5 - Blocked Wicket, 6 - Rover Play and 8 - Overtime Play. Regarding #8, the MCA will continue rounds until a winner is determined.

The Silver Division follows the same set of rules excluding options 1 and 1B.

PLAYER TIPS – BE A STALKER: The MCA is introducing a new

series of player tips for the website and magazine from and for players of varying skill levels. Silver level player Darin Watson takes the first swing: I think learning to “stalk” the ball before a shot really helped me

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TOURNEY REVIEW: 2014 MCA CHAMPIONSHIP

GRIFFITH STEALS THE SHOW BELTON, MO -- The second annual MCA Championship was held September 13, 2014 in Belton, Missouri with Matt Griffith taking the MCA Pro Championship with a 26-19 win over Jason Johnson. It was Griffith’s second straight tourney win and he is now riding an eight-game winning streak and is undefeated in MCA play.

for the Pro Playoff, but still made the trip up to Belton for the event. Dylan Goodwin took second with a pegout in last turns.

Greg Clouse, Jason Johnson, Deborah Millican and Ron Millican rounded out the Six Ball final line-up.

The overall Pro Race standings remained unchanged as Dylan Goodwin finished with 442 points on a 17-5 record to claim the Goodwin World Media MCA Pro Points race and the top prize of $100. Greg Adams took second with 320 points and a 10-8 record to claim second place and a $50 payout. Ron Millican held third place with 278 points on a 5-11 record and a $30 payout.

• With the Six-Ball event, the 2014 MCA Championship had 22 participants, which again set a a record for entries for an MCA Series event.

• Matt Griffith ended Paul Miller’s 13-game win streak in the final at the Kansas City Open and he is now chasing that same record as he has notched eight straight wins.

In Pro Final, Griffith seemed to have a slight advantage as the game moved under 30 minutes, but Johnson went on a daring AC-style attack that allowed him to piece together a break that started at hoop five, but relaxed on wicket six and stuffed it. It was a key opportunity lost, but the game was still up for grabs until a few minutes later when Johnson tried to steal a break with a 30-foot hit in near the stake. He missed the target ball and unfortunately hit the peg dead center. That gave Griffith four balls to work with and from there he was able to control and close out the game.

• Jason Johnson won the final of the Gold Division at the KC Open and then followed with an appearance in the MCA Chamionship Pro Final.

• Katherine Goodwin and Renee Potter saw their first official MCA action as participants in one of the Six Ball qualifiers.

GOLD SHOWDOWN

In the Gold Division, Bill Berg took the tournament title with a 21-12 win over Taylor Airrington. Airrington held on to the overall Gold Points lead though with 212 points on a 6-3 record to claim the 2014 MCA Gold Series Championship. Berg took second with 168 points on a 6-2 record.

Gold and Silver Shield Sweep

Di Berg provided the best storyline of the day as she moved through the Silver Division bracket. After taking a first-round win over Darin Watson 19-14, she moved on to the final with a 22-8 win over Wanda Jackson. That meant Silver points leader Nate Benz (unable to play in the event) was within reach as Berg needed a manageable 23 points in the final to snatch the overall title.

Berg took on Steve Jackson, who was making his second straight final appearance. Berg came up short on the points race, but she did claim the Silver Championship Shield with a hard-fought 13-10 win. Benz had 214 points on the year with a 10-2 record to claim the first annual Silver Cup, while Berg notched 205 points and a 6-8 record.

MILLER DROPS IN FOR 6B TITLE

In the Six Ball event, Paul Miller got the early break and pegged out to claimed the Six-Ball Championship after roughly 30 minutes of play. Miller narrowly missed the cut

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NOTES

PRO CHAMPIONSHIP Quarterfinals Matt Griffith 27, Dylan Goodwin 14 Greg Clouse 21, Jodi Adams 16 Ron Millican 24, Deborah Millican 20 Jason Johnson 24, Greg Adams 22 Semifinals Matt Griffith 23, Greg Clouse 22 Jason Johnson 20, Ron Millican 16 Final Matt Griffith 26, Jason Johnson 19 GOLD CHAMPIONSHIP Semifinals Taylor Airrington 26, Keith Berg 25 Bill Berg 22, Debbie Breeden 18 Final Bill Berg 21, Taylor Airrington 12 SILVER CHAMPIONSHIP Quarterfinals Justin Marciniak - Bye Steve Jackson 18, Elizabeth Goodwin 6 Wanda Jackson 24, Gwyneth Bowen 10 Di Berg 19, Darin Watson 14 Semifinals Steve Jackson 8, Justin Marciniak 4 Di Berg 22, Wanda Jackson 8 Finals Di Berg 13, Steve Jackson 10

EVERY WICKET COUNTS

2015 MCA MEMBERSHIP Single: $25 annual | Family/Couple: $35 annual

More details: midwestcroquet.com/membership Get ready for another season of fast-paced croquet action with the 2015 MCA Nine-Wicket Series. MCA Members enjoy discounted entry fees on all MCA tournaments and through the points race can qualify for free entry into the MCA Championship in September. MCA members also receive the MCA Report enewsletter. midwestcroquet.com | 5

2014 STANDINGS PRO DiVISION

Wins Losses Wickets Average

01 Dylan Goodwin............ 17 02 Greg Adams.................. 10 03 Ron Millican................... 5 04 Greg Clouse.................... 8 05 Jason Johnson................. 5 06 Jodi Adams..................... 4 07 Deborah Millican........... 3 08 Matt Griffith................... 8 09 Debbie Breeden............. 1 10 Matt Baird....................... 5 11 Brad Clouse.................... 3 12 Paul Miller...................... 4 13 Taylor Airrington.......... 2 14 Billy Bob Breeden.......... 3 15 Art Parsells..................... 2 16 Scott Spradling............... 2 17 Kevin McQuigg............. 2 18 Keith Berg....................... 1 19 Bill Berg.......................... 2 20 Pat Garner...................... 1

GOLD DIVISION

5 8 11 3 8 6 8 0 8 1 4 1 4 1 3 2 3 4 4 3

442 320 278 245 226 201 198 197 157 128 119 117 97 94 88 80 79 75 74 53

20.09 17.78 17.38 22.27 17.38 20.10 18.00 24.63 17.44 21.33 17.00 23.40 16.17 23.50 17.60 20.00 15.80 15.00 12.33 13.25

Wins Losses Wickets Average

01 Taylor Airrington.......... 6 02 Bill Berg.......................... 6 03 Debbie Breeden............. 3 04 Deborah Millican........... 2 05 Jodi Adams..................... 2 06 Keith Berg....................... 1 07 Ron Millican................... 2 08 Jason Johnson................. 2 09 Diane Berg...................... 0 10 Brad Clouse.................... 0

SILVER DIVISION

RECORDS

3 2 3 4 3 3 1 0 4 1

212 168 150 132 122 84 65 50 41 15

23.56 21.00 25.00 22.00 24.40 21.00 21.67 25.00 10.25 15.00

Wins Losses Wickets Average

01 Nate Benz...................... 10 02 Di Berg............................ 6 03 Justin Marciniak............ 6 04 Gwyneth Bowen............ 3 05 Steve Jackson.................. 5 06 Keith Berg....................... 3 07 Bill Berg.......................... 4 08 Wanda Jackson.............. 3 09 Elizabeth Goodwin....... 0 10 Darin Watson................. 0 11 Jeff Bell............................ 0

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2 8 6 6 2 1 0 3 7 3 2

214 205 159 124 119 90 72 66 63 41 18

17.83 14.64 13.25 13.78 17.00 22.50 18.00 11.00 9.00 13.67 9.00

PRO DIVISION POINTS IN A SEASON 428 -- Dylan Goodwin (2014) 385 -- Paul Miller (2013) WINS IN A SEASON 17 -- Dylan Goodwin (2014) 13 -- Paul Miller (2013) GAMES IN A SEASON 21 -- Dylan Goodwin (2014) 17 -- Dylan Goodwin, Paul Miller (2013) PEGOUTS IN A SEASON 3 -- Paul Miller (2013) PEGOUTS CAREER 4 -- Greg Clouse 4 -- Paul Miller GAME WIN STREAK 15 -- Paul Miller (2013-2014) TOURNAMENT WIN STREAK 3 -- Paul Miller (2013) 3 -- Dylan Goodwin (2014)

GOLD DIVISION POINTS IN A SEASON 174 -- Taylor Airrington (2014) 170 -- Jason Johnson (2013) WINS IN A SEASON 6 -- Jason Johnson, Deborah Millican (2013) GAMES IN A SEASON 10 -- Bill Berg (2013) PEGOUTS IN A SEASON 3 -- Jodi Adams (2013) TOURNAMENT WIN STREAK 2 -- Jason Johnson (2013) 2 -- Taylor Airrington (2014)

OVERALL RECORDS TOURNAMENTS PARTICIPATED IN 9-Bill Berg, Dylan Goodwin, Deborah Millican, Ron Millican

SILVER DIVISION May 2, 2015 | Lee’s Summit, MISSOURI | HOWARD PARK

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2015 LEE’S SUMMIT T-BONE TOURNAMENT PRO/GOLD DIVISION May 2, 2015 | Lee’s Summit, MISSOURI | HOWARD PARK

COURT 2

1:15 PM

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2:30 PM

3:45 PM

COURT 2

1:15 PM

2:30 PM

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OFFICIAL USCA NINE WICKET RULES

ball then proceeds. Example: if red plays, then blue plays, then yellow plays, yellow is replaced, and then red plays correctly.

Object of the game

If the striker takes a swing at his/her ball and misses entirely, the miss counts as a shot and the turn ends, unless the striker had a second “bonus” shot.

The object of the game is to advance the balls through the course by hitting them with a mallet, scoring a point for each wicket and stake made in the correct order and direction. The winner is the first side to score the 14 wicket points and 2 stake points for each of its balls, unless the game is played to a time limit and time runs out before that happens, in which case the team with the most points at the end of the time period wins (see below).

The players take turns, and only one plays at a time. At the beginning of a turn the player (called the “striker”) has one shot.

After that shot the turn ends, unless a bonus shot is earned by scoring a wicket or stake or by hitting another ball. The turn ends when the player has no more bonus shots to play or has finished the course by scoring the finishing stake. The striker may directly hit with the mallet only the ball he or she is playing in that turn (the “striker ball”).

Order of play and starting the game Starting point: All balls are played into the game from a spot halfway between the finishing stake and wicket #1.

When four balls are played by two sides (singles — two players competing against each other playing two balls each; or doubles — two sides of two players each):

If the striker’s mallet accidentally hits another ball other than the striker ball, the shot must be replayed, but with no loss of turn.

Scoring Wicket and Stake Points Each ball can score wicket and stake points for its side only by going through a wicket or hitting a stake in the proper order and direction. Going through a wicket out of order or in the wrong direction is not counted as a point gained or lost. A ball caused to score its wicket or stake during another ball’s turn earns the point for its side, but no bonus shot is earned as a result.

A ball scores a wicket point only if it comes to rest clear of the playing side of the wicket. If a ball passes through a wicket but rolls back, it has not scored the wicket. An easy way to determine if a ball has cleared a wicket is to run the side of the mallet head down the plane of the playing side of the wicket.

If the mallet head touches the ball on the way down, it has not cleared the wicket; if the mallet head does not touch the ball, it has cleared the wicket!

The sides should toss a coin to determine the order of play.

The side winning the coin toss has the choice of playing first and third with blue/black or second and fourth with red/yellow. The order of play throughout the game is blue, red, black, yellow.

Order of Play: After all balls have started the game, play continues in the same order until a ball is staked out. When a ball is out of the game, the remaining balls continue in the same order, skipping the ball that has finished the course.

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A has not started to score the wicket.

B has started to score the wicket.

Shots

C has not scored the wicket.

If a player plays out of turn, there is no penalty.

Any ball moved during the out-of-turn play is replaced to its position prior to the error and play recommences properly. If an out of turn is initially condoned (not discovered) but then later discovered, only the last ball played out of turn is replaced and the correct

D has scored the wicket.

Bonus shots

The striker earns one bonus shot if the striker ball scores a wicket or hits the turning stake. The striker earns two bonus shots if the striker ball hits another ball (a “roquet”). However, the maximum number of bonus shots earned by a striker is two; there is never a time when a striker is allowed three shots.

(See the “Exceptions” section below for examples.)

If two bonus shots are scored by striking another ball, the first of these two shots may be taken in any of four ways:

• From a mallet-head distance or less away from the ball that was hit (“taking a mallet-head”)

must be brought in the full distance from the boundary.

• From a position in contact with the ball that was hit, with the striker ball held steady by the striker’s foot or hand (a “foot shot” or “hand shot”)

If more than one ball crosses the boundary on the same spot, the striker may measure any ball inbounds first and then place the other(s) a mallet-head’s length away from it on either side.

• From a position in contact with the ball that was hit, with the striker ball not held by foot or hand (a “croquet shot”)

Rover Balls

• From where the striker ball stopped after the roquet.

The second bonus shot after a roquet is an ordinary shot played from where the striker ball came to rest, called a “continuation shot”.

Bonus shots may not be accumulated. Upon earning a bonus shot by scoring a wicket, hitting the turning stake, or roqueting another ball, any bonus shot previously earned is forfeited. For example, if a ball roquets a ball and in that same stroke the striker ball hits another ball, the second ball hit is not a roquet and remains where it comes to rest (with no deadness incurred on that ball).

EXCEPTIONS: Two extra shots are earned when the striker ball scores two wickets in one shot. If the ball also hits the turning stake after scoring two wickets, two strokes are earned, not three. Conversely, if the striker ball scores the seventh wicket and hits the turning stake in the same shot, it earns two shots. After the striker ball roquets another ball, it does not earn any extra shots for hitting it again in the same turn before scoring the next wicket in order. However, there is no penalty for hitting the ball again (unless you are using Challenging Option #1, below).

Wicket and Roquet When the striker ball scores a wicket and then in the same shot hits another ball, only the wicket counts and the striker has earned only the one extra shot for scoring the wicket.

The striker may then roquet any ball to earn two extra shots.

When the striker ball roquets another ball and then goes through a wicket, the wicket has not been scored but the striker earns two extra shots for the roquet.

The Boundaries Whenever any part of a ball crosses a boundary, it is brought inbounds and placed one mallet length (or 36 inches) into the court. The ball should be placed 90 degrees inbounds and perpendicular to the line and not diagonally from the line. (Exception: When the striker ball has just roqueted (hit) another ball, the striker may choose to place it in contact with or up to a mallet-head from the ball that was roqueted.) All balls are also immediately brought in a mallet length from the boundary when they are less than that distance from the boundary, except for the striker’s ball when the striker has an extra shot.

On a smaller court, you may reduce the distance from the boundary for placing balls in to as little as a mallet-head (about nine inches), but whatever the distance chosen, balls

After a ball scores all of the wickets in the course, its player may choose to keep it in the game as a “rover” to help advance that side’s remaining ball(s) and to prevent the opposing side from advancing. During this ball’s turn, it may hit any other ball only once per turn, gaining extra shots accordingly, but it does not earn any extra shots or wicket points for running a wicket.

Any player may put a rover out of the game by causing it to hit the finishing stake with a roquet shot or a croquet or foot shot. The rover’s side earns the point for the stake, and the order of play continues without the staked-out ball.

MCA PRO AND GOLD OPTIONS The MCA utilizes the following options for PRO and GOLD Division play.

Option 1. Using Deadness.

Deadness occurs after a roquet is made and the striker is unable to score his/her wicket. The consequences are that the striker is not allowed to roquet the ball(s) again until scoring the wicket. Once the wicket is scored, the striker becomes ‘alive’ and is able to roquet the ball(s) again.

If a striker roquets a ball he/she is dead on, all balls are replaced to their positions before the shot, and the turn is over. Deadness carries over from turn to turn.

Option 1b. Clearing Deadness.

A side may clear one of its balls of deadness when the opponent makes the first wicket after the turning stake (the 9-point wicket) regardless of score at the end of the opponent’s turn.

Option 2. Out of Bounds Play.

A) A ball is considered out-of-bounds if it is more than halfway over the boundary line which is considered to be the inside edge of the boundary marking. If a striker sends any ball(s) out-of-bounds as the result of their shot, all balls shall be measured in 9” from the spot where they crossed the boundary line. The only exception to this is when the striker’s ball crosses the boundary line as the result of a roquet where it is then lifted and placed either in contact or up to 9” from the roqueted ball. Additionally, any ball coming to rest within 9” of the boundary shall be marked in 9” prior to the next shot unless it is the striker ball and it has any remaining shots. Any balls within the 9” at the end of a turn shall be marked in 9” inches. A mallet head is normally 9” in length. Longer heads should have a 9” mark on it for the placing of balls.

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B) If Option 1 is in effect and the striker roquets a ball out-ofbounds, the turn is over and the out-of-bounds ball is marked in 9”. However, no deadness is incurred.

Option 3. Starting Deadness.

May be used in conjunction with Option 1 regarding deadness. No extra shots are earned by hitting another ball until both the striker ball and the ball to be roqueted have cleared a designated wicket(typically #1, #2, or #3). A ball “not in the game” may have a ball(s) “in the game” marked and lifted for a shot — and vice versa. Balls “out” of the game are dead on balls “in” the game — and visa versa.

Option 4. Wired. (EXPERIMENTAL LIFT RULE) If an opponent causes the striker ball to be blocked by a wicket or stake (wired) when the striker wishes to shoot at a ball it is alive on, the striker may lift that ball to any open corner prior to the shot. An open corner must be fully open. If a lifted ball would be in contact with another ball, then that corner is not open and another corner must be chosen. This optional rule does not apply if the striker’s side placed the striker ball in its current position, only if the opponent placed it there.

The definition of a wired ball follows the USCA Six Wicket Rules. The opponent must acknowledge the wire prior to a lift occurring.

Option 5. Blocked at a Wicket by a Dead Ball.

If an opponent causes a ball to be blocked from scoring its wicket by a dead ball(s) for two consecutive turns, the blocked ball becomes alive on the blocking ball(s). The opponent must be responsible for the block, not the side claiming a block. A block must be confirmed by the blocking side in order to be counted as a block, in order to avoid disputes. In addition, the proposed wicket shot that is claimed to be blocked must be possible to make to count as a block.

Option 6. Rover Play A rover may hit all balls once per turn; however, once the rover is dead on a ball(s), it must go through any wicket in any direction to clear its deadness on that ball(s). The rover does not get an additional (bonus) shot after going through this clearing wicket.

CODE OF CONDUCT A player may not alter the court. Debris may be removed, but anything attached to the court cannot be altered without the permission of the opponent and the refereee or tournament manager.

Hoops may not be adjusted, reset or pounded in by the striker without first asking permission. The striker must ask the opponent if it is okay to adjust, pound in or reset a wicket or stake.

If the opponent refuses, the tournament manager or referee should be requested for a final decision. The referee’s guidance is the equipment should be in proper position.

It is preferred that the opponent step off the court when a striker is in play; however, this is not required. In general, it is common courtesy to step behind the striker so as to not be in the field of vision during the striker’s shot. If the opponent is in the field of vision, the striker may request that he move out of the field of vision. In such case, the opponent must comply.

Noise Spectators are expected to cheer or offer applause after a shot is made. And conversation or general crowd noise is acceptable during play. Common courtesy is to keep noise to a minimum during an actual shot. And, it is the striker’s right to ask for quiet on a shot that is challenging.

Heckling a player during a shot is not permitted by a spectator or opponent. Spectators or opponents may not make attempts to distract the striker in any way during a shot.

Abusive comments toward a player are not acceptable.

Spectators (or coaches) may not offer a player advice during a game.

MCA SPONSORS:

Option 8. Over Time Play MCA plays 60 minute singles games. When a timed match has expired, each ball gets a last turn. If a ball has played its last stroke of the turn and is still rolling on the court when time expires, it will get another turn. If the losing side has played its last turns, the winning side may not play its last turn (aka last ball/last turn may not play). If the score is tied after the “last turn” round, another full round will commence and full rounds will continue until the tie is broken.

The USCA Nine Wicket Rules have been reprinted with the permission of the USCA and are under copyright by the USCA.

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Visit WWW.Midwestcroquet.com to LEARN MORE ABOUT THE MCA

MCA 9W INDEX RANKINGS

2015 MCA SCHEDULE

05/02: Lee’s Summit T-Bone 6/13: Kansas Challenge August 1-2: KC Open 09/18-19: MCA Championship All dates subject to change

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PLAYER FOCUSED

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