Registered: Sep 2020
Location: Tenn -> Mich
Posts: 2543

Entries for the 2025 Tournament of Champions closes on Monday, March 10th at midnight EST. For information or to enter, go to the TOC web page: https://www.ukcdogs.com/ukc-tournament-of-champions

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Registered: Sep 2020
Location: Tenn -> Mich
Posts: 2543

I was reflecting back today on that first year. Qualifying opened on January 1, 2020 and everyone knows what happened in March. The world about shut down. To say I was a nervous was an understatement. Allen and I have talked about it at length on some podcasts but qualifying for the TOC ended up saving us that year with all the hunts that got cancelled.

1,028 dogs ended up qualified that first year which absolutely blew away our conservative projections. We actually had to scramble to open up another Region location to accommodate the 655 hounds that were entered into the Regions.

That first year only 64 hounds advanced to the finals and the total payout was $200,000. After three rounds over two nights, we had our first UKC Tournament of Champions $50,000 winner, GRNITECH 'PR' Stovers Charley Creek Bad Butch owned by Bill Stover and handled by John Ervin. They bested a final cast that consisted of NITECH 'PR' The American Powertrip owned by Ashley Guthrie at the time and handled by Darrell Mayne, NITECH 'PR' Stephenson's Willow owned and handled by Kevin Morehouse, and GRNITECH(2) 'PR' Rolling Hills Rock owned by Rick and Skyler Mick and handled by Skyler. Seeing someone win that type of money for the first time is not something I'll soon forget.

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Registered: Sep 2020
Location: Tenn -> Mich
Posts: 2543

Yesterday I talked about year one of the TOC. With the second year came some big changes. Namely, the number of dogs advancing to the Finals jumped from 64 to 96 and the overall purse raised to $250,000 which was a $50,000 increase.

The numbers jumped big time. The 655 qualified dogs in 2020 increased to 796 in 2021, and the number of dogs entered into the Regions increased from 655 the year prior to 796. The Mt. Gilead, Ohio Region led the way with an eye opening 289 entries which would open the door to adding another Region the following year.

With the change to the number of dogs advancing to the Finals, so came the new format that is still in place today with 24 4-dog casts in Round 1, six 4-dog casts in Round 2, three heads-up casts in Round 3, and a 3-dog Final Cast.

The 2022 UKC Tournament of Champions Final Cast was as star studded as you could imagine with three highly touted dogs and handlers competing for their portion of $100,000. Ultimately it was GRNITECH(2) 'PR' Willy's Conor McGregor owned and handled by J.R. Gray who brought home the $50,000 First Place win, besting NITECH 'PR' Thunderbirds Dominator owned by Cole McVeay and handled by Joe Manning and GRNITECH 'PR' Tracker's Lil Piper owned by Ike Rainey and Malcolm Rains and handled by Duell Murphy in a competitive Final Cast.

Which three dogs will be able to navigate their way through the six rounds it takes to win this hunt and bring home the big check this year? Only time will tell. Come back tomorrow for year three...

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Registered: Sep 2020
Location: Tenn -> Mich
Posts: 2543

Here is part 3 of my TOC history mini-series. And your daily reminder that the TOC entry window closes on Monday, March 10th at midnight EST.

As I highlighted in Tuesday's post, the big change for year three was adding a sixth Region in LaGrange, Indiana to try to take a little bit off of Mt. Gilead, Ohio's plate and that has worked so far. We also had the first location change for a TOC Region when Region 1 moved from Bloomfield, Iowa to LaPlata, Missouri.

The numbers didn't jump too much in the third year. We actually ended with three less qualified dogs, making a total of 1,333 dogs qualified for the 2023 TOC. However for the first time ever, the number of dogs entered into the Regions made its way over the 800 mark, ending with 804 entries across the six Regions.

The Finals in Greencastle, Indiana were as good as ever with four rounds of great competition. Winning the whole hunt and the $50,000 was GRNITECH 'PR' Stricks Hardtimes Hobo who was owned by John Strickland, Doug Galbreath, and Ashley Oxendine and handled by Jeff Ricklefs. Rounding out the Final Cast were NITECH 'PR' Little Joe owned by Jeff Stallard, Rick Marshall, and Randall Drew and handled by Casey Stallard, and the first non-Treeing Walker finalist with NITECH 'PR' Rockin R Honest Crowder owned by Kevin Rash and handled by Travis Dill.

Come back tomorrow for the low down on year four...

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Registered: Sep 2020
Location: Tenn -> Mich
Posts: 2543

This whole week I have taken a look at the brief history of the present day UKC Tournament of Champions. It has been fun to share a brief overview of each year for you all and I hope you have enjoyed it.

I mentioned in year three, the numbers had stalled a little, that was not the case for year four. The number of qualified dogs jumped above the 1,400 mark for the first time, settling on 1,404. That was a 68 dog increase over the previous high. The number of entries continued a four year trend of increasing each year, getting up to 850 total entries which was up 46 dogs over the previous high.

Kirksville, Missouri and LaGrange, Indiana hosted Regions for the second straight year, with Conway, Arkansas and Mt. Gilead, Ohio being the only two locations that have hosted a Region in all four years of the event's history. With some shuffling in the south, Decatur, Tennessee and Manning, South Carolina both picked up a Region for the first time.

The Finals were in Greencastle, Indiana once again, and again, the event was a major success. With the help of a strong crop of guides and judges, that resulted in an impressive 4.4 raccoons scored per cast. The Final Cast was one of the most eye opening hunts I've had the pleasure of being apart of with some amazing dog work, but in the end the winner of the $50,000 check was NITECH 'PR' Maxed Out Mad Money who was owned by Travis Black and handled by Dustin Weed. Rounding out the Final Cast were NITECH 'PR' Freak of Nature owned by Walter Hickman and handled by Josh Craig, and NITECH 'PR' Heather Island Wipeout Z owned by Ike Rainey and Malcolm Rains and handled by Oliver Winn.

Remember, entries for this year's Tournament of Champions close on Monday, March 10th at midnight EST. See comments for more information.

Last edited by Trevor / UKC on 03-07-2025 at 07:08 PM

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