The Champ's Ladder Rankings


The Champ has ranked all of his Best of 7 opponents and various others he's played with extensively over the years. If you've played with the Champ and would like to get ranked on the Ladder, or if you aren't pleased with your ranking, don't hesitate to drop him an email and make your case.

The Rules of the Ladder

To move into the Top Tier you must beat someone in a Best of 7. To move into any other Tier you must win at least a Best of 5. All matches within the Top Tier must be Best of 7s. Intra-tier matches below the Top Tier can be Best of 3s, 5s, or 7s. Beat someone above you on the Ladder, climb halfway up to his spot. Lose to someone below you, fall halfway down to his spot. No declining challenges from below without a valid reason. The Champ reserves the right to arbitrarily adjust rankings based on unwillingness to take challenges, excellent two on two performance, strong for-money game performances, extra dedication, etc. Recent movement on the Ladder will be marked with the thumbs up/down symbols.

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Top Tier

 1. The Champ
 2. Devin Cooch - "The Freak" - Prototypical Beirut body, 6'9 with an     even longer lean. Tremendous upside potential. Very, very     long.Friendliest guy on the Top Tier, is he mean enough to stay     there? Absolutely, it's been determined. He showed he's one of the     most vicious competitors in the game when beat the Champ in June '06.
 3. Luke Morris - "The Mouth" - Fast talking and slow playing, at     times inspires calls for the first Beirut shotclock. Was once the most     feared player in the game, some say hard living has left his best days     behind him, others say he's still Luke Morris. His impressive 6-7     record against the Champ over HC that launched him into the TT was only     tempered by a 1-4 defeat against Joe Moser. His October 15th win     over the Champ gave him a stranglehold on #2 and a shot at the top. The     Champ came back and swept him 4-0 on November 5th. Mouth has rarely     been heard from since.
 4. Joe (Potter) Moser - One of four to beat the Champ. Explosive player     who loves pressure. Not much competition in Minnesota, will living in     the North Star State send his game south? Maintained his TT status over     HC with a great win over the Mouth, crushed shortly thereafter by the     Champ.
 5. Peter Cramer - "The People's Champ" - Limitless talent. An exciting     young player who sometimes lets emotions get in the way of his skill.     Also layed low over HC but made preliminary plans with the Champ to     compete in the World Series of Beer Pong.
 6. Bart Bartholomew - Top ranked during the glory days of the     Monday Nite Beirut League, no player ever had more heart. A drunken     Bart was known for challenging himself to one on one games after     everyone else had gone home. Most feel married life for Jonathan (as he     is now known) will mark the end of his illustrious career. His game on     Oct. 15th wasn't big enough to backup his wild guarantees, but it was     big enough to put him in the Top Tier.


Second Tier

 7. Ryan Bondroff - "The Specimen" - Towering, accurate release.     Experienced Beirut League Commissioner and naked run rule ambassador,     if he starts working < 60 hrs a week look out. It was only one bad     night, but his disastrous Yom Kippur performances against The Champ,     BLingle, and Kellan demand swift retribution for his image on the     rectange. 
 8. Brian Clouser - The Champ's younger brother. An intense competitor who     has yet to take his excellent dartlike line-drive bullet shooting game     from the Solo cup at Cornell to the RK12.
 9. Ed Korkuch - "Prodigal Son" - No one has better mechanics, at times     ethereal approach to post-breakdown Beirut may be the only thing     holding him back.
10. Kellan Ilse - Decent mechanics and a major-league lean, this     upstart has taken The Champ to seven and living next door to The Arena     should only help his game. 2-3 loss to Heather sent him down the     ladder, followed with a 4-2 win over Blando to bump him back up     slightly. After an incredible 33-3 performance at the BLBE and various     victories against quality foes he's back in the top 10.
11. Jon Davis - "The Truth" - This former runningmate of Bart is an     excellent two on two sidekick, but his nuanced approach to the game and     trainwreck alcohol management skills have never translated to much one     on one success. With an impressive Beirut and alcohol management     performance on Oct. 15th, he climbed closer to where his talent should     take him on the Ladder. Couldn't ever edge the Champ but showed great     heart in his last extended Arena visit. Impressively edged his mentee     Devin "The Freak" Cooch in June '06, but his two on two performance     prevented him from climbing.
12. Scott Whitefield - With his sky-touching shot, Scott shocked the     Beirut community at the BLBE by becoming the third person to best the     Champ. A tough competitor, he has Top Tier talent but only a second     tier commitment to the game.
13. Dan Arcangeli - "Satellite" - Tremendous hand-eye coordination, his     athleticism and newfound love of the game could take him places, but     only if he fixes his flawed mechanics.
14. Scott Solomon - With a single decent showing against The Champ this     hot shooting Hoboken socialite would likely find himself nestled in the     Second Tier, unfortunately he keeps ducking his challenges. His     performance alonside a struggling Champ on Oct. 15th wasn't good, it     was incredible. Unable to hang with the Champ in their first matchup.
15. Griffin Brungraber - Beirut's 2004 Most Improved Player, hard work     and a strict adherence to perfect fundamentals have put GB in a     position to light the westcoast Beirut world on fire. Early reports     indicate he is doing just that.
16. (Big) Mike Andrieu - The rare successful player with a back-handed     wristflick release, the enigmatic former runningmate of The Mouth     hasn't been heard from in the Beirut world for far too long.
17. Gus Campbell - His impressive alcohol tolerance and ex-highschool     quarterback throwing arm make him ever dangerous.
18. Dan Ross - This former runningmate of Gus Campbell is an accurate     southpaw when he's not beligerent. Teamed with the Champ to defeat Team     Oracle/Mouth before teaming with Pierre to end Champ/Heather's win     streak over HC. Lets hope his disturbing naked walk tradition doesn't     catch on.
19. Heather - Best two on two record in the Boken, shocking 3-2 upset over     K.Ilse rocketed her into the Second Tier.


Third Tier

20. BLingle - Once the host of amateur hour, there's now no player     more committed to the game. The ex-wrestler will become very dangerous     when he finishes learning to harness his intensity. His stunning     comeback after being down 0-3 against #2 Bondroff will always be     remembered.
21. Ryan Goodman - Along with the Prodigal Son, has one of the best looking     strokes in the game. With his time consuming days as a varsity     athlete/scholar engineer/humanitarian behind him, he may yet make some     noise in the Beirut world.
22. Oshan Wickramanayake- Longest last name is Beirut history, this     wildly superstitious player will try to put the sensation back in Sri     Lankan as he takes his developing game to the west coast. Grassroots     protests against his Rec Tier status moved him up.
23. Kevin Hall - "Big Papa" - His trips to The Arena may be infrequent,     but they are thunderous. Owns one of the best winning percentages in     Hoboken, question is will he play enough to stay in the Second Tier?     The answer was no! Come back Big Papa!
23T.Seth Foreman - The Colorado Kid has a smooth southpaw delivery and     only needs more experience in the one on one arena.
24. Erik Kidd - One of The Arena's elder statesmen, this Wall St. Warrior     has put together an impressive two on two resume.
25. Justin G. Blando - After defeating the Champ in May he seemed     poised for a Top Tier career. It's been his hideous two on two record     (not his struggles against the Champ) that sent him into the third.     Losses to Kellan and Rob dropped him even lower.
26. T-Bone Gallo - The best all around athlete on the ladder, many liken     this tall lanky player to a poor man's Jeff Dasch when Jeff was in his     prime.
27. Nate Inkrote- Townie has serious game and impressed the Champ in     his last 2on2 showing. Will he step outside of Lewisburg long enough to     challenge him headsup?
28. Matt Gorney - According to some this house president should be ranked     far higher. An impressively precise player, this student of the     game had a rough Ladder debut, losing 4-0 to the Champ.
29. Brian Troast- This New Jersey native shocked the world when he took an     authoritative 1-0 lead on the Champ, the Champ rallied back to win 4-1     but Troasty earned the respect and admiration of his peers, the Champ,     and the Beirut community to supplement his already sterling reputation     as a top tier gambler, craps player, and womanizer. (just kidding DA)
30. Kyle Herb - Got swept in his ladder debut against the Champ but has     shown lots of promise in the collegiate rankings having won the house     tournament.
31. Rob Singer - Great size, this overly analytical player's toughest     opponent is himself. Showed promise with a recent 2-0 victory over     Blando.
32. Doug Louro - "The Oracle" - This hard throwing '05 grad shatters speed     guns with his peculiar release. Tormented as he is talented, he has     emerged as one of Beirut's great philosophers.
33. Jeff Martin - Some say this young player looks like the Champ,     having shown plenty of promise in 2on2 games over HC, we'll see if he     can play like him in his 1 on 1 debut. Update: he took 2 games off the     Champ in a latenite match and climbed the ladder.
34. John Luthi - The Champ is awaiting his challenge, and the Beirut world     is waiting to see just where this Hobokenite actually belongs on     the Ladder.
35. Gerrit Moyer - This accurate-eyed staunch Republican showed