Today's victory was the first of 1997 for the sixth-seeded Kiraly and Johnson, who teamed up at the beginning of this tour season. It was Kiraly's 127th career Miller Lite/AVP Tour win, while Johnson notched his 28th. Kiraly/Johnson reached the Miller Lite Grand Slam final by defeating No. 5 seeded Dain Blanton and Ceman, 15-8, in the winner's bracket final.
With second place, No. 10-seeded Holdren and Rogers set a Miller Lite/AVP Tour record for best finish by a rookie team. The pair reached the final by defeating No. 13 seeds Brian Gatzke and Eduardo Bacil, 15-12, No. 3 Mike Dodd and Mike Whitmarsh, 11-8 when time expired, and Blanton/Ceman 13-11 as time ran out.
The Miller Lite/AVP Tour returns to action at the $100,000 AVP Golden State Open, presented by Albertson's at Folsom Lake's Granite Bay on Aug. 2-3. Tickets are available in advance by calling TeleCharge at (800) 432-7470.
The Miller Lite Grand Slam Series consists of four prestigious events on the Miller Lite/AVP Tour, featuring a combined $1.25 million in prize money. The Grand Slam events also play a major role in determining which 16 AVP players will participate at the World Championships (Sept. 11-14, 1997), with each individual player receiving point for their respective finishes.
The top 14 ranked players from the Grand Slam tourneys must form seven teams, while the eighth team will consist of 15th and 16th ranked players or a wildcard will be selected by the AVP. Here is the current breakdown of the Miller Lite Grand Slam point totals:
Player Grand Slam Points
1. Dain Blanton 20.500
Canyon Ceman 20.500
3. Kent Steffes 19.750
Jose Loiola 19.750
5. Karch Kiraly 15.750
Adam Johnson 15.750
7. Randy Stoklos 12.625
8. Mike Dodd 12.250
Mike Whitmarsh 12.250
10. Troy Tanner 11.000
11. Rob Heidger 8.125
12. Dax Holdren 7.380
Todd Rogers 7.380
14. Brian Lewis 7.125
15. David Swatik 6.750
16. Brian Gatzke 6.625
17. Ian Clark 5.125
18. Eric Fonoimoana 5.000
Bryan Ivie 5.000
20. Scott Ayakatubby 4.000
1st - Adam Johnson/Karch Kiraly (6) $60,000 2nd - Daxton Holdren/Todd Rogers (10) $34,200 3rd - Dain Blanton/Canyon Ceman (5) $27,090 4th - Mike Dodd/Mike Whitmarsh (3) $21,390 5th - Rob Heidger/David Swatik (8) $17,100 5th - Eduardo Bacil/Brian Gatzke (13) $17,100 7th - Jose Loiola/Kent Steffes (1) $12,840 7th - Bruk Vandeweghe/Chris Young (26) $12,840 9th - Brian Lewis/Randy Stoklos (2) $ 9,270 9th - Ian Clark/Matt Unger (12) $ 9,270 9th - Aaron Boss/Dan Castillo (18) $ 9,270 9th - Paul Boyd/Adam Jewell (39) $ 9,270 13th- Eric Fonoimoana/Bryan Ivie (7) $ 6,390 13th- Raul Papaleo/Kevin Wong (14) $ 6,390 13th- Andre Gomes/Leif Hanson (29) $ 6,390 13th- Stein Metzger/Sean Scott (34) $ 6,390 17th- Mark Kerins/Henry Russell (9) $ 2,850 17th- Lee LeGrand/Jim Nichols (17) $ 2,850 17th- Scott Friederichsen/Wayne Seligson (19)$ 2,850 17th- Eduardo Garrido/Carlos Loss (22) $ 2,850 17th- Daniel Cardenas/Mark Paaluhi (25) $ 2,850 17th- Jason Ryan Pursley/Jason Stimpfig (27) $ 2,850 17th- Aaron Smith/David Smith (32) $ 2,850 17th- Mike Diehl/Mike Lambert (45) $ 2,850 25th- Andrew Smith/Eric Wurts (11) $ 1,500 25th- Scott Ayakatubby/Steve Simpson (15) $ 1,500 25th- Brent Doble/Albert Hannemann (16) $ 1,500 25th- Mike Garcia/Matt Lyles (21) $ 1,500 25th- James Fellows/Lance Lyons (24) $ 1,500 25th- Marcelo Duarte/Mike Schlegel (31) $ 1,500 25th- Chris Hannemann/Burke Stefko (33) $ 1,500 25th- Nathan Heidger/John Cummings (44) $ 1,500
Seedings announced on July 22nd: Jose Loiola/Kent Steffes (1) Brian Lewis/Randy Stoklos (2) Mike Dodd/Mike Whitmarsh (3) Bill Boullianne/Troy Tanner (4)^ Dain Blanton/Canyon Ceman (5)v Adam Johnson/Karch Kiraly (6)v Eric Fonoimoana/Bryan Ivie (7) Rob Heidger/David Swatik (8)* Mark Kerins/Henry Russell (9) Daxton Holdren/Todd Rogers (10)^ Andrew Smith/Eric Wurts (11)^ Ian Clark/Matt Unger (12)* Eduardo Bacil/Brian Gatzke (13)^ Raul Papaleo/Kevin Wong (14)v Scott Ayakatubby/Steve Simpson (15)* Brent Doble/Albert Hannemann (16)v Lee LeGrand/Jim Nichols (17)v Aaron Boss/Dan Castillo (18)^ Scott Friederichsen/Wayne Seligson (19)^ Todd Ahmadi/Justin Perlstrom (20)* Mike Garcia/Matt Lyles (21) Eduardo Garrido/Carlos Loss (22)^ John Brajevic/Nick Hannemann (23)* James Fellows/Lance Lyons (24) Daniel Cardenas/Mark Paaluhi (25)^ Bruk Vandeweghe/Chris Young (26)^ Jason Ryan Pursley/Jason Stimpfig (27)* Kevin Martin/Greg Shankle (28)* Andre Gomes/Leif Hanson (29)v Leland Quinn/Jeff Rodgers (30)v Marcelo Duarte/Mike Schlegel (31)* Aaron Smith/David Smith (32)v Chris Hannemann/Burke Stefko (33)v Stein Metzger/Sean Scott (34)* Ken Lynch/Bill Suwara (35)* Jason Scott/Matt Winterburn (36)* Kurt Dumm/Mike Minier (37)* John Anselmo/Erik Moore (38)* Paul Boyd/Adam Jewell (39)* Paul Baxter/Scott Davenport (40)* Pearson/Robison (41)* Murdoch/Withington (42)* Agi/Boldt (43)* John Cummings/Nathan Heidger (44)* Mike Diehl/Mike Lambert (45)* Fischer/Hribar (46)* Delahoz/Rodriguez (47)* Hisa/Osaki (48)*
July 25-27, 1997
Friday 9:30am-6:00pm
Saturday 9:00am-6:00pm
Sunday 9:15am-3:00pm
2:00pm FINAL
Hermosa Beach Pier Hermosa Beach, CA
$300,000
Fox Sports Net
Telecharge 800-432-7470
48 Teams Double Elimination
1996 TOP 4 TEAMS: Karch Kiraly/Kent Steffes Mike Dodd/Mike Whitmarsh Troy Tanner/Rob Heidger Bill Boullianne/Eric Fonoimoana 1996 TITLE MATCH: Karch Kiraly/Kent Steffes def. Mike Dodd/Mike Whitmarsh, 13-10 1995 TOP 4 TEAMS: Adam Johnson/Jose Loiola Scott Ayakatubby/Karch Kiraly Bill Boullianne/Brian Lewis Kent Steffes/Randy Stoklos YEAR EVENT BEGAN: 1977
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